The Tampa Bay Rays (4-1) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates (1-5) 7-0 on Tuesday night at Steinbrenner Field. With the win, the Rays have now won their second series to open 2025, with a chance to sweep Pittsburgh coming up on Wednesday.
The Rays scored early in this one to take control, beginning with a Jake Mangum RBI double in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Moments later Kameron Misner singled to give the Rays a 3-0 lead. A night after going 4-for-4 with a couple of huge hits and stolen bases, Mangum went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs driven in and two runs scored - he is now batting .636 in the very early goings of the 2025 season.
Shane Baz (1-0, 0.00) got the start and pitched six shutout innings on seven hits while striking out ten and walking none, continuing a dominant run for the Rays starting pitcher to begin the campaign.
The Rays now will try to sweep the series against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Paul Skenes (0-0, 3.38) will get the start for Pittsburgh and face Ryan Pepiot (0-0, 1.50) for the Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM - pregame coverage begins with Ronnie Lane hosting the Inside Pitch at high noon on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620, your Home of Rays Baseball.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES