KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Tony Shilling of Knoxville took the 31st annual Marion County Fair Enduro at Knoxville Raceway Sunday night.

In a race that went the full 200 laps, the win paid him $1,000 for his efforts.

Two-time Enduro winner Tyler Sutter seemed to have the car to beat, but suffered myriad of issues that needed three pit stops. He would eventually retire a handful of laps from the end.

Each time, Sutter had issues, Shilling would retake the lead in a classic battle of “the tortoise and the hare.” Shilling’s final pass for the lead came with 8:49 left in the event. His 200th lap coincided with the two hour time limit.

It was Shilling’s first Enduro win, but he does have a pair of 360 sprint car wins to his credit here. Des Moines native Blake Miller finished second for the second year in a row, pocketing $700, and Todd Zobe grabbed $500 for third.

Just three red flag periods were encountered along the way for various reasons, such as debris on the track, as well as removal of stalled cars which were in a dangerous position.

The finish:

1. 74, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, 200 (laps completed)
2. 1, Blake Miller, Des Moines
3. 17, Todd Zobel, Des Moines
4. 75, Marty Erdman, Jonesville, MN
5. 4, Branden Lee, Knoxville
6. 5m, Mike Goff, Lacona
7. 14T, Tyler Sutter, Pleasantville
8. 7x, Ryan Lundy, Knoxville
9. 51, Jason Everley, Knoxville
10. 4E, Brian Clarke, Knoxville
11. 00J, Joe Graves, Melcher-Dallas
12. 69, Chad DeJong, Knoxville
13. 10s, Dave Seddon, Knoxville
14. 78, Mike DeJong, Knoxville
15. 50, Wes Alexander, Melcher-Dallas
16. 47T, Cory Moore, Knoxville
17. 10, Trevor Flesher, Lacona
18. 22, Seth Vernon, Knoxville
19. 33m, Jamie Matheny, Des Moines
20. 75A, Brad Alexander, Melcher-Dallas

HARRISON, N.J. -- Dome Torrent believes the referee "100 percent" made a mistake that cost New York City FC in Sunday's 2-1 Hudson River Derby loss to the New York Red Bulls.

A 60th-minute header by midfielder Daniel Royer gave the Red Bulls the match-winning lead, but it was a controversial non-call in the build-up to the goal that proved to be the match's main talking point.

In the preceding play, NYCFC thought they had conceded a corner, a point backed up by the linesman pointing with his flag to signal as such. Instead, the Red Bulls took a quick throw-in -- catching NYCFC, who were setting up for a corner, in limbo -- and Cristian Casseres Jr. crossed into the box where Royer headed it beyond goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

The right call was in fact a throw-in, but referee Alan Kelly never signalled that he was overriding the linesman's call. NYCFC head coach Torrent told Kelly that the lack of a clear signal was the deciding factor in his team's loss at Red Bull Arena.

"I say: 'You make a mistake and you know that.' He know that, he know that 100 percent," Torrent said after the match.

"You have to review on the TV if you don't. It's clear. It's not just one second, it's three seconds."

NYCFC captain Alex Ring backed up Torrent's comments, before accusing referee Kelly of being "part of the Red Bull team."

"It's just a shame to lose the points because I think the referee had a horrible game today," Ring said.

"He doesn't say anything, he just let the play continue as if he is part of the Red Bull team.

"I think it is just common decency. If it's that clear, the linesman shows to the corner flag -- I agree that it is a throw-in because I saw it the same way and then you let everyone know.

"I talked with a couple of Red Bull players who were surprised as well. I think we have to speak about this because it is not the first time we've had games go against us because of the referee."

What happened after the goal was organized chaos around Kelly, with nearly every NYCFC player on the field surrounding him angrily for several minutes. The protests continued after the match, with players and the staff arguing as Kelly walked off the field and through the tunnel at Red Bull Arena.

Alex Muyl, who made the quick decision to take a throw-in, didn't see the linesman signal a corner kick. He also didn't see any indication from Kelly that it was a throw-in or any other call. He just threw the ball in.

"For me, it was clearly a throw-in, that's why I threw it in," Muyl told ESPN FC. "If I had seen him put a corner, I would have gotten ready for a corner."

Australia women's vice-captain Rachael Haynes expects to be fit for the Women's Ashes Test starting on Thursday despite battling a tight quad.

Haynes was forced to retire on 47 during the first innings of Australia's three-day tour match against the England Academy at Marlborough. She did not bat in the second innings as Australia won by 240 runs. But the left-hander was confident she would be fit for the Test match.

