ST. PETERSBURG (SNN-TV) – The Tampa Bay Rays opened up their season today in front of a sell-out crowd at Tropicana Field, against the Baltimore Orioles.
In the bottom of the 8th, tied at one, Francisco Mejia hit a pinch-hit sac-fly to left field with the bases loaded, off Baltimore’s Javier Lopez, scoring Ji-Man Choi from third, giving the Rays the go-ahead 2-1 lead late in the game.
Fast forward to the next half inning, when newest Rays bullpen arm, Brooks Raley, would get Orioles All-Star outfielder Cedric Mullins to go down swinging to end the game, securing Tampa the Opening Day victory in front of 25,025 fans at Tropicana Field.
With the Rays being known for cycling through and depending on multiple players at any given moment, Mejia knew that when his number was called to pinch-hit, he would be ready to clutch up.
“On this team, you know, you got to be ready at anytime. The experience I’ve had here, you got to be ready to go off the bench.” – Francisco Mejia
Putting Mejia in that big spot late, pinch-hitting for Mike Zunino, wasn’t just a simple lefty vs righty move for Kevin Cash. Per the Rays skipper, Mejia consistently garners that trust.
“We value Franky when he’s hitting. He certainly does a good job of putting the ball in play. I know Chad [Mottola] talks to him about having some patience at the plate. We needed something put in play right there, it felt like he was the right guy, and he really came through for us.” – Kevin Cash
The Rays will run it back tomorrow afternoon with the Orioles with a scheduled first pitch time of 1:10pm. Drew Rasmussen will tote the mound for Tampa, against Baltimore’s Jordan Lyles.