Hey, hey, the Rays are mashing home runs at a pace that places them in big (red) company!

FOX Sports MLB reporter extraordinaire Ken Rosenthal Twittered out a fascinating stat yesterday. Turns out, Tampa Bay almost is in lockstep with the 1970 Big Red Machine that knocked a crazy 191 home runs en route to a 102-win regular season.

Beware the Big Blue Machine! #Rays have one fewer HR than ’70 #Reds through same number of games, per team’s PR czar, #Rays’ Rick Vaughn.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 19, 2016

Joe knew the Rays’ bats had picked up steam, but this is one of the wildest stats in some time. They begin a three-game series against the Tigers with a major-league-high 58 home runs through 38 games. The Orioles are second with 57 through 39, and the Mets are third with 56 through 40.

Still, it would be swell if these home runs translated to bigger numbers on the scoreboard. The Rays are 23^rd in the majors in runs scored with 159, and they’re 18^th in the league with an average of 4.18 runs per game.

But given how silent Tampa Bay’s sticks had been in recent seasons, Joe figures beggars can’t be choosers.

Who knows if the lumber luck will continue? But when Logan Morrison – Logan freakin’ Morrison – launches bombs into the second deck at Rogers Centre, it’s clear some kind of magical mojo is at work.