ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Florida's two baseball teams open the second half against each other, with three games at Tropicana Field to set the trajectory for the rest of their season.
The Tampa Bay Rays (49-47) went 14-4 in 18 games to put themselves back in wild-card contention, though their dominating pitching gave way just before the All-Star break, giving up 33 runs in four games and dropping three of four games to the Minnesota Twins.
The Miami Marlins (41-57) won three of four games before the break and five of seven, but they're barely ahead of the New York Mets to avoid last place in the National League East.