The Tampa Bay Rays finished the second-best homestand in their history Michael Jordan Jersey , with a much easier path between now and the All-Star Game as they try to claw their way back into wild-card contention.

finishing a grueling stretch of 16 games against the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Washington Nationals and going 10-6 in those games to rise back above .500.

Now the Rays have a stretch of 16 straight games against teams with losing records, including a three-game series at the Miami Marlins (34-51) starting Monday.

The Rays have dominated with their patchwork pitching staff, allowing a total of seven runs in their last six games http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-hunter-renfrow-jersey , with five wins and a 1-0 loss. They took three of four from Houston to close out the homestand and hope to continue the success to take some positive momentum into the All-Star break.

“The fact that we have been winning and everyone has been coming together at clutch moments has been great,” said outfielder Mallex Smith, who had a late solo home run in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Houston. “We’ve been jelling as a team. We’ve been feeding off one another. It seems like someone new coming through at the right time every day.”

Next for Tampa Bay is Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 4.08 ERA), who played for the Marlins from 2012 to 2014 and will almost certainly fare better than his only career appearance against his former team. In June 2015 Zach Brown Jersey , he played there with the Yankees and gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in less than an inning, leaving after two outs with a 108.00 ERA to show for it.

Eovaldi has shown promise since returning from Tommy John surgery — his last start against Washington lasted six innings and he gave up no runs, one and and two walks with nine strikeouts.

The Marlins will answer with Wei-Yin Chen, who knows the Rays from his days with the Baltimore Orioles. He has started 21 career games against Tampa Bay, more than any other opponent Shareef Miller Jersey , and posted a 5-6 record with a 3.72 ERA.

That’s considerably better than his overall numbers this year — he’s 2-5 with a 6.14 ERA, though his last start was solid. He limited Arizona to one run and five hits in six innings last week. Against Tampa Bay last year, he pitched well, holding the Rays to two runs and two hits in six innings.

The in-state rivals will meet again right after the All-Star break for three more games, but the extended run against lesser opponents is something the Rays must dominate if they want to get back into wild-card contention.

Even after winning eight of nine games Devin Bush Jersey , Tampa Bay is still 11 games behind Seattle for the second AL wild card. Still, being 42-41 after opening the season 1-8 isn’t bad, especially considering the injuries they’ve dealt with and the talent traded away since the end of last season.

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is likely headed to the disabled after pulling up while running out a double-play grounder Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sanchez hurt his right groin/hip abductor and ”it’s probably going to be a DL situation.”

Sanchez was injured in the 10th inning. He slowly walked back to the dugout and was replaced defensively by Austin Romine.

”What can I say?” Sanchez said through a translator. ”That’s the way baseball is sometimes. Now I’m just hoping it’s not a long time.”

Sanchez will undergo an MRI exam Monday.

The 25-year-old Sanchez went 0 for 4 in the 7-6, 12-inning loss. He’s hitting only .190 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs, a season after he made the AL All-Star team while batting .278 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs.

The Yankees have the best record in the majors at 50-25.