ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are off to the best start in team history and have also surpassed the season-opening winning records of past Major League Baseball franchises.
The Rays ran their season-opening win streak to 13 on Thursday, tying the league record after beating the Boston Red Sox 9-3. Tampa Bay now shares the league record with the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves.
Tampa Bay fans can enjoy the early winning streak for however long it lasts, but on the flip side, how exactly did the season turn out for the Brewers and Braves in their respective seasons after their history hot start?
1987 Milwaukee Brewers
Everything was going well for Milwaukee when they won 13 straight games.
The team equaled the record of the Braves before finally suffering a long-awaited defeat.
A team that racked up so many wins found themselves in an awkward spot less than a month late after the Brewers went on a 12-game losing streak.
To make matters worse -- and here's your caution to look away Rays fans -- Milwaukee tallied a 91-71 record while finishing third in the AL East and missing out on the playoffs.
Although the early 13-0 start may have been a wonderful time for Brewers fans, the way the team crumbled in the latter stages of the season may have brought a sour vibe that year.
1982 Atlanta Braves
Atlanta did a much better job in honoring their historic start to the 1982 season.
New manager Joe Torre, who had a heavy 286-420 losing record in five previous seasons with the New York Mets, led the team to a 13-0 start.
Atlanta finished the season 89-73 and went on to win the NL West. However, the great times concluded when the Braves were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, one game away from the World Series.
The Rays can hope to fall along a similar oath of Atlanta with the addition of making it to the World Series and losing a load of fewer games.
Tampa Bay's 12-game winning streak matched the team record set in June 2004. Up next, the Rays will look to take on the Toronoto Blue Jays Friday, April 14.
The Associated Press contributed to this report