The Tampa Bay Rays extended Major League Baseball’s best start in 20 years behind Jeffrey Springs’ seven innings of three-hit ball and Randy Arozarena’s four RBIs, routing the Oakland Athletics, 11-0, on Saturday for an 8-0 record.
Tampa Bay is the first big league team to open 8-0 since the 2003 Kansas City Royals won their first nine games. The Rays have outscored opponents 64-18 and are the first team to win its first eight games by four or more runs since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association did it in their first 13.
No team had won eight straight games by that margin at any point in a season since the 1939 New York Yankees did it 10 times in a row.
Isaac Paredes and Brandon Lowe had three RBIs each for the Rays.
Springs (2-0), coming off six no-hit innings in his season debut against the Detroit Tigers, gave up a leadoff single in the first to Esteury Ruiz. He struck out seven, raising his total to 19 in 13 innings.
Shintaro Fujinami (0-2) allowed five runs, three hits, four walks and hit a batter over 4 1/3 innings in his second major league start. The right-hander didn’t allow a hit until Wander Franco’s infield single with one out in the fourth.
Fujinami, who signed as free agent in January after pitching 10 years for Hanshin of Japan’s Central League, allowed eight runs over 2 1/3 innings in a 13-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in his big-league debut on April 1. His next start could be at home against the New York Mets’ Kodai Senga.
Oakland, which had just three hits, has lost six of eight and is batting .209.
Tampa Bay scored three times in the fifth to go up 5-0 on three hit batters, two walks and a single. Arozarena ended Fujinami’s day on a two-run single, and Paredes picked up an RBI when hit by a pitch from Sam Moll.
Arozarena had a two-run homer in the ninth off Carlos Pérez, usually a catcher.
Manuel Margot had a solo homer and Lowe added a three-run drive in the sixth off Domingo Acevedo.
Rays’ Manuel Margot, Brandon Lowe both go yard in the sixth inning
Manuel Margot and Brandon Lowe’s two homers extend the Rays’ lead.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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