Rays Made Opposing Offenses Play 'Boring Baseball' All Season

The Tampa Bay Rays have plenty of reasons to feel good about their pitching staff heading into the postseason.

Drew Rasmussen has looked like an ace. Freddy Peralta was just named the American League Pitcher of the Month for September. Nick Martinez has been reliable all season, and Griffin Jax gives Kevin Cash another interesting option.

And one of the biggest reasons why the confidence is so high for me when it comes to this pitching rotation is this one number that could be very important once Saturday's ALDS begins.

Tampa Bay's pitching staff finished the regular season with a 6.9% walk rate, the lowest in Major League Baseball.

The Rays aren't consistently giving teams free opportunities to score.

With a low walk rate, Tampa Bay is doing a great job of avoiding situations that can easily let games get out of hand with one swing of the bat. Limiting base traffic means limiting runs, and if your offense doesn't have the best night, they don't have to worry about bringing too much run support to the plate because your pitching staff is doing a great job. We saw that happen a ton during the summer, and the Rays still found a way to lead the American League with the best record heading into the postseason.

If you're going to score against this pitching staff, there is a good chance you're going to have to earn it, and they have proved they can handle that as well when the games are close.

Tampa Bay went 25-4 in one-run games and 61-35 in games decided by three runs or fewer.

The pitching staff once again deserves a lot of credit for that.

One interesting question comes up when Tampa Bay puts together its ALDS roster, and it's the opposite of that.

Brody Hopkins has some of the best stuff available to Cash, but control has been something to watch. Maybe the fact that the rest of the pitching staff is so good at limiting walks makes it easier to take a chance on someone like Hopkins?

I think there's at least an argument for it, especially since he has been bringing nasty stuff to the mound since his promotion to the major leagues. 

The Tampa Bay Rays have done an excellent job creating "boring baseball" from their opposing offenses, but that's exactly what needs to be done in order to win games. With a potential lockout looming, there has never been a better time for this franchise to go after their first-ever World Series title.