A stretch like this is teeming with fun facts, so let’s dig in. Here are some notes and stats about the Rays’ season-opening win streak.
– The Rays are the ninth team in MLB history to start at least 10-0, and the first since the 1987 Brewers started 13-0. Before that, it was the 1982 Braves (13-0), 1981 A’s (11-0), 1966 Cleveland (10-0), 1962 Pirates (10-0), 1955 Dodgers (10-0), 1884 St. Louis Maroons (20-0) and 1884 New York Gothams (12-0). More on those 1884 clubs to come, below.
– Even with a one-run win on Monday, the Rays boast a hefty plus-58 run differential. That’s the fifth highest by a team in its first 10 games of a season in MLB history. Each of the four teams ahead of them on the list played before 1893, when the mound was moved to its current distance. They are the aforementioned 1884 Maroons (+98) and Gothams (+67), 1876 Hartfords of Brooklyn (+61) and 1882 Providence Grays (+59).
– In related news, the Rays are hitting the ball over the wall – frequently. They’ve hit 25 home runs, including Brandon Lowe’s go-ahead homer in the eighth on Monday, which proved decisive. That’s tied with the 2006 Tigers for second most in a team’s first 10 games of a season, behind only the 2000 Cardinals, who crushed 28.
– It’s the third winning streak of 10-plus games in Rays history. They won 11 straight in May 2021, coming one win shy of tying the franchise-record 12-game win streak set in June 2004.
– Speaking of franchise marks, the Rays have shut out their opponents in three straight entering Tuesday, the longest streak in Tampa Bay history. They’re the first team with three straight shutouts in a single season since Cleveland in 2017. No team has posted four straight shutouts since the eventual World Series champion Giants in 2012.
– The 1-0 win ended another streak within the streak. Each of the Rays’ first nine wins came by at least four runs. That was the second-most consecutive wins — all by four-plus runs — to start a season, behind only those 1884 Maroons at 13 straight.
– If we remove the season-opening qualifier, the Rays were the first team to win at least nine straight by at least four runs at any point in a season since the 1939 Yankees reeled off 10 straight. Overall, it was the eighth such streak in MLB history, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Most consecutive wins, all by 4+ runs:
1884 St. Louis Maroons: 13
1876 White Stockings: 11
1939 Yankees: 10
2023 Rays: 9
1938 Yankees: 9
1931 Senators: 9
1911 Pirates: 9
1890 Louisville Colonels: 9
– Wins eight and nine were both 11-0 shutouts, a rarity as well. The Rays became just the fourth team to notch consecutive shutout wins, all by more than 10 runs, joining the 2019 Orioles, 1936 Tigers and 1885 Giants (three straight).