"It's nothing too serious to be honest," Haynes said. "I just had a bit of tightness in my quad. I guess there's an opportunity now to have a couple of days to freshen up. I feel good. I went for a run this morning so I think I'll be fine."

Australia lead the multi-format Ashes series 6-0 after claiming two points for winning each of the three ODIs to start the series. A win in the Test match at Taunton would yield four points but even a draw would secure two and be enough for Australia to retain the Ashes, with just six points available in the last three T20Is to finish the series.

Australia's biggest issue is which players to select for the Test following a dominant display in the warm-up game. Young fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck did not play in the ODIs but took 4 for 31 and 1 for 19 in the tour game to put her name forward. Sophie Molineux was drafted into the squad after the ODIs were completed and put herself firmly in the selection frame with unbeaten scores of 65 and 33, as well as five wickets with her left-arm spin. She took 4 for 30 in the fourth innings, knocking over Fran Wilson and Danielle Wyatt, both of whom featured in the ODIs for England.

Haynes said she did not envy the selectors task of picking the final Test XI.

"It's going to be really tough. There's going to be some disappointed people I think. But the best thing about the tour match was lots of people put their hands up and put their names forward and it's a nice position to be in where you've got to make some tough decisions, so no doubt the selectors will sit down and work out what the best combination is for the Test.

"You play one Test match every 18 months and it's a really special occasion. We've got the possibility of maybe five players debuting. It's really exciting for the team but no doubt there's going to some people disappointed

Kane Williamson admitted it was "tough to swallow" the fact that the number of boundaries struck by each side eventually decided the World Cup winners. England and New Zealand were equal on runs after both the regulation part of the match and the Super Overs that followed, but England had scored a total of 26 boundaries to New Zealand's 17, including the Super Overs.

When asked if the system was a fair way to decide a World Cup final, Williamson was typically gracious while admitting the situation was completely unexpected.

"I suppose you never thought you would have to ask that question and I never thought I would have to answer it," said Williamson with a wry smile. "Yeah, while the emotions are raw, it is pretty hard to swallow when two teams have worked really, really hard to get to this moment in time and when sort of two attempts to separate them with a winner and a loser it still doesn't perhaps sort of shine with one side coming through, you know. It is what it is, really. The rules are there at the start."

Watch on Hotstar - The Super Over (India only)

"No one probably thought they would have to sort of result to some of that stuff. But yeah, very tough to swallow. A great game of cricket and all you guys probably enjoyed it.

"The rules are there I guess, aren't they, and certainly something you don't consider going into the match that maybe if we could have an extra boundary and then tied two attempts at winning it we will get across the line and they didn't think that either."

"I don't even know what the boundary count was but we were slightly behind. Yeah, very, very tough to - yeah, there you go."

Eoin Morgan said England considered the possibility of it coming into force during their chase but were also mindful of the rule before the match.

"When we took the field," said Morgan, when asked at which stage he knew that boundaries would decide the match in the case of a tied Super Over. "I asked what would happen because we sat in a meeting pre-tournament and then when it got close to the chase we started refreshing our minds whether it was going to be a Super Over or not and then communication from [fourth official] Aleem Dar up to the changing room before we batted and then reaffirmed when we went out to field."

A 151-run first-wicket stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad (85) and Shubman Gill (62) set up India's first-innings total of 255, after which pacer Navdeep Saini ran through West Indies A with a five-wicket haul to give India A a 2-0 lead over West Indies A.

Between them, Gayakwad and Gill struck nine fours and three sixes to bat nearly 31 overs, but a solid comeback from Romario Shepherd (4-36) in the death overs restricted India A from posting an even bigger total. The captain Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan and Hanuma Vihari were all dismissed in their twenties.

West Indies A began their chase poorly, losing John Campbell in the second over to Khaleel Ahmed. When Saini came to bowl, in as second-change, he dismantled the back-bone of West Indies A, removing Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase and Jonathan Carter.

From 77 for 5, West Indies A clawed their way to a respectable 190 courtesy Raymon Reifer's fighting 71, but with no support from the other end, West Indies fell 65 runs short with nearly six overs still to play. Shephard capped off a solid all-round day for himself by staying not out for 34.

Jofra Archer has credited the support of team-mates after holding his nerve to seal England's first World Cup victory.

