There is no tougher out in baseball than the Tampa Bay Rays. If the Rays win out against the Blue Jays this weekend, they will end up two wins short of winning 100 games. They still don’t have an American League Wild Card spot locked up, of course. A lot

There is no tougher out in baseball than the Tampa Bay Rays. If the Rays win out against the Blue Jays this weekend, they will end up two wins short of winning 100 games. They still don’t have an American League Wild Card spot locked up, of course. A lot can happen this weekend with them and the A’s and the Indians. It doesn’t change the fact that the Rays continue to be the best act in their sport that you wish a lot more people were watching.

On Monday night, the Rays came from behind to beat the Red Sox, 7-4, at Tropicana Field. The Yankees came to town after that. On Wednesday night, Charlie Morton and four relievers one-hit a team that is going to end up hitting 300 home runs this season, completing a two-game sweep and pretty much ending any chance the Yankees had to end up with best record in the AL.

No one has done a better managing job than Kevin Cash has over the past two seasons with the Rays. Bob Melvin won AL Manager of the Year for 2018 and Aaron Boone might win it this year because of everything the Yankees have overcome. But Cash’s team has 10 walk-off wins this season and got another one in extra innings against the Yankees on Tuesday night. Going into the last weekend of the regular season, only six teams in the sport have more wins than Cash’s team.

This is what Cash said after what Morton (16-6) and his bullpen did to the Yankees on Wednesday night:

"Every time [Morton] takes the ball, we really need him to step up. He certainly did tonight and quieted arguably the best lineup in baseball."

Think about it: The Rays are last in attendance, second in the AL East. The Red Sox spent more than $166 million more this year on baseball players than the Rays did. The Cubs spent around $155 million more. The Red Sox aren’t going to make the playoffs, and they went into Thursday’s games 11 games worse than the Rays in the standings. The Cubs aren’t going to make the playoffs, either. The Yankees have about the same $218 million payroll as the Cubs do, and they are just seven games better than the Rays in the AL East.

The Rays are run smart by Chaim Bloom and Erik Neander. They are managed smart. They play smart. They signed Morton away from the Astros in the offseason and he has been everything they wanted him to be. He pitched against the Yankees on Wednesday night the way he did when he got the ball against them in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series in 2017. Cash is right about Morton: They’ve needed him to step up, and not just now. Blake Snell, Cash’s ace last season, has had elbow problems this season, underwent arthroscopic surgery on July 29, has been limited to 22 starts this season and has won just six games.

Other than Morton, only one other Rays pitcher -- Ryan Yarbrough -- has won more than 10 games. But Cash makes it work, with his starters and relievers, with various closers and with his openers, a concept on which the Rays led the way a year ago in baseball. They are as tough an out as there is in Major League Baseball, even though there’s still a chance they might miss out on the playoffs again.

You remember what happened to the Rays in 2018. They started out 1-8 and 4-13. I saw them on Opening Day at The Trop last year against the Red Sox, and even after a game in which they came back and beat up Boston’s bullpen, I thought they were going to lose 100 games. They ended up winning 90 instead. From the middle of April on, they were nearly 30 games over .500. This year they have been one of the elite teams in the sport. Since the All-Star break, their winning percentage has been .632.

Austin Meadows has been their hitting star. They have three other guys -- Willie Adames, Tommy Pham and Avisail Garcia -- with more than 20 homers and Ji-Man Choi might get there. Travis d’Arnaud, whom the Mets didn’t want anymore, has been terrific in the middle of Cash’s batting order. Now, if the Rays can win out against the Blue Jays, nobody can keep them out of October.

I asked Neander once why he thought Cash was the right manager for their team, especially since he had no managing experience when he was picked to replace Joe Maddon in 2015. Here’s what Neander said:

“We asked ourselves who was going to be the best guy for us three years down the road. When we looked at it that way, the answer was very clearly him. The best way I can describe him is that he is authentic. ... And he has zero fear about messing up or making the wrong decision."

Cash’s Rays aren’t afraid of much, either. They can’t make people come watch them play. They just keep playing. You know who nobody wants to play next week? The Rays. The good news? If they do make it to next week, at least people will finally be watching.

Mike Lupica is a columnist for MLB.com.