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Tampa Bay Rays fans head to the Trop for sold-out Opening Day

By FOX 13 news staff
Updated  March 30, 2023 8:58am EDT
Tampa Bay Rays
FOX 13 News

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opening Day has arrived for the Tampa Bay Rays, and the home opener against the Detroit Tigers will be a sold-out afternoon game.

The team held their final practice of the pre-season on Wednesday. They will have all their regulars ready for the opener, including Wander Franco, who went through a full practice.

The quad soreness he experienced over the weekend is no longer an issue, the team stated. 

Back in February, Tyler Glasnow suffered an oblique injury Monday during a batting practice session at the Walt Disney World complex. At the time, the team said he will be out for 6–8 weeks.

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This comes after a Tommy John operation that sidelined him from June 2021 to September of last season.

Thursday will be the Rays' 26th season opener and while Kevin Cash has been through a lot of Opening Days himself, he says, they never get old.

The Tampa Bay team will be celebrating 25 years of Major League Baseball all year long. 

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The game starts at 3:15 p.m.

Tampa Bay had an 86-76 record overall and a 51-30 record in home games last season. The Rays averaged 8.0 hits per game last season while batting a collective .239.

Detroit had a 65-96 record overall and a 31-50 record in road games last season. The Tigers scored 3.4 runs per game in the 2022 season while allowing 4.4.