Martinez and Rasmussen are carrying the rotation now, and the margin for error is thin.

Tampa Bay's magic number is down to four with 20 games left, which should feel comfortable. It doesn't, quite, because McClanahan, Cleavinger, and Rodriguez are all on the injured list and the staff is running shorter than anyone would choose at this point in September. I noted this a few days ago and the situation hasn't changed — those arms are still out, and the club is managing.

What's kept it from becoming a genuine crisis is the two starters at the top. Rasmussen has been as good as anyone in the AL this year, and Martinez has logged 177 innings of dependable work. Between them, they've eaten enough starts to keep the bullpen from being completely overextended. Matz is the next option in the rotation, and his numbers this year have been uneven — he's the kind of arm you'd rather not lean on in October, but he's available now and that matters.

The Rays have been here before in a different sense — building around depth, mixing and matching, asking the pen to do more than a contender ideally wants. With a four-game cushion and 20 to play, they don't need to be perfect. They just need Martinez and Rasmussen healthy, and the rest of the staff to hold.