Friday, 4 a.m.
Caramba! Victoria!
The Tampa Bay Rays made baseball history Thursday afternoon, becoming the first team to ever start nine Latin-American hitters in a lineup. It paid off, as the Rays rolled to an 11-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The maneuver, which happened on Roberto Clemente Day, was a sheer accident, said manager Kevin Cash. He was merely trying to load up the lineup with right-handed hitters to face the Jays' Kevin Gausman.
It worked. The Rays pounded out 11 hits and scored four in the second inning and six in the ninth for the victory.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!
Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
Starting pitcher Shane McClanahan, the only non-Latin in the starting lineup, made his return from the injured list. He went five shutout innings, giving up just three hits.
"I'm shocked it's never been done before," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "It’s pretty cool. I didn’t know that until halfway through the game . It’s pretty surprising because of the impact the Latin American community has had for years."
Yandy Diaz had a three-run homer in the second inning to get the Rays off to an early start. Isaac Paredes had a single and a home and David Peralta had two singles.
“We were very proud as Latinos to be in something like this, " Diaz said, "especially on Roberto Clemente day and what he represents for us. I’m very proud to be part of that lineup. "
The Rays now return home to Tropicana Field to face Texas. Corey Kluber will start tonight's 7:10 p.m. game against Martin Perez.