The Tampa Bay Rays extended their season-opening winning streak to 11 on Tuesday night, defeating the Boston Red Sox in blowout fashion by a 7-2 final (box score). The Rays have now tied the 1981 Oakland Athletics for the third-best opening stretch in Major League Baseball history:
| Team | Year | Win streak to begin season | Final record | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | 13 | 89-73 | Lost NLCS | |
1987 | 13 | 91-71 | Missed postseason | |
Oakland Athletics | 1981 | 11 | 64-45* | Lost ALCS |
Tampa Bay Rays | 2023 | 11 (and counting) | TBD | TBD |
Brooklyn Dodgers | 1955 | 10 | 98-55-1 | Won World Series |
1962 | 10 | 93-68 | Missed postseason | |
Cleveland | 1966 | 10 | 81-81 | Missed postseason |
What's more is the Rays continued to slug against the Red Sox, extending their big-league lead. They homered four times on Tuesday, with Yandy Díaz, Josh Lowe, Isaac Paredes, and Brandon Lowe providing the fireworks. (Díaz, it should be noted, later left the game with a possible shoulder injury.) That pulls their seasonal home-run total to 29 over the course of their first 11 games. According to MLB's Sarah Langs, the Rays tied the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals for the most ever launched to begin a season.
Josh Lowe with ANOTHER @RaysBaseball home run!
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 12, 2023
WATCH ➡️ https://t.co/KFOQiL4KYC#MLB | #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/lUzVPsLOwE
The Los Angeles Dodgers, at 21, were the only other team who entered Tuesday with as many as 20 home runs this season.
As our Dayn Perry noted earlier on Tuesday, a great opening run does not inherently mean that the Rays are destined for a championship this year -- even if it does, obviously, improve their chances of winning the American League East:
Only one of the above teams -- the 1955 Dodgers -- went on to win the World Series. However, two teams who started their seasons 9-0 and just missed this list, the 1984 Detroit Tigers and 1990 Cincinnati Reds, wound up hoisting the trophy. Also worth noting is that two of the above teams that missed the playoffs, the '87 Brewers and '62 Pirates, probably would've made it under the current alignments and expanded postseason.
The Rays will continue their series against the Red Sox on Wednesday before concluding the four-game set on Thursday. Right-hander Taj Bradley will make his big-league debut in place of the injured Zach Eflin. From there, the Rays will begin what could be a historic road trip, complete with stops in Toronto and Cincinnati.