Despite being the youngest in the side and having played only 13 ODIs before the World Cup final, Archer was the natural choice to bowl the Super Over that decided the game. And, while he started that over with a wide and conceded a six from the second legitimate delivery, he came back strongly to restrict New Zealand to 15 in total - the same number of runs that England scored in their Super Over - to secure victory for his side on the basis that they hit more boundaries in the game. It meant that, barely two months after making his international debut, Archer was a World Cup winner.

Afterwards, he said the last two months were "the best of his life" and thanked his team-mates for their "trust" and "respect." In particular, he was grateful for the calming words he was offered by England's senior players before and during that key over. One of them, Ben Stokes, knew exactly what he was going through: Stokes was charged with bowling the final over in 2016's World T20 final in Kolkata only to concede four successive sixes to an inspired Carols Brathwaite.

WATCH on Hotstar - The Super Over (India only)

"If we had lost today, I don't know what I would have done tomorrow," Archer said. "But Ben Stokes told me even before the over: 'Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you.' He came to talk to me because of Kolkata. He probably went through the same emotions but was on the losing side.

"The skipper, Eoin Morgan really believed in me, even after the six. A lot of captains could have had their head in their hands, but he was really calm and really understanding.

"And Joe Root came up to me and said some inspirational words as well. So I knew that, if we did lose, it wasn't the end of the world.

"I am glad that the guys look up to me and they trust me to do it. This is a great team. I cannot imagine a better bunch of guys to share it with. I can't put it into words.

"I have had the best two months of my life. Making my debut, making my World Cup debut and playing in the final in the space of two months. It is really special to me and hopefully I can look back 15 years down the line and say I was a part of that."

As Archer looked back on "the best two months" of his life, he expressed the hope that England's success could "inspire the next generation" to watch and play the game.

"I have had the best two months of my life," he said. "Making my debut, making my World Cup debut and playing in the final in the space of two months. It is really special to me and hopefully I can look back 15 years down the line and say I was a part of that.

"I hope that any kids watching that want to play cricket now for the whole week, for the whole year and try to pursue it to be professional. We want to inspire the next generation because someone will have to take over from us."

And, asked if he hoped this success could help "change cricket's elitist profile" in the UK, he replied "I hope so. Because of everyone's background they have a special role in the team."

LONDON -- Chasing. It seems that Novak Djokovic has been doing it since he was an inexperienced teenager, forever fighting for the elusive rewards in the golden age of men's tennis: the respect of his peers and the affection of a public that seemed to have eyes for only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

He has pursued those two men through the Grand Slam thickets and valleys, a member of the Big Three but always a precious step or two behind.

After Sunday at Wimbledon, Djokovic chases no more.

He locked down a career-defining win that accords him equal status with the twin titans of the era, Federer and Nadal. Djokovic accomplished it by earning his 16th Grand Slam title, staring down two match points and besting Federer in a historic five-set final: 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3).

It was the first Wimbledon final to be decided by a tiebreaker at 12-all in the final set. Even without that distinction, it will be compared to the match generally acknowledged as the greatest match of all time, the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal, won by Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7.

"This one is more straightforward maybe, in some ways, because we didn't have the rain delays, we didn't have the night coming in and all that stuff," Federer said afterward, comparing the two finals. "But sure, epic ending, so close, so many moments. Yeah, sure, there's similarities. I'm the loser both times, so that's the only similarity I see."

Djokovic's take: "It was probably mentally the most demanding match I was ever part of. The most physically demanding match was against Nadal in the finals of Australia [in 2012] -- that one went almost six hours. But mentally, this was a different level because of ... everything."

The "everything" in this four-hour, 57-minute duel included those two match points, the historic tiebreaker (who imagined it would decide the men's final the first year it was employed?) and even the crowd, which consisted mainly of Federer partisans. Late in the match, the "Let's go, Roger, let's go!" chant rolled down from the Centre Court upper stands like gravel in a chute, drowning out the cries of "Go Novak!"

Djokovic had a remedy for that. "It's hard to not be aware [of the crowd]," he said. "You have that kind of electric atmosphere, that kind of noise, especially in some decisive moments where we're quite even. You just try to ignore it. I like to transmutate it in a way: When the crowd is chanting 'Roger,' I hear 'Novak.' It sounds silly, but I try to convince myself that it's like that."

That, in a nutshell, is what Djokovic's life has been like in the Federer-Nadal era.

