The Tampa Bay Rays Are Chasing More Records!

The Tampa Bay Rays Are Chasing More Records!  The Rays win streak may have ended, but Tampa Bay continues to set and chase – more records heading into the final week of April.

The Rays are 13-0 at home this season, tied for the longest home win streak to begin a season in modern MLB history (since 1900). With another win Monday, the Rays will be the first team to start 14-0 or better at home in 137 years.

The Rays will look to keep that home win streak going against the reigning World Series champion Astros. This will be the sixth time in the last 50 years that a team on a double-digit home win streak hosted the reigning champion.

The team on the win streak won four of the previous five series, but just two of the five extended the win streak beyond the series.

Hosted Reigning World Series Champion
Teams on 10-Game Home Win Streak in Last 50 Years

Opponent                            Result

2023 Rays                         Astros                                     ?
2009 Padres                     Phillies                                L, 0-3
1994 Cleveland                 Blue Jays                           W, 3-0
1988 Red Sox                    Twins                                 W, 3-0
1980 Astros                       Pirates                               W, 2-1
1977  Phillies                     Reds                                  W, 2-1

The Rays enter this series at 19-3 overall on the season. If they win Monday, it would be the fastest any team has reached 20 wins since the 1987 Brewers.

That team picked up win No. 20 in their 23rd game on May 2nd, 1987 and then didn’t win another game until May 20th, losing 12 straight.

The Astros have played the Rays tough in recent years like they have many teams. Tampa Bay went just 1-5 (.167) against the Astros last season, their worst record against any AL team.

Houston also enters this series on a season-high four-game win streak.  22-year-old rookie right-hander Taj Bradley will start Monday’s game for the Rays.

Bradley is off to a historic start in his young career, going 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 17 strikeouts in two starts (10 1/3 IP). He’s already the only pitcher in Rays history with at least eight strikeouts in each of his first two career starts.

Only three pitchers have ever done it in each of their first three starts, the last being Masahiro Tanaka for the 2014 Yankees.

The Rays have also been hitting home runs at a record pace. They’ve homered in all 22 games this season, the longest streak by any team to start a season in MLB history and the longest streak at any point of a season in Rays history.

The all-time record at any point of a season is 31 straight games with a homer by the 2019 Yankees.  Check out Shemon and Sheppard 2-6pm for all the latest on this game and others.

As we get in to summer it's time to plan those vacations. And an amazing summer getaway is seeing a game at an out of town ball park. I love rooting for my favorite team in an out of town park. The thing is, I'm in Fort Myers, Florida, and every game is an away game for me. My closest Major League Baseball stadiums are Miami and Tampa Bay. Both are two hour drives. Hotel and Uber it is.

So what about grabbing a beer at an out of town Major League Baseball ballpark? Por que no los dos? You gotta factor in beer as part of your budget. I did this report last year and the big thing that jumps out is how much inflation has kicked in on these beer prices. Everything is more expensive.

I did this report on NFL stadium beer prices last fall and the people of Washington were not happy. Commanders fans were bitching because their beer was so expensive and their Fox tv affiliate did a segment on it. I also got banned from the NFL reddit page. Apparently this data is polarizing.

Here's what they found "If you’re in search of the cheapest beer, head over to Coors Field in Denver, where the average beer cost is only $3. The Los Angeles Dodgers rank No. 2 for cheapest beer ($4.50), followed by The Arizona Diamondbacks ($4.99); St. Louis Cardinals ($5) and the Atlanta Braves ($5). "

On the other side: "When it comes to beer prices, you’ll have to reach fairly deep into your pockets during a New York Mets game. A beer at Citi Field is about $12. The second most expensive beer in the league can be found at a Chicago White Sox game ($10.75), followed by the Chicago Cubs ($10.49); Baltimore Orioles ($10.00) and the Philadelphia Phillies ($9.99)."

So let's rank 'em. How much am I gonna pay for a beer at a Major League Baseball game? Looks like the Mets are the most expensive again this year.

Remember, as we learned from the NFL version of this list. Not every stand at the park is going to get you this price. But with most ballparks, if you ask around, you can find a 'deal'.

Brady from WebstaurantStore says "The Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre host the second-cheapest beer at $4.33". They also factor in hot dog and ticket prices in their data. Thanks Brady.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/628/beer-hot-dog-and-ticket-prices-at-major-league-baseball-parks.html

One addition to this $3.00 beer price. It was pointed out on Reddit: "$3 12oz Coors & Coors Light on the Rooftop before scheduled first pitch." So you need to show up early.

https://espnswfl.com/listicle/the-price-of-a-hot-dog-at-every-major-league-baseball-stadium-in-2023/

Data courtesy of https://www.nj.bet