Zach Eflin Shines in Rays' Debut, Adds Another Piece to Solid Tampa Bay Rotation

Zach Eflin made his Tampa Bay debut on Saturday, and allowed just one run and three hits in five innings of work during the Rays' 12-2 win over Detroit. It's not a surprise that the Rays are pitching so well, allowing just two runs and 12 hits with 16 strikeouts over the first two games.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It was a bit of a surprise last winter when the Tampa Bay Rays' only big free agency splash was for starting pitcher Zach Eflin. The Rays, after all, have one of he deepest pitching staffs in baseball.

But the Rays liked what they saw in Eflin, a Florida native who turns 29 next week and has spent the past seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. They signed him to a three-year, $40 million deal — and it's paying quick dividends.

Eflin made his Rays debut on Saturday, and allowed just one run and three hits in five innings of work during Tampa Bay's easy 12-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. It was the second straight win for the Rays, who have allowed only two runs in two games.

"I felt good throughout the whole outing and it was nice to get some runs on the board and watch those guys go to work,'' said Eflin, who benefited from Rays hitters scoring 10 runs in the first four innings, including a seven-spot in the third. "They played great defense today and obvious hit the ball all over the place. It kind of freed me up and allowed me to go straight after guys.

"It was a good day at the yard. You never root against runs. It's fun to watch, but it's really good for us because we could go right after guys. You love watching guys go to work. I was able to get ahead of guys and put guys away. ''

"It was a good day at the yard."

Zach Eflin talks about his @RaysBaseball debut Saturday and watching his teammates put on a show at the plate. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/CM8ULyiqKm

— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) April 1, 2023

Rays manager Kevin Cash liked what he saw from Eflin in his first outing.

"He certainly looked the part, and I was happy with just how efficient he was,'' Cash said. "He really commanded the ball well, kind of right how he wanted to, and I liked how he approached the lefties, kind of criss-crossing inside on them. He can really pitch and we saw that today.''

The Rays beat Detroit 4-0 on Opening Day, with starter Shane McClanahan pitching six scoreless innings and relievers Colin Poche, Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks completing the shutout.

Kevin Kelly pitched two innings for Tampa Bay, making his major-league debut. He allowed a run in two innings and Garrett Cleavinger and Calvin Faucher each pitched a scoreless inining.

The Rays have allowed just two runs in 18 innings, with 16 strikeouts and just 12 hits, eight of which have been singles. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs starts the series finale on Sunday for Tampa Bay. He was sensational in 2022, going 9-5 with a 2.46 earned run average. It earned him a new four-year, $31 million deal from the Rays.

Sunday's game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Rays are one of just four remaining unbeaten teams heading into Sunday's action, along with the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves.

Only the Twins have allowed fewer runs than Tampa Bay so far, tossing two shutouts against Kansas City. Eflin's old team, the Phillies, have given up a league-worst 27 runs so far in two games against the Texas Rangers.

Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen is expected to start Monday night's game at Washington, with Josh Fleming pitching Tuesday and McClanahan going on Wednesday afternoon. 

It's just a quick three-game road trip, then the Rays are home for three games with the Oakland Athletics and four with the Boston Red Sox. The Oakland series starts on Friday, with a Thursday off day.