Opening Day:
The Rays' first game in quest of a threepeat did not go very well as they were beat 8-3 by Boston the season opener at the Trop. They jumped out a 3-0 first-inning lead but new acquisition
Hugo Najera couldn't hold it and then
Luke Little let it get away in the 7th.
Game 2: 4-3 W. WP-Lennon (1-0, 6 6 1 1 1 13). S-Ogando (1). HR-Pino (1), K.White (1), Haro (1). 3 solo homers and Cedillos' RBI double were enough to back some dominant pitching from Lennon, who struck out a career-high 13 and showed why he was picked as one of the league's top pitchers in the preseason predictions.
Game 3: 5-3 W. WP-C.Rodriguez (1-0). S-R.Rodriguez (1). Starter-Acosta (0.2 0 0 0 0 2). HR-Pino (2), E.Bell (1). Rays had to win a bullpen game as Acosta left with a minor injury in the 1st and scoring all their runs in the 1st on Pino's 2-run homer and Bell's 3-run blast made things a bit easier.
Game 4: 1-0 W. WP-Vargas (1-0). S-R.Rodriguez (2). Starter-Stevenson (6 7 0 0 3 3). Tampa Bay opened 2034 with a series win thanks to eking out today's game. Rutschman's RBI single in the 7th won it as did the pitching although Stevenson had to get out of repeated jams with 3 double plays behind him helping immensely.
Team record: 3-1. Next up: Off to Oakland for 3 games.
Rays News: Benjamin Buckman's return to the rotation has gotten cloudier as he suffered a small setback, and we lost OF Manny Tovar to Kansas City on waivers when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.