The Rays’ April 15, 2011 win over the Twins remains a standalone highlight: Wade Davis earned the win, leadoff hitter Sam Fuld went 3-for-4, Johnny Damon drove in two, and Kelly Shoppach homered. By 2026, not a single member of that 2011 roster remained in Tampa Bay; Evan Longoria had departed after 2017, and Yandy Díaz arrived in 2019 as the club’s longest-tenured player.
From 2012 through 2025, Tampa Bay played 11 April 15 games and lost every one (there were no games in 2014 due to weather, 2019 off-days, or 2020 COVID). The streak began with a close 6-4 defeat to the Boston Red Sox in 2012, Ortiz delivering the go-ahead RBI double and Alfredo Aceves closing out the Rays.
In 2013, the Rays again fell to Boston, as Ben Zobrist tied the game briefly before Mike Napoli delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win. After 2014’s weather cancellation, the streak continued through 2025, including a 12-7 loss to the Blue Jays in 2025.
The run featured several tight losses and a few longer defeats: a 1-0 loss to the White Sox in 2016, a 2-1 defeat to the Red Sox in 2017 (Sale’s seven-inning stint helped fuel the late score), a 10-4 setback to the Phillies in 2018, a near-miss in 2021 against the Rangers, a 3-2 loss to the White Sox in 2022, a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays in 2023, a 7-3 loss to the Angels in 2024, and a 7-4 defeat to the Red Sox in 2025. Across those games, Tampa Bay logged four one-run losses, two by two runs, one extra-innings defeat, and one walk-off, finishing with a cumulative run differential of 33-62.
The 2026 breakthrough came in emphatic fashion: an 8-3 Rays win over the White Sox, with an early 8-0 lead and three homers from Junior Caminero, Jonny DeLuca, and Jake Fraley sealing the result. The victory finally ends the franchise’s long-running April 15 drought and marks a new milestone for the team on this date.
