Rays show signs of strength, potential after rocky April

KANSAS CITY -- The Rays went 12-14 in April, their first losing April since 2009 (9-14).

"Kind of mediocre," answered Rays manager Joe Maddon when asked to describe the team's first month. "That was a mediocre month. We're definitely capable of doing more. I actually feel kind of fortunate that we're in the position we're in."

Despite their losing mark, the Rays did manage to do some interesting things during the first month of the season.

James Loney set a club record (minimum of 50 at-bats) with his .373 batting average. The Rays first baseman topped Evan Longoria's mark of .369 from April of 2009.

Matt Moore set club records for wins and ERA in April. He tied the club wins record for a month (David Price, June 2012 and Scott Kazmir, May 2008) and finished second for the overall monthly record behind Jeff Niemann (1.06 ERA, July 2011).

The Rays committed 10 errors with a .989 fielding percentage, both the second-best April marks in club history behind 1999 (nine errors, .990).

"For us, I don't know, man, it's not like we're playing terrible baseball or really sloppy," Matt Joyce said. "We just need to improve upon some of the smaller things in the game."