But now, Djokovic has actually caught up to and even surpassed those two players in almost every way that counts. Djokovic leads Nadal in the most prolific head-to-head matchup of the entire Open era 28-26. He leads Federer in the third-most contested rivalry 26-22. The only area in which Djokovic still trails them is the most widely publicized of them all: the total Grand Slam title count, still led by Federer's 20. Djokovic, like Fed and Rafa, has won on every Slam surface.

Before the match began, ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe said that if Federer won Sunday's match, he would probably think his Grand Slam title record is safe, but if Djokovic came through, it would make him think Federer's record is within reach.

Djokovic, 32, is a year younger than Nadal. He is just two major titles behind Nadal and four short of Federer's mark. Given Federer's age (37), Nadal's history of injury and Djokovic's extreme dedication to fitness and holistic health, it's easy to imagine the world No. 1 eventually surpassing Federer's mark.

"It seems like I'm getting closer, but they are also winning slams," Djokovic said of the hunt for the record. "We're kind of complementing each other. Whether I'm going to be able to do it or not, I don't know. [But] I'm not really looking at age as a restriction of any kind, for me at least."

Djokovic made a point of telling the Centre Court crowd during Sunday's trophy presentation that he was inspired by Federer's performance to seek greater longevity, which was either a great compliment to his rival, a shot fired across the bow or a combination of the two. "What I said on the court, I really meant it," Djokovic said later. "It just depends how long I'm going to play, whether I'm going to have a chance to make a historic No. 1 or slams."

This win was Djokovic's fifth at Wimbledon, which leaves him three behind Federer. That's a detail that helps explain why Federer remains the ultimate Wimbledon paragon. But if Federer is, and likely always will be, The Man at Wimbledon, Djokovic has replaced him as the man to beat. His record at Wimbledon has been remarkable in recent years. He has won more matches at the All-England Club (72) than at any other major. His major breakthrough came in 2011, three years after he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

"I kind of managed to find a balance between private and professional life [in 2011]," he said earlier this week. "That just allowed me to perform at my best. 2011 was one of the best, if not the best, season I ever had. It kind of changed things around for me. After that, I started to trust myself more in the deciding matches and points. It got me to a champion's mentality. I started to believe I could beat those two guys [Federer and Nadal] because they were so dominant. They were taking away all the slams."

Djokovic mastered Nadal in that 2011 Wimbledon final and has gone on to compile a 50-3 record at Wimbledon. Even Federer, with his eight titles, trails him 46-7 over that period. The process has elevated Wimbledon in Djokovic's eyes. His feelings for Wimbledon help explain why it was here, last summer, that Djokovic once again picked up the chase after a turbulent two years filled with self-doubt, injury and existential restlessness.

"Every time I step on the court, I reflect on what has happened the previous year," Djokovic said after his opening win of the fortnight. "Last year, I dropped out of the top 20 of the world. I was still struggling coming back from injury and surgery to find the desired level of tennis. It was a huge, just huge importance to win this trophy. After this tournament last year, I started to play my best tennis. That got me to No. 1. [Wimbledon] does have a special place in my heart for many different reasons."

Sunday's epic final -- and the way it will be viewed over the coming years -- will tether this tournament even more firmly to Djokovic's affections. Wimbledon might become the tournament at which Djokovic surpasses Nadal and Federer in the G.O.A.T. debate. Wimbledon still has the most cache, and Djokovic has mastered every dimension of what it takes to win. The favor often shown his rivals -- the Federer-Nadal semifinal was the most hotly anticipated match of this tournament -- might have helped Djokovic.

Djokovic is aiming for that major title record, no doubt about it. He has survived the equivalent of a tennis player's midlife crisis and rebounded by winning three of the past four majors. Federer was asked if he found it "exciting" to be in a race with a few rivals hoping to break his record.

"Well, it used to be a really, really big deal," he said, deflecting to his effort to break the previous record of 14 held by Pete Sampras. "Eventually you tie. Then eventually you break. That was big. It's been different since. I take motivation from different places, not so much from trying to stay ahead, because I broke the record. If somebody else does -- well, that's great for them. You can't protect everything anyway."

Novak Djokovic doesn't need to chase anymore. He's running neck-and-neck now and at a pace that suggests he has plenty of kick left for the home stretch.

LAS VEGAS -- Brandon Clarke made a dunk with 10.7 seconds left in overtime and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans 88-86 on Sunday in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League semifinals.

The Grizzlies will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in the title game. Minnesota beat Brooklyn 85-77 in the second semifinal.

