Ex-Pilgrim star Dan Wheeler, now a reliever with Tampa Bay, likes the direction in which his team is headed.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

BOSTON — Dan Wheeler was running past the Green Monster during his pregame workout when he turned to look at the standings displayed on the scoreboard.

“It looked good seeing Tampa Bay in first,” he said.

It’s the sort of thing that could cause the fans at Fenway to take a second look.

Can that be right? The Rays leading the A.L. East? In June?

Wheeler wasn’t the only man in a Rays uniform to sneak a peek at the scoreboard standings before last night’s game.

“I looked out there,” said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, nodding toward the towering, left-field wall from his seat in the dugout while his team took batting practice. “We like it that our name is no longer on the bottom. We want to keep it that way.”

It may not be that way for long. The Rays’ lead over the second-place Sox slipped to a half-game last night when Boston, thanks to homers by Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, pounded out a 7-4 victory. Tonight, the Sox send ace Josh Beckett to the mound.

Still, it’s not wildly wishful thinking on Maddon’s part to think the Rays can remain contenders, even though they’ve finished last in all but one of their first 10 seasons.

“My biggest concern,” he said, “is keeping us where we are.”

The Rays hope to stay atop the A.L. East the same way they got there.

“The way we got here,” said Maddon, “is with pitching and defense, not three or four hot bats.”

Prior to this season, it was discouraging to play for the Rays, who were consistently cellar-dwellers.

“Guys were playing hard,” said Wheeler, the Pilgrim High grad who came to Tampa Bay in a trade with Houston last July, “but we had no hope of doing anything.

“We’re all in the game for one reason — to win a championship. We still have a long way to go, but, the way we’re playing, we have something to hope for.

“It all begins with our starting rotation,” Wheeler said. “They’re putting us in position to win. Defense makes good pitching better, and our defense has been outstanding. We’ve got rabbits out there. As a pitcher, you want to make the hitters put the ball in play so our guys can run it down.”

The bullpen, with Wheeler playing the role of set-up man, also has done its part.

That may be the most remarkable turnaround of all, since the Rays’ pen last year posted an ERA of 6.16, the first bullpen in the last 50 years to record an ERA in excess of 6.00.

“Danny has been really good,” Maddon said of Wheeler. “He’s been very versatile and very consistent. He’s been good against both right-handers and left-handers. He’s a professional. He’s prepared every day. To say he’s been important to us is an understatement.”

Wheeler, who was drafted by the Rays in 1996, a year after he graduated from Pilgrim, quickly advanced to the big leagues, getting called up to Tampa Bay late in the ’99 season. He divided his time the next two seasons between Triple A and the majors before being signed by the Braves in 2002, when he spent the whole year in Richmond.

Signed by the Mets the following year, he spent almost two seasons in New York before being traded to the Astros in August, 2004. He helped Houston win the National League pennant in 2005 and appeared in two World Series games.

He was surprised to be dealt to Tampa Bay last season just before the trading deadline. He was aware he might be traded, but felt it would be to a contender.

“I was really happy in Houston,” he said. “I had good friends there. But I understand how this game works.”

As it turns out, the Rays suddenly are contenders.

“When I first got here,” said Wheeler, who’s currently filling the role of closer with Troy Percival on the DL, “I saw a lot of young talent that just needed some experience, that only needed to learn how to win.”

There’s plenty of pitching talent. At the top of the rotation, the Rays have lefty Scott Kazmir, who’s 5-1 with a miniscule ERA of 1.22; James Shields (4-3, 3.24); and last night’s starter, Matt Garza, who came in with a 4-1 record and 3.78 ERA. But a key to the Rays’ surprising success has been the performance of Edwin Jackson (3-4, 3.70) and fifth starter Andy Sonnanstine (6-3, 4.96.) Wheeler, who is tied for the league lead in holds, with 13, has an ERA of 2.08 in 26 innings of relief. Opponents are batting just .163 against him. He picked up his first save of the season last Thursday against the White Sox and then his first win (in four decisions) the following night against Chicago.

“I’m a small piece to the puzzle,” he said modestly.

The pieces have fallen into place for the Rays this season, but may yet fall apart. Last night was the start of a nine-game road trip that will take them across the country, from Boston to Texas, to face the slugging Rangers, and then to Anaheim, to take on the A.L. West-leading Angels.

“I’m really looking forward to this trip,” said Maddon, “to see how good we actually are. It’s nice to be in first place on June 3. I want to see us in the same position on Oct. 3rd.”

jdonalds@projo.com