ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 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 Yankees did it 10 times in a row.
“When you’re winning games like this, a lot of things got to be going well,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “So, I think we’re all pretty impressed with every facet out there.”
Springs (2-0), coming off six no-hit innings in his season debut against Detroit, gave up a leadoff single in the first to Esteury Ruiz. He struck out seven, raising his total to 19 in 13 innings.
“Early on, kind of fought mechanics,” Springs said. “It was a grind. Overall, I felt alright, not great, but it helps a lot when my offense is doing what they’re doing.”
Shintaro Fujinami (0-2) allowed 5 runs, 3 hits and 4 walks and hit a batter over 4⅓ 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.
“I started off pretty well in the first three innings,” Fujinami said through a translator. “But the fourth inning I walked a guy, and from there it kind of went down.”
Fujinami, who signed as free agent in January after pitching 10 years for Hanshin of Japan’s Central League, allowed eight runs over 2⅓ innings in a 13-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in his big league debut April 1. His next start could be at home against the 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 3 hit batters, 2 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.
Before the game, Tampa Bay placed center fielder Jose Siri on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. To fill the vacant roster spot, Tampa Bay recalled infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan from its Triple-A club in Durham, North Carolina.
Siri, 27, made a running catch in the eighth inning of Friday’s 9-5 home victory over the Athletics, crashing into the wall after tracking down a drive from Seth Brown.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.