St. PETERSBURG — Remember this. Remember it now while joy is fresh, and memories are clear. Remember this before injuries, better competition and the reality of baseball ruined the vibe.
You’ve never seen anything like what the Rays did through the first nine games of the season. I know this to be true because Major League Baseball has never seen anything like what the Rays did.
Tampa Bay isn’t just the first team in 20 years to open a season with nine straight wins. This is how the Rays win. emphatic Uproriously. It’s entertaining.
Each of the 12 previous teams to start a season 9-0 had close calls along the way. Six of them had extra-inning games. Eleven of them had one-run games. None of them come close to the average margin of victory of 6.3 runs per game.
“Unbelievable,” starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen said.
The Rays hit 24 home runs and scored 75 runs. None of the other teams came close to matching it. The Rays allowed 18 runs to score. Only two of the other teams were able to do better. It’s not a thing. This is all.
“It’s crazy,” reliever Jason Adam said.
Even if you take away the oddity of Tampa Bay doing it in the first two weeks of the regular season, it’s an unnatural number of consecutive beatdowns. It has been 84 years since a team won nine consecutive games by four or more runs at any point in a season.
“Everything clicked,” manager Kevin Cash said.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/BUJIINJFFNGY5PCVLYK75452RI.JPG "Rays' Vidal Brujan (7) and Brandon Lowe (8) celebrate after sweeping the A's.")
Look, everyone in the clubhouse knows it’s not sustainable. Everyone knows the schedule makers deserve credit for offering nine straight games against Detroit, Washington and Oakland. But everyone out there also knows there’s a unique blend of skill and depth on this Rays roster.
“When you’re rolling as a team, you just get on with it. You don’t question anything,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, who has four walks, three hits, six runs and eight RBIs in his last nine plate appearances.
“Just show up and take care of business. It’s like we’re just playing. This is exactly what we thought would happen when we got everyone healthy.
You thought this happen?
“We knew we were going to be good,” he said.
Yes, the Rays are good. They could be great, though we’re a long way from determining that.
The point is that there are exceptional teams in every sport every season, but the Rays are also extremely entertaining. They can, of course, hit and pitch. But they also play good defense. And they are fearless on the bases. But they are young and energetic and appreciate their opportunities.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/OHWN3LXREVAXTK7ISU7VPPUBM4.jpg "Want more than the box score?")
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By now, you may have seen or heard of Harold Ramirez rushing in Sunday’s 11-0 win over Oakland. On a routine ground ball in the fourth inning, Ramirez busted it down the first-base line for a single as A’s third baseman Jace Peterson took an extra beat to pinch the runner at second.
Two outs later, Christian Bethancourt hit a grounder to short that looked like an inning-ending forceout. Except first base coach Chris Prieto told Ramirez to get an extra-long lead because Oakland didn’t stop him, and the husky Ramirez rushed the base again before the throw.
Moments later, Lowe hit a grand slam. It was four extra runs because Ramirez refused to give up.
“We all play for each other, and I think that’s why this team is so good,” first baseman Luke Raley said. “We changed that game with B-Lowe’s grand slam, but that wouldn’t have happened without Harold’s hustle. That’s how we play. We have a group of guys that are willing to work hard for the guy behind them. So I wouldn’t say we were shocked. Our (pitching) staff is good, our bats are going, our team is good.”
But isn’t it crazy to outscore three different opponents by a combined 75-18?
“Yes, it’s crazy. So let’s stay that way,” said Raley.
For the record, the Rays have a combined slugging percentage of .588 and an on-base percentage of .374. The starting rotation has an ERA of 1.90 with 60 strikeouts in 52 innings.
The only part of the team that hasn’t been seriously tested is the bullpen. It’s like that when you’re tied or leading 93.9 percent of the innings you play. The Rays are the only undefeated team in the majors but, not surprisingly, they are the only team without a save.
So who will get the first save opportunity for Tampa Bay in 2023?
“I guess it will be Pete (Fairbanks),” Adam said. “But he seems to be on vacation.”
John Romano can be reached at jromo@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.
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