Best starts in MLB history: How Rays' 13-0 record compared to other undefeated teams to open season

In this fledgling MLB season, no team has come out of the gate faster than the Rays.

The AL East squad swept its first four series to move to 13-0 on the season, tied for the best mark of all time. And the Rays did it in absolutely dominant fashion, outscoring opponents 101-30. They tied the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers for the best start in MLB history before losing their first game to the Blue Jays and falling short of the top spot on the leaderboard.

It would be an oversight to talk about the Rays' start without addressing their schedule — they started their season against the Tigers, Nationals, Athletics, and Red Sox, all of whom have struggled out of the gate. However, some of those struggles are attributed to just playing a team as hot as the Rays. Plus, Tampa Bay can only play the teams on the schedule, and in a game as susceptible to flukes as baseball, to not suffer one loss until game No. 14 is extremely impressive.

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It's fair to say they're feeling themselves.

The swag is Out. Of. Control. pic.twitter.com/lSscuydY6i

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 8, 2023

There are no caveats to the Rays right now. They're playing incredible baseball.

Best starts in MLB history

With their 9-3 win against the Red Sox on Thursday, the Rays tied the best start in MLB history, joining two teams from the 1980s: The 1982 Braves and the 1987 Brewers. 

Tampa came up a win shy of claiming sole possession of the record, losing 6-3 at the hands of the Blue Jays on Friday. 

It should be noted, early success isn't always the best thing. It didn't work out so well for either of those teams in the long run: The Braves were swept by the Cardinals in the NLCS and the Brewers didn't make the postseason.)

This Rays team has depth. Its pitching staff is lights-out and the offense leads the league with 32 home runs. There may be no such thing as a perfect start, but this team comes close.

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Here are the longest undefeated streaks to start a season in MLB history, and how those teams fared over the course of the season.

* - Season split by player strike

It goes without saying that it's an extremely long season, but what the Rays are doing is impressive regardless of the results of teams past. Plus, many of these winning streaks came when the game was so different, it's impossible to draw meaningful conclusions from them.

Rays' unbeaten streak by the numbers

Below were the Rays' marks during their historic 13-game win streak. 

32 home runs

The Rays hit an MLB-leading 32 home runs, eight more than the second-place Dodgers. Brandon Lowe led the way with five home runs after hitting another one Thursday, with Wander Franco and Yandy Diaz right behind him at four.

Ten players had multiple home runs through these 13 games, and that leads into the next stat:

30 runs allowed

The Rays had two more home runs than runs allowed through April 13.

While it won't stay like that all season, the pitching staff has been incredible. Even with Tyler Glasnow still on the IL, the Rays had a 2.23 team ERA, with 122 strikeouts and 79 hits allowed. Those are the stats of a closer spread over an entire staff.

The Rays' top four starters — Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs and Zach Eflin — went a combined 9-0 with a 1.36 ERA. Only Josh Fleming scuffled, and that was as an opener. He was replaced by Jalen Beeks for Monday's start against the Red Sox in what turned out to be a piggyback outing — both pitched, allowing two hits between them across six shutout innings. 

And the rich got richer Wednesday: rookie Taj Bradley pitched decently in his debut (five innings, three earned runs, eight strikeouts) in place of the injured Eflin. He'll likely get better.

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Plus-71 run differential

There's no more telling stat for the Rays than their run differential. They aren't just winning; they're dominating.

Tampa Bay scored 101 runs and allowed 30 over the course of the streak. To put that into context, there hadn't been a team with a run differential of plus-50 through nine games since 1884. Only the St. Louis Maroons and New York Gothams posted a better differential.

Of all of the mind-boggling stats, this is the most boggling.

THE RAYS’ +57 RUN DIFF IS THE HIGHEST IN A TEAM’S 1ST 9 GAMES SINCE 1900

OVERALL LIST:

highest run diff in 1st 9 games of season, MLB history:

1884 St. Louis Maroons: +78
1884 New York Gothams: +63
2023 Rays: +57
1882 Providence Grays: +54
1876 Hartfords of Brooklyn: +51

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 9, 2023

Eflin made an immediate impact on the rotation before going on the IL, with a 3.27 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings over two starts. Lowe has been outstanding after a lower back injury shortened his 2022 season. Jose Siri (now on the IL) and Manuel Margot have eased the offseason loss of Kevin Kiermaier in center field.

Rays upcoming schedule

The Rays completed their sweep against the Red Sox. After Thursday's finale, they head north to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto in a three-game series.