He pitched through the first inning like a 10-year veteran, but when he returned to the dugout, the long-awaited moment briefly overwhelmed him.
“After the first inning I got pretty emotional,” he said in an interview with WDAE, the Rays’ radio broadcaster. “I had to cover my face with a towel. I had some tears going. After getting out of that first inning, I was excited, man. It’s a dream come true, a childhood dream come true.”
Randy Arozarena, the Rays’ slugging left fielder, hit his third home run of the season on Wednesday, and shortstop Wander Franco was 3 for 5 with two R.B.I. and two runs scored, increasing his batting average to .340. Franco has four home runs.
“Wander’s on fire right now,” Cash said.
The entire team is hot. On Thursday, Yandy Díaz, the first baseman, hit his fourth home run and second baseman Brandon Lowe hit his fifth in five straight starts — talk about streaks.
Of course, a season-opening winning streak does not guarantee success. The 1982 Braves lost to the eventual World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, three games to none, in the N.L. Championship Series, and the 1987 Brewers won 91 games, but finished third in the A.L. East and missed the postseason. That Milwaukee team, after winning 13 in a row in April, lost 12 in a row in May.
No one expects that kind of evening up for the Rays, but at some point, they will lose. Not even the 1884 St. Louis Maroons were truly invincible.
