ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are 6-7 since the All-Star break and steady starting pitching has been a major part of the turnaround for a team that had lost 24 of 27 games at one point.Everything is going well for our starters -- just consistent outings back-to-back-to-back, said Fridays winner, Jake Odorizzi, who pitched six-plus innings of shutout baseball in the Rays 5-1 win over the New York Yankees.It really takes the stress off the bullpen. I think another thing is our defense is playing phenomenal. Theyre really backing us up and its a lot easier to pitch when you have great plays being made behind you.The Rays (40-61) have allowed more than four runs just once in 13 games since the All-Star break. At one point in June, they gave up at least five runs in 13 straight games, so theyre at the opposite end of the spectrum.Weve played that way since the break, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. I know we dont have the wins to support that, but were playing tighter ballgames, our pitching has been tremendous and the timely hits, hopefully they continue to come.As both teams move another day closer to the trade deadlines and teams around them continue to make moves, the Rays must decide if theyre dealing starters like Odorizzi and Matt Moore.Meanwhile, the Yankees -- having already dealt away closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs -- must decide how much talent they are willing to part with while they linger on the fringe of wild-card contention.Asked if the trade deadline -- and the thin line between seller and buyer -- changes his approach to these games, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was adamant his focus is unchanged on putting his team in position to win games.Zero, he said of how he allows the deadline to impact his decisions as a manager. You try to win every game, no matter what the situation is.On Saturday, the Yankees will send RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 4.80 ERA) against Rays LHP Drew Smyly (2-11, 5.42). The Yankees have lost back-to-back games after a stretch that saw them win eight of 10. They went into Friday night with a chance to match their season high of four games above .500.Just as the Tampa Bay pitching has stepped up, New York has struggled in its last two games, giving up a combined nine runs after holding opponents to 10 in the previous five games. Nova gave up two home runs Friday to the first three batters, literally trailing from his third pitch of the night on.By the time the Rays-Yankees series ends, the trade deadline will arrive and both teams will have a better sense for whether their path to the end of this season is easier or harder, depending on how active they are at the deadline. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Fake Red Sox Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapredsox.com/ . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Boston Red Sox Shirts .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Wholesale Red Sox Jerseys . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers has topped Joe Maddon and Dusty Baker to win the National League Manager of the Year Award.After taking over for Don Mattingly this past season, Roberts continued the Dodgers trend of playoff appearances by guiding the club to a 91-71 record and a fourth consecutive NL West title. The Dodgers have now reached the postseason in four consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.I think, you know what, its about the process, and I think this is actually the first day Ive had a chance to reflect on what happened from the first day of spring training to now, Roberts said. And even after the postseason, I didnt really play the season out in my head too much. But I think to set goals, to play every out and try to get better, I think that as a group, as an organization, we did that. Obviously we came up short in the sense of winning a world championship, but Im just proud of the way our guys battled adversity all year.As much as the teams on-field success defined Roberts rookie season as a manager, so did the player injuries he was forced to overcome. The Dodgers broke camp in spring training with 10 players on the disabled list, believed to be a record to open a season.It did not get any better for the Dodgers, as 28 players ultimately hit the disabled list, the most players any club has put on the DL in the past 30 seasons. The list of injured players included staff ace Clayton Kershaw, who was lost for 75 days after a back injury in late June.Did I expect us to have the injuries that we did? I think when you look at it from that lens, [the season was] more challenging [than expected], Roberts said. But I think that the support that I had completely exceeded what my anticipation was. The relationship with the front office, the coaches, the way that the players bought into us, made this wholee season considerably easier than I anticipated.ddddddddddddI think the focus on the day-to-day, and not getting even ahead to tomorrow or the next day, made it a lot easier. And I think that at any point of the season, [if] I would have stepped back and looked at the expectation or the injuries, it would have felt daunting, but it never really felt that way, even in late June when we were eight games back.Instead of the team collapse that was predicted, the Dodgers turned an eight-game NL West deficit at the time of Kershaws June 26 injury into a division-title-clinching celebration one week before the regular season was completed. The Dodgers ended up winning the division over the San Francisco Giants by four games.Roberts also gave credit to Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians, who won the American League Manager of the Year Award. Roberts played for Francona when Francona was Bostons manager.He definitely influenced me, and I think that the way he related to players, his relationship to the front office and fans, Roberts said. To me, the main thing with Tito is that he just let players play, and when you as a coach or manager can empower your players, it goes a long way. From Tito to a lot of different managers and coaches that Ive had the great pleasure of being around, helped me form, I guess my managing, I guess, style.Roberts becomes just the second Dodgers rookie manager to lead the team into the postseason after Tommy Lasorda in 1977 and only the sixth rookie manager to ever win the award.The Dodgers won 90-plus games for the fourth consecutive season, a feat that had been accomplished just one other time in franchise history, when they won 90-plus games in six consecutive seasons from 1951 to 56. ' ' '