FRED GOODALL
AP Baseball Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — It will take a historical turnaround, but Joe Maddon believes the last-place Tampa Bay Rays can still make the playoffs.

No major league team has fallen as far as 18 games under .500 and rebounded to earn a postseason berth in the same year. The ever-optimistic manager of the team with baseball’s worst record insists the underachieving Rays are capable.

Tampa Bay lost 14 of 15 games to dip to 24-42 on June 10, its lowest point since the end of 2007, the season before they began a stretch in which the made the playoffs four of six seasons.

They entered Tuesday night’s game against AL East rival Baltimore 15 games under .500, winners of four of their previous five — 13 games behind first-place Toronto.

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