Arozarena, Rays set MLB record for homering in 1st 21 games

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Randy Arozarena homered in the first inning as the Tampa Bay Rays set a major league record by going deep in each of their first 21 games, then he hit a 10th-inning single for his fourth RBI that lifted his club to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Tampa Bay is 18-3, the best start in the major leagues since the 2003 New York Yankees. The Rays are 12-0 at Tropicana Field, the best start at home since the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers won their first 13 games.

Arozarena hit a two-run homer in the first off Dylan Cease, and the Rays surpassed the previous mark of homers in the first 20 games by the 2019 Seattle Mariners. Arozarena's RBI single against Keynan Middleton put Tampa Bay ahead 3-2 in the fifth, but pinch hitter Gavin Sheets tied the score with a eighth-inning homer against Jason Adam.

«Randy's been so clutch for us all year,» Rays starter Shane McClanahan said. «It's been fun to watch.»

With the score 3-3 in the 10th, Jimmy Lambert (1-1) intentionally walked Wander Franco with one out and a runner on second, and Arozarena lined a first-pitch single to right for his team-high 22nd RBI.

«We liked the matchup,» White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. «We liked the Lambert-Arozarena matchup. We were good with it.»

Garrett Cleavinger (1-0) worked a perfect 10th before a crowd of 22,333, the largest at the Trop since Opening Day.

It was the second straight walk-off win for Tampa Bay, and in this year of early headlines, that was another one. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the last time the Rays had walk-off wins in back-to-back games was June 24-25, 2022, against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal also homered for the White Sox, who have lost