CHICAGO -- The Rays entered the week with a prime opportunity to gain some ground in the American League Wild Card race . With a daunting schedule over the final weeks, Tampa Bay needed to take care of business against the White Sox to keep its playoff hopes alive.

Unfortunately, the Rays dropped two of three games to the White Sox in this series, including a 5-1 loss at Rate Field on Thursday afternoon. The series loss moves them to two games under .500 (72-74), severely dampening their chances of a postseason berth with 16 games left on the schedule.

“I don’t have a message right now,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We need to play better. They know that.”

Things were already stacked against the Rays heading into the final part of the season, considering they have one of the hardest r

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