9 Wins, 9 Rampages. Baseball Has Never Seen A Team Start Like These Rays

ST. PETERSBURG – Remember that. Remember now, while the joy is fresh and the memories clear. Think about it before injuries, better competition, and the reality of baseball ruin the mood.

You’ve never seen anything like the Rays in the first nine games of the season. I know that’s true because Major League Baseball has never seen anything quite like the Rays.

It’s not just that Tampa Bay is the first team in 20 years to open a season with nine straight wins. That’s how the Rays won. Emphatically. encouraging. Entertaining.

Each of the 12 previous teams that started a season 9-0 had tight choices along the way. Six of them had extra-inning games. Eleven of them had a one-run game. None of them even came close to an average win rate of 6.3 runs per game.

“Incredible,” said starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen.

The Rays have hit 24 home runs and scored 75 runs. None of the other teams came close. The Rays allowed 18 runs to score. Only two of these other teams could do better. It’s not anything. It’s all.

“It’s crazy,” said aide Jason Adam.

Even if you dismiss Tampa Bay’s oddness in the first two weeks of the regular season, it’s still an unnatural number of hits in a row. It has been 84 years since a team has won nine straight games by four or more runs at any point in a season.

“Everything clicks,” said manager Kevin Cash.

The Rays’ Vidal Brujan (7) and Brandon Lowe (8) celebrate after sweeping the A’s. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]

Look, everyone in the clubhouse knows this isn’t sustainable. Everyone knows the planners deserve an endorsement for having offered nine straight games against Detroit, Washington and Oakland. But everyone in there also knows that this Rays roster has a unique blend of skill and depth.

“When you roll as a team, you just keep going. They don’t question anything,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, who has had four walks, three hits, six runs and eight RBIs in his last nine plate appearances.

“You just come over and take care of business. It really feels like we’re playing our game. This is exactly what we envisioned when we are all healthy again.”

You thought this would happen?

“We knew we were going to be good,” he said.

Yes, the rays are good. They can even be great, although we’re still a long way from determining that.

The point is that there are exceptional teams in every sport and season, but the Rays are also exceptionally entertaining. Of course you can hit and throw. But they also play great defense. And they are fearless on the bases. But they are also young and dynamic and appreciate their opportunities.

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By now you may have seen or heard about Harold Ramirez’s action in Sunday’s 11-0 win over Oakland. On a routine groundball in the fourth inning, Ramirez broke him down first baseline for a single when Jace Peterson, A’s third baseman, needed an extra shot to get a look at the runner, who went for second.

Two outs later, Christian Bethancourt missed a grounder that looked like an inning-ending forceout. Except that first base coach Chris Prieto had told Ramirez to pull out an extra long lead because Oakland wasn’t holding him down, and the powerful Ramirez rushed into base again before the throw.

Moments later, Lowe hit a grand slam. That was four extra runs because Ramirez refused to give up.

“We all play for each other and I think that’s what makes this team so good,” said first baseman Luke Raley. “We blew up this game with B-Lowe’s Grand Slam, but that never happens without Harold’s hustle. This is how we will play. We have a bunch of guys willing to work hard for the guy behind them. So I wouldn’t say we’re shocked. Our (pitching) staff is good, our bats work, we have a good team.”

But isn’t it crazy to beat three different opponents with a combined 75-18?

“Yeah, it’s crazy. So let’s stick with it,” Raley said.

For the record, the Rays have a combined slugging percentage of 0.588 and an on-base percentage of 0.374. The starting rotation has a 1.90 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 52 innings.

The only area of the team that hasn’t been seriously tested is the bullpen. That’s what happens when you draw or lead 93.9 percent of the innings you play. The Rays are the only undefeated team in the majors, but incongruously they are the only team without a save.

So who gets the first shot at Tampa Bay in 2023?

“I’m guessing it’s going to be Pete (Fairbanks),” Adam said. “But it’s like he was on vacation.”

John Romano can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

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