Opening Day: The Past

March 31, 1998, at Tropicana Field: Detroit 11, Tampa Bay 6.
Wilson Alvarez threw the first pitch in Rays history (a ball to Detroit's Brian Hunter) and retired the side in order in the first inning. However, 9 of the next 13 Tigers batters reached base safely and the Rays fell behind 11-0 by the fifth inning before Wade Boggs hit a 2-run homer off Justin Thompson in the 6th to account for the first two runs in Rays history. Tampa Bay rallied for four runs in the 9th inning and left the tying run in the on-deck circle as Paul Sorrento struck out to end the game.

1998 Lineup:
Quinton McCracken, cf
Miguel Cairo, 2b
Wade Boggs, 3b
Fred McGriff, 1b
Mike Kelly, lf
Paul Sorrento, dh
John Flaherty, c
Dave Martinez, rf
Kevin Stocker, ss
Wilson Alvarez, p

April 5, 1999, at Baltimore: Baltimore 10, Tampa Bay 7.
The Rays got home runs from Jose Canseco and John Flaherty and three hits from Fred McGriff, but left 12 men on base and fell to the Orioles, 10-7, at Camden Yards. Albert Belle and Brady Anderson hit third-inning home runs off Rays starter and loser Wilson Alvarez. Wade Boggs had two hits in his last Opening Day game.

1999 Lineup:
Randy Winn, cf
Dave Martinez, rf
Jose Canseco, dh
Fred McGriff, 1b
John Flaherty, c
Wade Boggs, 3b
Paul Sorrento, lf
Miguel Cairo, 2b
Kevin Stocker, ss
Wilson Alvarez, p

April 3, 2000, at Minnesota: Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 0.
Gerald Williams hit the first pitch of the season for a home run off Minnesota's Brad Radke as the Rays won their first-ever game on Opening Day at the Metrodome. Steve Trachsel (IP-7, H-5, BB-0, SO-7) got his first AL win and Fred McGriff hit a grand slam, the Rays first on Opening Day.

2000 Lineup:
Gerald Williams, cf
Dave Martinez, rf
Jose Canseco, dh
Fred McGriff, 1b
Greg Vaughn, lf
Herbert Perry, 3b
John Flaherty, c
Kevin Stocker, ss
Miguel Cairo, 2b
Steve Trachsel, p

April 3, 2001, at Tropicana Field: Tampa Bay 8, Toronto 1.
Albie Lopez worked 8 strong innings (H-7, ER-1, BB-3, SO-6) in the longest outing ever by a Rays starter on Opening Day as Tampa Bay defeated Toronto, 8-1. Every Ray who came to bat got a hit including Randy Winn who hit a pinch-hit home run in the 8th inning of Kelvim Escobar, the Rays first on Opening Day. Steve Cox had 3 hits, Vinny Castilla a pair of doubles and Gerald Williams added a home run.

2001 Lineup:
Gerald Williams, cf
Steve Cox, dh
Greg Vaughn, lf
Fred McGriff, 1b
Ben Grieve, rf
Vinny Castilla, 3b
Bobby Smith, 2b
John Flaherty, c
Felix Martinez, ss
Albie Lopez, p

April 2, 2002, at Tropicana Field: Tampa Bay 9, Detroit 5.
The Rays trailed 5-3 in the 6th before Steve Cox’s bases-loaded single tied it and Greg Vaughn’s RBI single in the 8th put the Rays ahead to stay. Bobby Smith added a key bases-loaded double later in the Rays 4-run inning. Chris Gomez had three hits for the Rays. Victor Zambrano earned the first of his two Opening Day wins, this one with only 0.2 innings of relief.

2002 Lineup:
Jason Tyner, lf
Randy Winn, cf
Steve Cox, 1b
Greg Vaughn, dh
Toby Hall, c
Ben Grieve, rf
Bobby Smith, 3b
Brent Abernathy, 2b
Chris Gomez, ss
Tanyon Sturtze, p

March 31, 2003, at Tropicana Field: Tampa Bay 6, Boston 4.
Carl Crawford’s two-out, two-strike, three-run “walk-off” home run off Chad Fox in the 9th inning gave the Rays a 6-4 win. It was just the 8th “walk-off” home run on Opening Day in AL history. Seth McClung got the win in his major league debut. The Rays trailed 4-0 entering the 7th and 4-1 into the 9th. Terry Shumpert became the 3rd Ray to homer in his first at-bat, a two-run pinch-hit home run in the 9th that brought the Rays to within 4-3.