Clarke had 23 points -- including four in overtime -- and 14 rebounds to lead Memphis. Tyler Harvey, whose 3-pointer tied it in regulation, added 13 points, and Bruno Caboclo had 12.

"We had some moments in the game today where we couldn't score, things weren't going the right way, we were trying [but] our legs were not there," said Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins, the only NBA head coach to also coach his summer league team. "[Brandon] was just being super verbal with the team ... I'm really proud of how he kept the team together. Obviously the plays he makes down the stretch are very impressive."

Clarke, who was taken with the 21st pick in the draft via a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, wasn't able to participate with the Grizzlies until the NBA cleared the deal and it became official July 6. In four games, he's averaging 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.

"It's pretty much getting off all that rust I kind of had on me," Clarke said. "It was tough at the start because I couldn't really do much with the team. Every time that I play basketball I want to win. I think that we all just kind of feel that as a team. Even though this is not like a real NBA tournament versus the big NBA dudes, we also want to win."

Trevon Bluiett led the Pelicans with 16 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Marcos Louzada Silva each had 14 and Kenrich Williams added 10.

New Orleans reached the final four despite missing No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, who took a knee-to-knee hit in the second quarter of the team's first game on opening night and was shut down for the remainder of the league.

"We started this summer league off being about Zion Williamson; once he was out, then it became something different," New Orleans summer league coach Fred Vinson said. "This group really bonded together. They supported each other. Guys who were playing on the floor, guys who weren't playing on the floor, they supported each other. I wanted those guys to become a team."

TIMBERWOLVES 85, NETS 77

Naz Reid scored 20 points in 19 minutes in Minnesota's victory over Brooklyn.

"The goal since we even got here, trying to win everything," Reid said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we definitely have been able to take over this past week. I just want to continue that tomorrow."

Jordan McLaughlin added 12 points, and Mitchell Creek had 11 for Minnesota, the only undefeated team at 6-0.

"It's all credit to the players, and how they compete so far," Minnesota coach Pablo Prigioni said. "As coaches, we want to help them to become a championship team. This is summer league, but at the end of the day 32 teams show up in Vegas, only two [can] compete for the championship."

Jarrett Allen led Brooklyn with 15 points and 14 rebounds in 21 minutes.

Opting to focus on the upcoming season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis has decided not to participate in the upcoming USA Basketball training camp and FIBA Basketball World Cup, sources confirmed to ESPN.

League sources familiar with the situation confirmed to ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne that Davis is not ruling out playing for the 2020 Olympic team, but wants to spend this offseason focusing on the 2019-20 season with his new team and helping the Lakers contend for a championship.

Yahoo Sports first reported Davis' decision not to participate in next month's USA Basketball training camp in Las Vegas and to remove his name from consideration for September's FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Davis was a member of the 2012 USA Olympic squad and also of the national team that played in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

He was officially introduced as a Laker on Saturday after he was acquired in a blockbuster deal that sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to the No. 4 overall pick De'Andre Hunter, two first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and cash to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers also dealt Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards as part of the trade.

There have been 13 combined no-hitters in MLB history, including the Los Angeles Angels' emotional tearjerker on Friday night. On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays nearly threw the first combined perfect game in MLB history.

Ryne Stanek started and retired the first six Baltimore Orioles. Ryan Yarbrough came on and retired the next 18 in a row, and when Joey Wendle made a nice play for the final out of the eighth inning, it felt like the Rays would finish it off. The baseball gods weren't smiling on this day, however, and Hanser Alberto led off the ninth with a routine ground ball to second base -- except the Rays were in a shift with three infielders on the left side of the bag, and Alberto's grounder dribbled into right field to ruin the perfect game. It was just Alberto's second hit against a shift this season that went to the right side of the field.

The Rays settled for a 4-1 victory, and this game served as the exclamation point on how well the Stanek/Yarbrough combination has performed this season. Stanek has served as the Rays' opener 26 times and has excelled in the role: 41 innings pitched, 28 hits, 11 runs, 13 walks and 46 strikeouts, just two home runs allowed, for a 1.98 ERA. The Rays are 17-9 when he starts, and he has put up a zero 19 times. Maybe most impressive is that he's not just a one-inning opener, as he has pitched two innings in 12 of his 26 starts, like he did on Sunday.

