ST. PETERSBURG [url=http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-tom-seaver-jersey]http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-tom-seaver-jersey[/url] , Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays, who won more games than any American League team that didn’t make the playoffs, have rewarded manager Kevin Cash with a contract extension that runs through 2024, plus a club option for 2025.The 40-year-old Cash had one year remaining on a five-year, $5 million deal he signed when he replaced Joe Maddon after the 2014 season.Financial terms were not disclosed. Both Cash, who had no previous managerial experience when he was hired, and management said it was an easy decision to continue their relationship after a bounce-back season.“Kevin has a long list of positives. … It’s been a joy to see him blossom,” general manager Erik Neander said Tuesday. “He’s very deserving of this extension. We’re excited for the years ahead.”The budget-minded Rays surprisingly won 90 games, finishing third in the AL East behind the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, despite trimming payroll last winter and purging the roster again in July to transform themselves into a young team with a promising future.Cash, who turns 41 in December, has led the Rays to a 318-330 record over four seasons.“There’s reason to be really excited about the way our team played, the youth and the athleticism, and the way these guys really came together in the second half of the year,” Cash said.“I’d like to think [url=http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey]http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey[/url] , other than the teams that are playing playoff baseball right now, we might have been the most talked about team in a positive light at the end of the season,” the manager added during a conference call. “It’s an honor to be a part of that.”The Rays lost 12 of 15 to begin the season, digging themselves into a hole few people thought they were capable of escaping after trading Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson and Jake Odorizzi and losing starting pitcher Alex Cobb to free agency.The club chopped more salary in July, trading pitchers Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi and Alex Colome, as well as catcher Wilson Ramos and outfielder Denard Span to make way for younger players.With first-time All-Star Blake Snell leading the majors with 21 wins and an AL-best 1.89 ERA and Cash overseeing an innovative plan to use “openers” and “bullpen days” to compensate for a shortage of proven starting pitching, the Rays went 41-25 after the All-Star break, including 19-9 in September.“This is a year we put a lot on his plate,” Neander said. “We made a lot of moves all the way into spring training that left a lot of doubt, potentially within our clubhouse with respect to what we could accomplish this year.“To see him navigate that, to see him navigate the difficult stretch we had out of the gates, the maturity [url=http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-omar-vizquel-jersey]http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-omar-vizquel-jersey[/url] , his approach, the unwavering support he had from our coaching staff … was really impactful” and makes Cash the right man for the job “not only today, but for the forseeable future,” the GM added.Cash doesn’t anticipate the extension creating additional pressure because expectations have remained consistent for an organization that made the playoffs four times in six seasons from 2008 to 2013.“The expectation is to go out there and find ways to win,” Cash said, “and we get to do it with a really energetic group of players.” PHOENIX — Closer No. 1 has been out since mid-July.Closer No. 2, since Thursday.The loss of Brandon Morrow and Pedro Strop has not left the Cubs anything close to out of late-inning options, however.Article continues below ...“It would be real nice if we could be one of those teams that has the best bullpen ERA in the league,” president Theo Epstein said dryly before Monday’s game.“Oh, wait. That’s us.”You could look it up.The Cubs led the NL in bullpen ERA by a quarter of a run before their 5-1 victory over to Arizona on Monday, recently taking over the league lead in that category from the suddenly fragile Diamondbacks‘ corps.The Cubs did not need a closer Monday, when Javier Baez and Kris Bryant hit two-run homers and Kyle Hendricks was one out short of his fourth career complete game while dropping his ERA to 1.76 in 13 September starts the last three seasons.“It started with fastball command,” Hendricks said. “Willy (catcher Willson Contreras) and I were really aggressive early, which is what I’ve been needing to do lately.”Cubs left-hander Mike Montgomery (4-5) is scheduled to face Matt Andriese (3-4), who will make his first start for the Diamondbacks after being acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline.Maybe nothing illustrates the Cubs’ all-arms-on-deck bullpen depth more than their 3-2 victory against Cincinnati last Friday [url=http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-jason-kipnis-jersey]Jason Kipnis Jersey[/url] , when former Diamondback left-hander Jorge De La Rosa pitched the ninth for his first career save after back-to-back scoreless innings by Dillon Maples and Jaime Garcia.The Cubs acquired De La Rosa after he was designated for assignment in early August and added Garcia after he had been released by Toronto. Maples has spent most of the year in the minors.“It says a lot about the mettle of those guys,” Epstein said.“We’ve had a deep group all year with contributions from many, many relievers — some expected, some unexpected. They have been resilient. They’ve been executing pitches. It has been next man up. That’s the way it will continue to be.“Obviously we’ve missed Brandon and we’re missing ‘Stropy’ right now. Our pen is more than just one or two guys.”Morrow had 22 saves before going on the disabled list in mid-July, and he is expected back soon, perhaps later in the Arizona series. Strop has 13 saves, and five others have at least one.The Cubs’ last five victories have been saved by five different closers — Jesse Chavez, Strop, Randy Rosario, De La Rosa and Steve Cishek.“It’s not exactly the way we drew it up, but we have quality relievers out there who are unafraid and going right at guys and making quality pitches,” Epstein said. “We feel confident we are going to protect leads. It’s just a matter of getting those leads.”The Cubs’ five-run burst was their biggest since a 6-5 loss to Washington on Sept. 8. They have scored 20 runs in their last eight games.The Diamondbacks’ offense has fared a little better recently, scoring 27 runs on a seven-game road trip to Colorado and Houston and getting only three hits Monday. They have lost eight of 10 to fall five games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and five games behind St. Louis for the second wild card.“We want to go out and play our best baseball. That’s all we can do right now,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.“We’ve experienced a lot of frustration over the past 2 1/2, three weeks [url=http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-lonnie-chisenhall-jersey]Lonnie Chisenhall Jersey[/url] , but we have to place that aside. We haven’t played our best baseball in a long time, so we want to focus on being ourselves and see where that lands us.”Montgomery has a 3.87 ERA while splitting time between starting and relieving. He rejoined the Cubs’ rotation on Aug. 30 and has been on a limited pitch count since, getting into the fifth inning only once in his last three turn while giving up two runs in four innings in each of his last two.Montgomery has been much more effective as a starter, going 4-4 with a 3.48 in 16 starts. He has made 19 relief appearances. He did not face the Diamondbacks in their previous series after the All-Star break and has a 1.69 ERA in three career outings against them, one start.Andriese, who has a 7.31 ERA in six appearances with Arizona, did not have decision in four starts with Tampa Bay this season, where he was used as an “opener,” logging only 11 1/3 innings in those starts. He was 3-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 27 appearances with the Rays this season after making 36 starts in 2016-17.His Diamondbacks ERA was skewed by his last outing, when he gave up seven runs in 1 1/3 innings when he asked to take one for the team in the late stages of a 13-2 loss at Colorado last Monday.“I think he can go out there and do his job and execute a game plan,” Lovullo said. “He’s pitched in a very rugged AL East and had a lot of success. Since he’s been here, it’s been good and bad. Him getting the baseball is going to be a whole new fresh outlook on things. I wanted to see what it looked like.”