Outside The Confines: Lucky 13

In Monday’s OTC we talked a bit about the incredible winning streak the Rays are on, and this week that winning streak just kept on rolling. As of Thursday’s game against the Red Sox, the Rays have won every game they’ve played this season, and tied the modern-era record with a 13-game run. Next they’ll be heading to Canada to take on the 8-5 Toronto Blue Jays and see if they can’t just make history by extending their winning streak to 14.

• Adam Berry looks at the big 13th win for the Rays.
• Dan Gartland gets into it about the unstoppable team from Tampa Bay.
• AP gives a breakdown of the hot streak.
• Andy McCullough offers 13 reasons why the Rays are so hot right now. (The Athletic subscription required.)

Now on to the rest of today’s links!

• Speaking of streaks, Jay Jaffe looks at the streaks Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are presently on.
• Jaffe also looks at how Bryan Reynolds may just be hitting himself out of Pittsburgh.
• Jake Rill takes a gander at Adley Rutschman’s super hot start with his most recent walk-off.
• On the note of that walk-off, it was predicted by a line on Abbott Elementary only one day earlier. Story by Scott Chiusano.
• Bryce Harper is taking reps at first base in preparation to make his return to the Phillies. Story by Matt Gelb. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Esteban Rivera looks at four hitters who are making an early season splash.
• Tom Verducci is against adding any extra seconds to the pitch clock.
• Except there’s one area that might need some consideration with the new speedier games: beer sales. Jimmy Traina looks at how vendors are suffering under the shorter game times.

• ESPN offers their hottest takes after the first two weeks of the season.
• Zach Buchanan looks at why farm directors are turning to Twitter to hype their players. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• MLB helped Denzel Washington open the 5,000th Boys and Girls Club. Story by Joey Pollizze.
• Former Cub Javier Baez was benched this week for his lackluster baserunning. Story by Jelani Scott.

• Marika Lyszczyk already made history by being the first woman to play men’s collegiate baseball—as a catcher—and now she’ll do it again taking the mound as a pitcher. Story by Melissa Lockard. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Want to see a player get his first hit and first home run in different at-bats in ONE inning? Sure you do. Do-Hyoung Park looks at Edouard Julien’s big night.
• Tom Verducci breaks down why the Rangers have what it takes to end their playoff drought.
• How are the new rules actually changing things so far?

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.