ST. PETERSBURG -- "There’s no place like home” is a timeless cliché. Over the past year, the Rays have been reminded just how true it is.
Everything seems to be going the Rays’ way so far this season. They’re atop the American League standings with a 28-14 record. They’re getting contributions from all over the roster. They’re pitching well and hitting enough to be 9-1 in one-run games. They’re crushing their AL competition, with a 20-4 intraleague record.
And they’ve been at their best back inside the familiar confines of Tropicana Field.
As the Rays return home to host the Marlins and Orioles in a six-game homestand beginning Friday night, they have won 14 of 18 games at their home dome. Only the Cubs (18-5 at Wrigley Field) have found more success at home during the first seven weeks of the season.
For all its quirks and all the club’s well-documented efforts to secure a long-term ballpark in the Tampa Bay area, Tropicana Field is the Rays’ home. And they’re more appreciative of the place than ever after spending last season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
When the Trop’s tilted white roof was ripped apart during Hurricane Milton in October 2024, things could have been far worse than having to head across the bay to play 81 games at the Yankees’ Spring Training complex. The Rays know that, and it’s why they still never say a negative word about the experience.
But they’re happy to be back at Tropicana Field, and they’re not just saying that. They’re playing like it, too.
“It's home, for starters. GMS was awesome, really cool getting the opportunity to play there. It was great of the Yankees, but it's not our home, right?” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “It's like sleeping on a buddy's couch.”
The Rays have swept four of their six home series so far. They dropped two of three against both the Cubs and Reds, but they took all three games they hosted against the Yankees, Twins, Giants and Blue Jays.
Some of that, of course, has nothing to do with the venue. They’re playing well no matter where they go right now, as their 14-10 road record will show. But even the ballpark’s peculiarities are working to their advantage, like the would-be homer the Giants thought hit a catwalk before falling into center fielder Cedric Mullins’ glove for an easy out.
And there is definitely a comfort factor at The Trop, especially for a pitching staff that will always provide the foundation of Tampa Bay’s success.
“You know what you're going to get,” said right-hander Jesse Scholtens, who will pitch Friday’s series opener against Miami. “You know there's not going to be any crazy wind. There's not going to be any crazy weather. The mound is going to be the same. Everything's going to be consistent. So you can kind of take some confidence into it, knowing that you're only fighting against yourself pitching and you're not fighting against the elements as well.”
“We're blessed that we play at sea level. We're blessed that we play in a dome. [Those are] two really big factors when you're talking about stuff,” added Rasmussen, who’s set to start Sunday. “Then, on top of it, it's our mound, right? I mean, I've thrown more innings on that mound than I have anywhere else in Major League Baseball. … There's just a familiarity to it. The backdrop looks right, and everything about, it's comforting.”
The Rays actually held their own at Steinbrenner Field last year, finishing 41-40 at their temporary home in an ultimately disappointing 77-win season. But they generally put together teams that are built to win at the Trop, with its pitcher-friendly dimensions and more spacious outfield.
Granted, Steinbrenner Field didn’t turn out to consistently be quite the hitters’ paradise that many expected, especially in the early going. But it graded out as one of the top seven parks for home runs last season and favored offense overall. The Trop, by comparison, was in the bottom half of the league in terms of home run park factors from 2022-24 and generally plays in pitchers’ favor.
Big bats like Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz certainly enjoyed Steinbrenner Field’s short right-field porch last year, ripping line-drive homers to the opposite field on a regular basis. But this year’s club features strong pitching and athletic position players who can run down balls in the outfield gaps or turn singles into extra-base hits.
“Last year, it wasn’t quite the case. It was, 'We've got to keep them on the ground or on a line and limit damage in that capacity, but if it's in the air, it's out,’” Rasmussen said. “And so not having to deal with that's been really refreshing.”
In this case, there’s no place like dome.