ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber looked good in his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings Sunday to help the defending AL East champions beat Baltimore 8-0 and complete an opening sweep of the Orioles.
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer off Tyler Wells (0-1), while Wander Franco had his second three-hit game in three days and drove in a pair of runs as the Rays beat the Orioles for the 15th straight time and matched the fastest start to a season in club history.
Tampa Bay, which is 21-1 against the Orioles since the beginning of last year, also started 3-0 in 2002 and 2012.
Kluber, pitching on his 36th birthday, allowed three hits, walked four and struck out five in an 87-pitch outing. Sailing along with a 4-0 lead, the right-hander retired the first two batters in the fifth inning before walking Cedric Mullins and giving up a single to Ryan Mountcastle.
Manager Kevin Cash, who said before the game that one of his priorities this season will be managing Kluber’s workload and keeping the oldest player on his roster healthy, didn’t hesitate to turn to the bullpen.
Kluber went 5-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 16 starts with the New York Yankees last season, when he also spent three months on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. The Rays signed him to an $8 million, one-year deal during the offseason.
Lefty Jeffrey Springs (1-0) came on to get the only batter he faced to end the fifth. Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks and Matt Wisler held the Orioles scoreless the rest of the way, finishing a combined six-hitter.
Wells made his first major league start for the Orioles and didn’t get through the second inning. The Rays loaded with two walks and an infield single, then chased the 27-year-old right-hander with Mike Zunino’s sacrifice fly, Manuel Margot’s RBI grounder and Lowe’s 437-foot homer to right-center.
Franco's two-run single highlighted a four-run eighth against relievers Bryan Baker and Paul Fry. Franco joined Quinton McCracken in 1998 and Steve Cox in 2001 as the only Rays with muiltiple three-hit games during the first three games of a season,
Wells, 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 44 relief appearances as a rookie last season, threw 54 pitches and allowed four runs and three hits. He walked two and struck out two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier was not in the lineup Sunday, however Cash said it was a day of rest and not related to injury. The team is beginning the season with a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Return to Baltimore for home opener vs. Milwaukee. LHP Bruce Zimmermann (4-5, 5.04 ERA in 2021) gets the start, with the Brewers countering with RHP Adrian Houser (10-6, 3.22).
Rays: A seven-game homestand continues with RHP Luis Patiño (5-3, 4.31 in 2021) starting the first of four games vs. Oakland. RHP Paul Blackburn (1-4, 5.87) takes the ball first for the Athletics.
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