The long-term residence of the Tampa Bay Rays is very much up in the air, but they are wasting no time in getting acclimated to their temporary home. In their first game in George M. Steinbrenner Field, which serves as the New York Yankees’ spring training facility, the scrappy small-market ball club delivered the crowd a thrilling conclusion.
Rookie left fielder Kameron Misner willed the Rays to a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday, leading off the bottom of the ninth inning with a 351-foot home run, via Jomboy Media. It was the 2019 first-round draft pick’s first big-league dinger, and the first MLB regular season homer ever in Steinbrenner Field.
Amid all the uncertainty surrounding the organization, both on and off the field, Kevin Cash’s squad is starting this new era of Tampa Bay baseball in style.
The first ever MLB game at Steinbrenner Field ends with a walk-off home run! pic.twitter.com/8dJ5CZFAdW
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 28, 2025
The Rays and Rockies combined for only 14 hits, as right-hander Ryan Pepiot and lefty Kyle Freeland engaged in an Opening Day pitching battle. The former only allowed one earned run in six innings and struck out eight batters, but he left the game trailing 2-0. Tampa then rallied in the seventh, tying the score after a Jonathan Aranda sacrifice fly and Jose Caballero base-hit. The bullpen shut out Colorado, leaving the door open for some Misner heroics in the final frame.
Although it may be stressful for fans, these are the type of gritty victories Tampa Bay might have to get if it is going to surpass expectations in a potentially stacked American League East. Good pitching and smart baseball has long served as the identity of this club, and that will probably need to continue in 2025.
The roster has undergone some changes, and the ballpark is different, but the Rays can still swoop in and steal a win at any given moment. They will try to make it 2-0 when Zack Littell takes the mound on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET. What fun awaits the fans at George M. Steinbrenner Field in that one? We shall see.
The post How Rays made history with walk-off home run vs. Rockies appeared first on ClutchPoints.
