The Tampa Bay Rays are in such good shape that it’s hard to decide which of their stats is the most impressive.

They are the first team to start the season with a 9-0 record since the Kansas City Royals in 2003. They have scored the most points in the major leagues (75), while allowing the fewest (18).

The team won all of its matches by at least four points. It was the 1939 New York Yankees the last team to be so dominant for so long, no matter at what point in the season. They had won 10 straight games by a margin of four points or more.

PHOTO CHRIS O’MEARA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Advanced stats? Absolutely! According to Baseball Savant, there is only one game where the odds of winning (win odds) of the Rays found themselves under 30% at one point in the game.

It happened last Tuesday, when the Washington Nationals led the Rays 6-4 after seven innings. They were still ahead 6–5 after eight before the Rays scored five times in the ninth to win 10–6.

The Rays were down in only one game: the Oakland Athletics led 1-0 in the second round last Friday, before the Rays scored six runs on the next turn to win 1-0. 9-5.

This sequence still leaves some doubts: the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers, the Nationals and the A’s, three clubs that lost a total of 305 games in 2022 and that must be among the worst in the MLB this season as well. Are the Rays really that good or are these teams really that bad?

We’ll know the answer very soon, but for now the Rays can expect a dominant start to the season.

Hit hard in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost the services of young and talented shortstop Oneil Cruz, who broke his ankle when he slipped on the plate on Sunday.

PHOTO GENE J. PUSKAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oneil Cruz

This is a blow for the Pirates, who have had a promising start so far. They also beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 for their fifth win in six games. They have a 6-3 record and are just one game behind first place at National Central held by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Bryan Reynolds, still with the Pirates despite requiring a trade this winter, is averaging .405/.415/.919.