The Tampa Bay Rays entered the 2023 MLB season with mild expectations. After winning the AL East in 2020 and 2021, the Rays finished 3rd last season, but were still able to qualify for the playoffs as a wild card.
They were about in the middle of the pack when it came to World Series odds before the 2023 season got underway, but they’ve been surging ever since.
Tampa Bay Rays Off To Historical Start
best start thru 32 games, since 1900:
1984 Tigers: 27-5
1911 Tigers: 27-5
1902 Pirates: 27-5
2023 Rays: 26-6
1939 Yankees: 26-6
1928 Yankees: 26-6
1907 Cubs: 26-6 https://t.co/bDWKRVDO8e— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 4, 2023
They started off with a bang, winning the first 13 games of the season, with clean sweeps of the Tigers, Nationals, Athletics, and Red Sox. And while those teams aren’t exactly the cream of the crop in baseball this year, the Rays didn’t slow down much when they began playing more formidable opponents.
They haven’t been sweeping teams like they did early in the season, the Tampa Bay is still winning at an impressive rate. Earlier this week, the Rays met up with the surprise Pittsburgh Pirates, who at the time owned the best record in the National League. In the matchup of league leaders, it was the Rays who came out victorious, outscoring the Pirates 15-4 over three games and completing the sweep.
Their start is historic. After yesterday’s action, the Rays were 20 games over .500, sporting a record of 26-6. That is the 2nd most wins of any team through their first 32 games since 1900. The 1984 Tigers, 1911 Tigers, and 1902 Pirates all began their seasons 27-5. That ’84 team won the World Series.
Rays Now In Top-3 Shortest World Series Odds
10Ks, no walks?
Pretttyyy pretttyyy Eflin good pic.twitter.com/8h9ZHIwido
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 4, 2023
Things are about to get a lot tougher. The next three series for the Rays are all against AL East opponents. They’ll host the Yankees this weekend, and then they’ll hit the road. They’ll play 10 straight away from home, including series against the Orioles, Yankees, and Mets. The Rays will then return home to play against the Brewers, Blue Jays, and Dodgers to close out the month.
Despite their record-breaking start, the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t getting much love in the way of World Series odds. During their hot start to the season, they shot up into the top-5 in the shortest odds, but they haven’t been able to eclipse the top-2. The Atlanta Braves remain the favorite at +550 given their excellent start and pre-season rankings, and the Houston Astros come in at +700 despite starting the season with a .500 record.
The Rays currently have the third-shortest odds, and are listed at +750.
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