Yarbrough has followed Stanek to the mound eight times, and the Rays are 6-2 in those games. Overall, he's 8-3 with a 4.26 ERA between four starts and 11 relief appearances. Batters are hitting .223 against him with a .266 OBP. Among pitchers with at least 60 innings, he has allowed the 11th-lowest OBP in the majors -- and that's after an 8.10 ERA in April that landed him back in Triple-A for four starts.

One reason the Rays' opener strategy has worked is that both players have complete acceptance and understanding of their roles. When I talked to Stanek and Yarbrough in spring training, they both told me that seeing Sergio Romo buy in last season -- he was the first reliever Cash tried as an opener -- was important, as Romo was a longtime veteran who once got the final out of a World Series.

Stanek and Yarbrough, meanwhile, were young guys still trying to find their place in the majors. Stanek had made 21 appearances in 2017, but had a breakout season in 2018 with a 2.98 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 66⅓ innings. Yarbrough, who grew up a Rays fan, is more of a finesse lefty who went 16-6 with a 3.91 ERA as a rookie. He's perfectly suited for the bulk role as a guy who can go through the order two times:

First time or second time: .203 average, .561 OPS, 22% strikeout rate
Third time: .318 average, .979 OPS, 8% strikeout rate

What's interesting is the Rays haven't actually used the opener as much as they might have intended back in spring training. Cash opened the season with three set spots in his rotation with Blake Snell, Charlie Morton and Tyler Glasnow, and even though Glasnow made just eight starts before landing on the injured list, outside of Stanek, the Rays have used Hunter Wood twice and Andrew Kittredge once as openers.

Two things happened: The bullpen was throwing a lot of innings early in the season, and Yonny Chirinos pitched so well that he went from a bulk-innings guy to a regular in the rotation. The addition of Brendan McKay, who has looked impressive in his first three starts, now gives Cash four regular starters to go with Stanek. Glasnow, who dominated before his injury, had a setback as he rehabbed his forearm strain and is expected out until the end of August (putting his season in jeopardy).

The bigger question about the Rays: Is there enough here to catch the Yankees? Or is settling to be the best non-division winner in the American League as good as it will get in 2019? The Rays are six games back of the New York Yankees -- a 4-9 head-to-head mark against the Bombers hasn't helped -- but they begin their biggest series in years on Monday, as they head to Yankee Stadium for four games. They also play the Boston Red Sox six times by Aug. 1, so these next two-plus weeks will tell us a lot about the staying power of the Rays.

Three important factors:

• They need 2018 Cy Young winner Blake Snell to get on a roll like last season. Hard to believe, but he has been the Rays' worst starter with a 4.70 ERA. His peripherals are much better than that, but peripherals don't win ballgames. He has to avoid the blowup starts that mean he has averaged just 5.0 innings on the dot per start. He's better than that. He starts Monday with a chance to set the tone for the series.

• Offensive consistency. The Rays are averaging 4.72 runs per game, ninth in the American League and well below the 5.64 of the Red Sox (going into Sunday night) and 5.63 of the Yankees. They're 4-9 against the Yankees because they've averaged just 3.0 runs per game in those 13 contests. They could use another power bat, as their home run rate is better only than those of the Orioles and three teams at the bottom of the AL Central.

Maybe Nate Lowe will help. The rookie first baseman, back for a second stint in the majors, homered three times over the weekend and had more hits on Sunday. Yes, that came against the Orioles, but he also homered in two of the final three games before the All-Star break against the Yankees.

• Back of the bullpen. The Rays were 19-9 at the end of April, as Jose Alvarado and Diego Castillo looked like the best one-two relief combos in the majors, with gifs of Alvarado throwing 100 mph fastballs moving like Wiffle balls sweeping across Twitter. Alvarado spent most of June on the injured list, then dropped to 0-5 with that brutal loss to the Orioles on July 3 in which he gave up six runs in the ninth. He's back on the IL with an oblique strain. Castillo, meanwhile, just returned from the IL. Others, such as Emilio Pagan and Colin Poche, have stepped up, but the Rays' pen needs to rediscover that April mojo.

Even if the Rays just earn an American League wild card, this isn't a team you want to face in October, especially if Snell finds his lights-out stuff again and starts the wild-card game. Morton could win the Cy Young Award with the way he's pitching, so maybe he starts the wild-card game. And then there's the silent weapon of the Ryne/Ryan combo.

Of course, getting there is no sure thing, either, with the A's, Indians, Red Sox and Rangers breathing down their necks. So far, the opener and everything else has worked for the Rays' first 95 games. Will it all continue to work for the full 162?