ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thanks to a quirk of the schedule, the Rays’ first meeting of the season included champagne showers for the visitors.
In beating the Rays 4-0 Monday, the Astros celebrated clinching the American League West division title for the fifth time in six years.
And provided a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead for the Rays, whose bid to secure one of the three American League wild-card playoff berths, and potentially face the Astros (97-51) for higher stakes later in October, stalled with the loss.
The Rays dropped to 82-65, falling one game behind the race-leading Blue Jays and a half game ahead of the Mariners.
The schedule provides the Rays a rigorous test over the final 2 1/2 weeks, as they host the Astros for three games and the Blue Jays for four, then go to Cleveland to face the Central Division-leading Guardians and for a rematch in Houston before finishing in Boston.
All-Star Shane McClanahan, who starts Tuesday, was among the Rays who said they were looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s up to us. You’re going to see these teams in the playoffs and it’s going to be a lot of fun, truthfully.
“I think the tougher the competition we have I think the better we play. It’s just the way this group of guys are built. We love the big moment, we love the competition.”
The Rays didn’t put up much of a fight Monday, before a Tropicana Field gathering of 10,390, as they managed only five hits.
The Astros took the lead from the beginning, as leadoff man Jose Altuve jolted a 3-1 fastball from Rays starter Drew Rasmussen into the leftfield seats.
They added three more in the sixth.
Altuve got them started with an infield single. After Jeremy Pena walked, slugger Yordan Alvarez singled hard to rightfield, scoring one. Alex Bregman followed with a broken-bat shot to left that turned into a two-run double.
Rasmussen lasted six innings, but gave up four runs for the second straight start after not allowing more than two for seven straight. He allowed six hits and one walk, and struck out three.
