Rays Stun Twitter by Losing 1st Game of Season, Falling Short of Modern MLB Record

It was close but not to be for the Tampa Bay Rays and their historic start to the season.

The Rays suffered their first loss Friday night in a 6-3 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Their undefeated streak ended at 13 games, tied for the best start in MLB history with 1982 Atlanta and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers.

Their red-hot offense was cooled down by José Berríos and the rest of the staff. Prior to Friday, Tampa Bay had been held to fewer than four runs just once, in a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, struggled mightily against the potent Toronto lineup, which got started early.

George Springer hit a leadoff home run, and the Blue Jays poured it on with four runs in the fifth. Rasmussen was pulled from the game after 4.1 innings, having given up eight hits, four walks and five earned runs.

Despite the loss, no one can discount what the Rays accomplished over the first few weeks of the season.

Not even considered the best team in their division prior to the year, they have been the best team in the majors, with four more wins than any other club.

Their offense has also been off the charts.

Tampa Bay leads MLB in runs (104), homers (34) and OPS (.920) by wide margins, which is saying a lot in a season in which offense has taken a leap with new rules, including the pitch clock.

Though shocked, Twitter had nothing but love for the Rays and their historic run following the loss.

With their dominant and historic start to the year, the Rays have given themselves a cushion atop the American League East, the most stacked division in MLB. They have a four-game lead over the Blue Jays and a five-game lead over the New York Yankees.

The series against the Jays is their toughest test of the season so far. Tampa Bay has two more games against Toronto this weekend, but things will get easier with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox up next.

Looking further down the line, the Rays have a marquee series against the struggling Houston Astros from April 24-26.