The season could not have started any better for the Tampa Bay Rays at their temporary home, Steinbrenner Field.
The Rays have won their first two series’ of the season against the Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays are 4-2 and will play in Texas against the Rangers this weekend in a three-game series.
The Rays had a chance to sweep the Rockies in their first series. The Rays banged out 12 hits against Colorado pitching and left 12 men on base in a 2-1 loss to the Rockies last Saturday afternoon. The Rays are hitting .269 (seventh in MLB) through the first six games, a marked improvement from last season when they finished the season hitting .230, which ws 27th in the big leagues.
Two rookies have been impressive and have helped the Rays get off to a good start. Kameron Misner, who hit a walk-off homer in the Rays’ season opener, is hitting .357 with one homer and four runs batted in. Jake Mangum, who was called up to replace Josh Lowe on the roster after Lowe injured his oblique muscle, is off to a torrid start. He is hitting .533 in 15 at-bats with four runs batted in. No one had these two rookies on their radar as players who would help the Rays win some games this season, yet here we are talking about their contributions to Tampa Bay’s success.
Second-year player Jonathan Aranda has started the season well, hitting .417. Brandon Lowe is also off to a good start, hitting .292 with two homers and six runs batted in.
In our season preview articles, we discussed Johnny DeLuca and Christopher Morel as two players on the hot seat. Both have gotten the season off to a good start. DeLuca is hitting .438 while Morel is hitting .300. The Rays need them to swing the bat and be consistent to help the team reach its post-season goals.
We are only six games into the season, but Danny Jansen and Curtis Mead have gotten off to slow starts. Jansen has yet to get his first hit of the season and is in a 0/12 slump, while Mead is in a 0/10 slump. Once Jansen and Mead get going offensively, and the rest of the offense continues to hit consistently, this has the potential to be one of the top offenses in baseball.
We knew the Rays pitching would be good, but this staff has exceeded all expectations to start the season. Shane Baz had 12 strikeouts in his first start, and Taj Bradley had seven strikeouts in his first start. The starters’ first trip through the rotation produced a 1.24 ERA with 36 strikeouts.
Who will be the odd man out when Shane McClanahan returns? The Rays still have a few weeks to let that dilemma play out before McClanahan returns. The Rays have started the season with a team 2.00 ERA. That is third in MLB behind San Diego and Los Angeles.
The Rays have adjusted well to playing in the outdoors at Steinbrenner Field. They have played day and night games and have had no issues playing outdoors. Then again, these professional players played outside most of their careers, coming up through the minor leagues. So, the transition from indoors at Tropicana Field to outside at Steinbrenner Field has been smooth.
The Rays play their first games away from Steinbrenner Field this weekend when they make a quick trip to Texas to play the Rangers. Zack Littell, Taj Bradley, and Drew Rasmussen are scheduled to start in the three-game series for the Rays.