Rays trying to stay afloat as injuries hurt offense

By NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer

The Tampa Bay Rays came into the season with Wander Franco at shortstop, Brandon Lowe at second base and Mike Zunino behind the plate. With that kind of strength up the middle, a third straight AL East title seemed like a real possibility. Now all three of those players are injured. The Rays lost two of three at Baltimore over the weekend and dropped seven of nine overall on their road trip. That slump included a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees. New York leads third-place Tampa Bay by 13 games and second-place Toronto by 11 in the AL East.