ST. PETERSBURG (SNN-TV) – Rookie Taj Bradley took to the mound last night for Tampa, and won his third consecutive start to begin his big league career.
The Tampa Bay Rays set a modern era MLB record with their 14th consecutive home win to begin a season, beating the Houston Astros 8-3 last night. Tampa Bay had shared the mark dating to 1901 with the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers. With the win, the Rays are 20-3 overall. Since 1901, only the 1911 Detroit Tigers and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers had better starts at 21-2.
The 22-year-old Bradley allowed three runs and four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in five innings. In 15 1/3 innings this season, the right-hander has struck out 23 and waked two.
Despite Bradley’s success, the Rays reinstated Jose Siri from the 10-day injured list earlier today and optioned the promising righty to Triple-A Durham ahead of tonight’s game against Houston. First pitch tonight from the Trop is set for 6:40pm.