(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays are very, very good at baseball.
The Oakland Athletics…not so much.
These situations combined to give us some impressive Rays victories over the weekend.
The Rays, who are now 9-0 to start the 2023 campaign, swept the A’s and scored a lot of runs in the process.
The A’s offense (and pitching) looked helpless.
Tampa made some history in the process.
Teams in MLB history with back-to-back shutouts of 11 or more runs:
2023 Rays
2019 Orioles
1936 Tigers
1885 Giants (3 Straight)
Data via @OptaSTATS
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) April 9, 2023
Friday’s game finished 9-5.
Both weekend games ended with the same score: 11-0.
All three games had the same winning team: the Rays.
The A’s are already 2-7 and will probably be the American League’s worst team again in 2023.
Just four teams have earned back-to-back shutouts of more than 11 runs, and the Rays are now one of them.
The Rays look like a juggernaut.
Shortstop Wander Franco is back to 100 percent health and it shows.
Josh Lowe looks ready to break out, and the same can be said about Isaac Paredes.
Brandon Lowe‘s bat is as powerful as ever, and the team is getting excellent contributions from Randy Arozarena, Harold Ramirez, Taylor Walls, and other hitters.
The foundation of the Rays is once again pitching, though.
The rotation has been marvelous, with Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs, and Zach Eflin all performing at an All-Star level.
Remember that this team also has Tyler Glasnow on the injured list.
The bullpen is also amazing.
All things considered, the Rays are definitely a better version of what they showed in 2022, when they finished third in the AL East division and were quickly ousted in the Wild Card round.
They have the look of a true contender and will be very hard to beat.
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