Rays Win Again, Tie MLB Record With 13th Straight Victory to Start Season
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the first time in two weeks, things weren't looking good for the red hot Tampa Bay Rays. They were down a couple of runs to the Boston Red Sox and starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs had to leave the game early with an injury to his pitching arm.
It looked liked their amazing winning streak was about to end. But then the Rays scored a season-high seven runs in the fifth inning — six after two outs — to pummel the Red Sox 9-3 at Tropicana Field. It was their 13th straight win to start the season, tying the major-league record set by the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves.
''We've got a bunch of guys that are seeing the ball well right now and we've come up with some timely hitting. That might have been the most timely to date,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "(The streak) is pretty amazing. I'm glad that we did it at home because we had tremendous fan support the entire home stand.
"When we needed to get. those timely hits, we did. There isn't one part of our game that we're not happy with right now.''
It was the fourth straight series sweep for the Rays, ripping through Detroit, Washington, Oakland and the Red Sox. They have won nine straight home games to start the season — a franchise record — and will look to win No. 14 on Friday night in Toronto.
The Rays also have caught the eye of the betting community. They were plus-2200 to win the World Series before the season started, and now they are down to plus-850 according to the gambling website Fanduel. The Atlanta Braves are still the betting favorite at plus-550, but the Rays have moved up from the 15th choice to the fourth.
There were concerns early when Springs had to leave in the fourth inning. Springs, who pitched 13 scoreless innings in his first two starts, allowed a solo home run to Boston right field Rob Refsnyder with two outs in the first, then threw two perfect innings in the second and third. But facing Justin Turner to lead off the fourth, he felt numbness in his forearm and had to come out of the game.
"The pitch prior, I felt a little bit of something in the elbow, forearm area. it was kind of hard to pinpoint,'' Springs said. "The warmup, I had a little zinger in the forearm. I just thought it was best to not continue till we figure out what it is. Hopefully it was just a nerve that flared out. Gut feeling, I'm hoping for the best. I've never had any elbow issues or anything like that, so this is all kind of new. Right now I feel fine.''
Garrett Cleavinger came out of the Tampa Bay bullpen on short notice and gave up a double to Turner. He walked Triston Casas on a 14-pitch at-bat, and then walked Bobby Dalbec to load the bases. Cleavinger left after 25 pitches and rookie Kevin Kelly came in. Boston went ahead 2-1 on a ground ball from Kiki Hernandez that scored Turner.
Boston made it 3-1 in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom of the inning, Boston manager Alex Cora pulled starter Corey Kluber with two on and two outs, leaving with a 3-2 lead. The Rays then got four straight hits and a hit batter, scoring six runs against Richard Bleier.
Boston wouldn't get another hit off of Kelly, and fellow rookie Braden Bristo, making his big-league debut, got the last nine outs while allowing just one walk. He had four strikeouts.
"That's quite the debut for Braden. There was a lot of swing and miss in there,'' Cash said of Bristo.
The 13 straight wins also set a Rays' record as the longest streak ever in their 25-plus years, breaking the previous mark set in 2004. They have outscored their opponents 101-30 through 13 games, most since 1884.
The Rays got two more home runs on Thursday, a first-inning solo shot from Yandy Diaz and a solo shot in the seventh inning from Brandon Lowe, his fifth in his last five starts. They have hit 32 home runs in 13 games, the third-most ever in MLB history.
The Red Sox have now lost 13 straight games to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Their last win came on April 22 last year, but then lost their next nine games in 2022 and have lost the first four this year. Ironically, the Red Sox beat Kluber last year when he was starting for the Rays.
Drew Rasmussen will start for the Rays in Toronto on Friday night, with first pitch at 7:07 p.m. ET. Rasmussen is 2-0 this season, and also, like Springs, has pitched 13 scoreless innings so far this season. He will square off with Toronto starter Jose Berrios, who is 0-2 so far with an 11.17 earned run average.
