Tropicana Field saw history being made on Thursday as the Tampa Bay Rays extended their remarkable start to the season to 13 consecutive wins, becoming just the third team in modern baseball history to do so.
The Rays routed the Boston Red Sox 9-3, thanks to an incredible performance from their batting line-up.
Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe both hit solo home runs, while the Rays piled on seven runs in a fifth inning rally to secure their place in the record books. The team's 13-0 start to the campaign equals the best winning streak to start a season, a feat previously achieved by the Atlanta Braves in 1982 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987. The only other longer opening streak in baseball history was by the St. Louis Maroons, who went 20-0 in 1884 when playing in the now-defunct Union Association league.
While the Rays have now tied the best start to a season in history, the all-time record winning streak at any stage of the season still stands at an impressive 26 games, set by the New York Giants in 1916.
Following their victory, Rays manager Kevin Cash was quick to congratulate his players on their achievement, saying that "there's not one part of our game right now that we don't feel good about." He also thanked the team's fans for their support, saying that "they really got loud when they needed to and our guys were energised by that."
However, the Rays' record-equalling performance was slightly marred by an injury to pitcher Jeffrey Springs, who was forced to leave the game in the middle of the fourth inning due to ulnar neuritis. Springs is now the third member of the team's rotation to be sidelined with an injury, following Tyler Glasnow in spring training and Zach Elfin earlier this week.
Despite the setback, the Rays' free-scoring batting line-up came to the team's rescue. After Rob Refsnyder put the Red Sox 1-0 up in the first inning with a home run to left field, Diaz levelled the score in the bottom of the first with his own homer.
The Red Sox then added two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to lead 3-1, but any chance of a Boston upset was extinguished in the bottom of the fifth as the Rays broke the game open with seven runs to take an 8-3 lead.
Francisco Mejia, Randy Arozarena, Manuel Margot, and Lowe all drove in run-scoring singles before Harold Ramirez cleared the bases with a three-run double. Lowe then capped off the Rays' dominant display with another solo home run in the seventh inning, extending their lead and securing their place in baseball history.