TAMPA, Fla. — The post on Monday morning was simple and to the point, but several of the negative nellies in the Tampa Bay Rays fan groups jumped all over me anyway. They didn't quite understand.

Here it was: 

My point, that the Rays HAD TO sweep the Seattle Mariners, meant that there was no margin for error when you've got three games with the team you're trying to pass for an American League wild-card spot. The Rays, after all, were 7.5 games behind the Mariners last Sunday, and had four teams between them as well.

There was still a lot of work to do.

The ''fans'' who have been really down on this team the past two months thought I was a fool for even talking about the Rays getting a sweep. "They suck, they can't hit, they aren't good enough, they've been bad for two months.'' I heard all of it.

But then the Rays did it anyway, sweeping the Mariners with damn-impressive 10-2, 6-5 and 9-4 victories. That was six wins in a row, tying a season-high. 

There's more to come, too. The Rays started a four-game series with the Cleveland Guardians Thursday night, and won 4-2. Starter Ryan Pepiot was awesome again, pitching five no-hit innings. And they got enough big hits to stretch the winning streak to seven, pulling to within two games of the idle Mariners and jumping 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

With 22 games to go, the 71-69 Rays are right back in the mix. Seven straight wins will do that, as will going 10-2 in their last 12. They had a 34-game stretch earlier this year when they went an MLB-best 25-9.

Do that again? Of course they can. They've proven that this week. And if they go 15-7 the rest of the way to match that late May to June streak, they'll be 86-76 — and more than likely in the playoffs.

We can think that way for sure. But the players? They aren't going there. Even during the down times, they've felt like they were a good team. And now it's coming together, but. they are focused on one game at a time.

That's what baseball players do.

“The more we talk about the playoffs and whatnot, the more we start to see things go in the wrong direction a lot of times,” Rays outfielder Josh Lowe said. “Right now I think we’re doing a really good job of just playing one game at a time and not worrying about outside stuff.

"That's working for us. We won today, and we'll come back tomorrow and try to do the same thing.''

That hot streak earlier in the season was predicated on great pitching and tremendous defense — typical Tampa Bay staples the past two decades — but a ton of hitting as well. The same thing is happening now in this 10-2 run.

Third baseman Junior Caminero, who hit 12 homers in August, had another one Tuesday against the Mariners. He has 40 home runs, 25 doubles and 102 RBIs, with a .263 batting average. Yandy Diaz, who had a five-hit game on Wednesday, is 16-for-34 — a .471 average — and is a professional hitter, to be sure. Outfielder Jake Mangum, who's been having a great rookie season, has dealt with ups and downs pretty well. He's been even better — 17-for-34 the past 10 days — an even .500. 

They've been efficient, which has made them productive. Heck, even Christopher Morel is hitting. He had three hits against the Guardians Thursday. He's 9-for-22 with a double and a homer since Aug. 19, and his average has climbed from .205 to .227.

That's not some massive number to celebrate, but at least it's better. And the 9-for-22, though a small sample size mostly against left-handed starters, is still a .409 batting average. 

It's been a total team effort,  and a whole lot of fun.

“We definitely feel better,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We just got to keep at it. We’re a long ways away. There’s a lot of games left, but we should enjoy the way that we played, certainly lately.

“We’re doing a lot of things well. We’re making the big pitch when we need to. We’re getting the guys in from third base or second base. A lot of things are going our way. We’re playing good defense, and we just want to see that continue.”

The Rays starting pitching has been exceptional — and history-making. Pepiot has pitched 15 straight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. He became the second starter in major-league history to work five innings or more with one or zero hits allowed in three straight starts, joining San Diego starter Dylan Cease, who did it from July 13 to July 25 last year. Opponents are 2-for-45 (.044) with 15 strikeouts against him during the streak.

The other starters — Drew Rasmussen, Adrian Houser, Shane Baz and Ian Seymour — have been great lately too, putting up a lot of goose eggs. Throw in a bullpen that's had a league-low ERA the past three weeks too, and things are looking good.

“We're making it interesting, because we've been playing good team baseball,” Pepiot said in the Rays' clubhouse after the win on Thursday night. “We've been pitching it well, playing good defense, and the guys have been swinging the bats unbelievably well.”

A lethal combination, to be sure.

With 22 games left, they're right in it. They've got three more with the Guardians, and they need to keep winning. Then they go to Chicago for six games, three against the White Sox and three more against the Cubs, who are one of just five teams in MLB with 80 or more wins. 

And don't think the wins against the White Sox will be automatic. They've won five games in a row —  the second-longest streak in baseball, only behind the Rays. And then the final two weeks for the Rays are all against hated AL East rivals, series at home against Toronto and Boston, and ending the season with road trips to Baltimore and Toronto. 

All baseball fans ever ask for are meaningful games in September that lead to postseason games in October.

The Rays are knocking on that door again. We wouldn't have guessed that a few weeks ago. 

But we're liking it now.

Meaningful September baseball. It's a wonderful thing.

Related Rays stories

RAYS TAKE SERIES OPENER FROM GUARDIANS: Ryan Pepiot pitched five no-hit innings and Christopher Morel had three hits to lead the Rays to a 4-2 win over the Guardian. CLICK HERE

BRANDON LOWE REVEALS LOFTY GOAL: After etching his name on another franchise list, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe has his eyes on an exclusive list. CLICK HERE

RAYS HONOR MANGUM WITH PRESTIGIOUS AWARD: On Wednesday night, The Tampa Bay Rays celebrated Jake Mangum for his intangibles. CLICK HERE