2003 Lineup:
Carl Crawford, lf
Rocco Baldelli, cf
Aubrey Huff, 3b
Travis Lee, 1b
Al Martin, dh
Ben Grieve, rf
Toby Hall, c
Brent Abernathy, 2b
Rey Ordonez, ss
Joe Kennedy, p

March 30, 2004, at Tokyo Dome: Tampa Bay 8, New York 3.
In a game that started at 5 a.m. in the U.S., the Rays opened the major league season in Tokyo, Japan, and defeated the Yankees 8-3. Tino Martinez singled, doubled and homered for the Rays and Jose Cruz homered. The Rays went ahead for good in the 6th inning on back-to-back doubles by Martinez and Julio Lugo. Victor Zambrano allowed a two-run homer to Jason Giambi in the first inning, but Zambrano, Lance Carter and Danys Baez held the Yankees to four hits and one run over the final eight innings before a crowd of 55,000.

2004 Lineup:
Carl Crawford, lf
Damian Rolls, 3b
Rocco Baldelli, cf
Aubrey Huff, dh
Jose Cruz, rf
Tino Martinez, 1b
Julio Lugo, ss
Toby Hall, c
Rey Sanchez, 2b
Victor Zambrano, p

April 4, 2005, at Tropicana Field: Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 2.
The Rays Opening Day win streak was stopped at five as the Rays fell to Toronto, 5-2. Rays starter Dewon Brazelton allowed only three hits in seven innings, but they came consecutively in the 4th inning: a double by Frank Catalanotto and home runs by Orlando Hudson and Vernon Wells. The Rays out-hit the Jays 10-7, but Toronto had five extra base hits, the Rays none. Tampa Bay trailed 3-2 entering the 9th, before Eric Hinske hit a 2-run home run off Jesus Colome.

2005 Lineup:
Carl Crawford, lf
Julio Lugo, ss
Aubrey Huff, rf
Travis Lee, 1b
Josh Phelps, dh
Jorge Cantu, 2b
Chris Singleton, cf
Toby Hall, c
Alex Gonzalez, 3b
Dewon Brazelton, p

April 3, 2006, at Baltimore: Baltimore 9, Tampa Bay 6.
Scott Kazmir became the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1986, but in four innings of work he allowed home runs to Luis Matos, Miguel Tejada, and Melvin Mora and took the loss. The Rays used three shortstops in the game as Julio Lugo (abdominal muscle) and Luis Ordaz (knee) were both injured. The Rays led 4-3 in the fifth before Matos and Mora hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the inning. Jonny Gomes hit a 439-foot home run off Rodrigo Lopez, the Rays longest homer of the season.

2006 Lineup:
Julio Lugo, ss
Carl Crawford, lf
Jorge Cantu, 2b
Aubrey Huff, 3b
Jonny Gomes, dh
Travis Lee, 1b
Toby Hall, c
Damon Hollins, rf
Joey Gathright, cf
Scott Kazmir, p

April 2, 2007, at New York: New York 9, Tampa Bay 5.
With an average age of 24.79, the Rays started the youngest Opening Day lineup since the 1983 Twins. Elijah Dukes became the 99th player in major league history to homer in his first official ML at-bat when he connected off Carl Pavano in the fifth inning. The Rays led 5-3 in the sixth inning, but the Yankees scored two runs in their half of the inning and added three more in the eighth.

2007 Lineup:
Carl Crawford, lf
Ben Zobrist, ss
Rocco Baldelli, dh
Ty Wigginton, 1b
Delmon Young, rf
Akinori Iwamura, 3b
Dioner Navarro, c
Elijah Dukes, cf
B.J. Upton, 2b
Scott Kazmir, p

March 31, 2008, at Baltimore: Tampa Bay 6, Baltimore 2.
James Shields allowed a 2-run double to Kevin Millar in the first inning, then shut out the Orioles over the next six innings. B.J. Upton’s two-run single in the third inning put the Rays ahead to stay. Dioner Navarro had three hits to lead the Rays 10-hit attack.

2008 Lineup:
Akinori Iwamura, 2b
Carl Crawford, lf
Carlos Peña, 1b
B.J. Upton, cf
Cliff Floyd, dh
Willy Aybar, 3b
Eric Hinske, rf
Dioner Navarro, c
Jason Bartlett, ss
James Shields, p