The Tampa Bay Rays pick up another win on the season as they take down the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in the opener at T-Mobile Park. 

The American League-leading Rays now move to 69-46 on the season and pushed the lead over the now-surging, second-place Boston Red Sox to four and a half games.

Here is what you need to know from the contest. 

It was another great outing for the Rays all-star pitcher Drew Rasmussen, as he went seven scoreless innings and picked up eight strikeouts in the process. Across 91 pitches, he only allowed two hits and two walks against the Mariners and continues to show why he has ace-like stuff and should be considered for the AL Cy Young Award. 

Rasmussen now moves to 10-5 on the season with a 2.75 ERA. Across his 22 starts, he has 130 strikeouts across 124 innings of work. The former Oregon State Beaver has not allowed an earned run across his last three starts, consisting of a combined 20 innings. 

Tampa Bay did not have too much luck on the basepaths on Friday, but when they needed runs, they found them. Both Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca hit solo home runs to give the Rays the two runs needed to seal the victory. 

Other than the two long balls, the team only picked up four other hits in the contest. They struck out five times and left eight runners on base. When a threat occurred with base traffic, the Rays were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. However, they picked up the win, and unlike recent slumps in offensive production, such as in early June, that was something they couldn't accomplish. 

The only mark in the wrong direction on the stat sheet for the Rays was a solo homer by Julio Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Bryan Baker. Baker still picked up his 33rd save of the season after picking up three strikeouts in the same inning. The dominance of the pitching staff begs the question: who can slow down Tampa Bay heading into the postseason? 

Following the series against the Mariners, the team travels to Sacramento to take on the Athletics. Then it is back to Tropicana Field for an American League East homestand against both the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. They don't face a team with a winning record until the last week of August. 

Although anything can happen in baseball, it is really hard to think of a squad that can compete with the elite pitching staff and the potent offense that Erik Neander and the Rays' front office have created following the MLB trade deadline. 

Tampa Bay will look to pick up their second win in the series against Seattle. And move their winning streak to five games, as Griffin Jax will get the start on Saturday. He'll face George Kirby of the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 9:50 p.m. Eastern.