Rays attempt to build on historic start vs. A's

Facing the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays remains a daunting task for the struggling Oakland Athletics.

It won't get easier on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., as Jeffrey Springs takes the mound for the Rays, looking to build on his stellar 2023 debut and help the Rays in their attempt to start 8-0.

The Rays, who beat Oakland 9-5 on Friday in the series opener, are off to the best start in franchise history. They have outscored their opponents 53-18,and won each of their first seven games by at least four runs -- the first team to accomplish that feat since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons did so in their first 13 contests.

Tampa Bay's start is the majors' best since the Baltimore Orioles went 7-0 in 2016.

The most recent team to open 8-0 was Kansas City in 2003. The Royals ran their streak to 9-0 before falling.

"Hopefully we can extend that record," Tampa Bay's Isaac Paredes, who had a grand slam for one of his three hits on Friday, told Bally Sports Sun through an interpreter. "We're very united in the clubhouse. ... We're connecting. Hopefully, we can continue on."

While the Rays are batting .285 and have clubbed a major-league-high 18 homers -- six players have at least two -- their pitching staff has a 2.43 ERA.

Springs (1-0, 0.00 ERA), who enjoyed a breakout 2022 by going 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA in 33 games and 25 starts, struck out 12 with one walk over six scoreless and hitless innings on Sunday during Tampa Bay's 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. He threw just 81 pitches.

"His stuff is probably playing at an all-time high, and he's putting it to use about as good as you can possibly do," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Springs, the 888th overall draft pick in 2015.

Since breaking into the majors in 2018 with the Texas Rangers, Springs is 4-1 with a 4.37 ERA in 15 appearances against the A's, but only one of those outings was as a starter. Oakland's Seth Brown is 2-for-3 with a homer vs. Springs. Ramon Laureano is 1-for-10 against Springs, but is batting .318 (7-for-22) in the past six games after recording two hits on Friday.

Oakland has been outscored 50-27 while losing five of its first seven. Though the A's belted out 12 hits in the Friday setback, their starting pitchers have allowed 33 earned runs and 45 hits over 31 1/3 innings on the young season.

Scheduled Oakland starter Shintaro Fujinami (0-1, 30.86 ERA) needs a much better outing than his major league debut on April 1 against the Los Angeles Angels. After retiring the side in order in the first and second innings, the 28-year-old Japanese right-hander fell apart in the third. He allowed eight of the 11 runs the Angels scored in the frame, on five hits and three walks, before exiting and getting just one out in the inning.

"I threw too much offspeed in that third inning," Fujinami said through an interpreter. "I still need to learn the pitch sequences.

"I'm glad to get on the big-league mound, but just getting on the big-league mound is not good enough."