Is Tonight the Night?

As you can see from the below, the Bucs head into Baltimore at 33-34, one game below the magic .500 mark. At least 4 times previously this season, the Bucs have been at this point only to lose.

Tonight they face the 32-33 Orioles in Baltimore. As if playing the Bucs first game in Baltimore since winning Game 7 of the 1979 World Series isn't pressure enough, newly crowned ace Phil Dumatrait will take on the .500 gods with the additional motivation of being able to push the Bucs to the top of the All-Important Standings.

Interleague play has not been favorable to the Bucs. They have a baseball worst 57-94 record vs the AL since play started. And they get no breaks this time around, playing a decent Orioles team, the first place White Sox, the .500 Blue Jays, the dangerous and improving Yankees and finishing with the very impressive Rays. Having 9 at home whould help, but if they falter in the first 6 on the road, .500 could be far away in the rear view mirror by the time they return to PNC.

The All-Important Standings
Yankees 34-33 - $209M
Pirates 33-34 1.0 $49M
Mets 31-34 2.0 $138M
Tigers 29-37 4.5 $139M