Taylor Walls Showed Exactly What Rays Need From Bottom of Lineup in October

Drew Rasmussen will rightfully get most of the attention after the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League East on Tuesday.

Yandy Díaz deserves plenty of it, too.

But Taylor Walls quietly put together one of the most important performances of the night.

And it was pretty much the perfect example of what the Rays will need from the bottom of their lineup in October.

Walls finished 3-for-4 in Tampa Bay's 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees, but his impact went considerably further than the box score.

In the seventh inning, with the Rays holding onto a 1-0 lead, Walls laid down a bunt that completely caught the Yankees off guard. Nobody covered first base, Chandler Simpson scored, and Tampa Bay suddenly had some breathing room.

It wasn't a home run or even a ball hit 110 miles per hour.

It was simply good baseball at the perfect time, which is how the Rays got to this position in the first place.

Walls wasn't done on Tuesday as two batters later, Yandy Díaz delivered a two-run single and third-base coach Brady Williams aggressively sent Walls home. Walls made the decision pay off, scoring to extend Tampa Bay's lead to 4-0.

Then, fittingly enough, Walls eventually recorded the final out that officially made the Rays American League East champions.

That's about as complete of a performance as you can ask for.

And I think there is a bigger takeaway here for Tampa Bay.

The Rays are going to see some really good pitching in October. We already got a preview of that Tuesday when Carlos Rodón shut them out in the first game before Tampa Bay had to turn around and face Max Fried a few hours later.

You can't expect Junior Caminero, Díaz and the middle of the lineup to do everything against pitchers like that, and there have certainly been moments this summer where the middle of the lineup has struggled.

The bottom of the order has to contribute.

Tuesday, it did when Ben Williamson found a way to reach with a bloop single. Cedric Mullins worked a walk against a difficult left-handed matchup. Walls continued putting together productive at-bats and creating problems once he reached base.

That's what can make this Rays lineup difficult to navigate.

Tampa Bay doesn't necessarily need its seventh, eighth and ninth hitters to become power threats. It needs them to extend innings, reach base, and create opportunities for the top of the lineup.

Walls showed exactly what that can look like Tuesday.

The biggest swing of the night might have belonged to Díaz.

But one of the most Rays-like performances belonged to Taylor Walls. And a full offensive performance is what turns this team from a first-round exit into a deep postseason run.