Wander Franco went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI as the Tampa Bay Rays continued to reach milestones by rallying past the Houston Astros 8-3 for their 14th straight home win to start the season on Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays used a four-run third inning to break a tie with the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers and claim the longest home winning streak to start a campaign since 1901. The all-time mark is a 21-0 home start by the 1880 Chicago White Stockings, the precursor to the Cubs.
By winning 20 of its first 23 games, Tampa Bay ranks just behind the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1911 Detroit Tigers — both 20-2 — for the best start to a campaign.
In his four-hit effort, Franco produced two doubles and a stolen base. Randy Arozarena was 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, a hit by pitch, two runs and two RBIs as part of the club’s 14-hit attack.
Failing to go deep in their sixth straight victory, the Rays saw their major league record of 22 consecutive games with a home run to start a season end.
Rookie Taj Bradley (3-0) won in his third career start, allowing three runs on four hits in five innings. He fanned six over 82 pitches.
Houston’s Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena stroked solo homers, and Mauricio Dubon had a triple and a run.
Jose Urquidy (1-2) surrendered six runs on seven hits and was chased two outs into the home side’s explosive third.
Dubon led off by drilling the game’s first pitch into the left-center gap for his first triple, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Kyle Tucker plated him with a sacrifice fly.
On a 3-1 pitch to Bregman, Bradley fired a 96 mph fastball that the third baseman lofted into the left-center field stands for his third homer.
In the bottom of the frame, Arozarena lined a ball to left to score Franco. Arozarena was called out at third going for three bags, but Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged the ruling and it was overturned. Harold Ramirez’s two-out double tied the contest at 2.
In the third, Pena slugged a 1-0 pitch 432 feet to straightaway center — his fourth deep shot — for a 3-2 Houston lead.
The Rays took control in the third, getting a sacrifice fly from Arozarena plus two-out singles by Josh Lowe and Christian Bethancourt to go up 6-3.
Isaac Paredes and Franco ended the scoring with RBI singles.
–Field Level Media
