On April 15th, 2011, the 4-8 Tampa Bay Devil Rays defeated the 4-8 Minnesota Twins 5-2. Wade Davis earned the win, leadoff hitter Sam Fuld went 3-for-4, Johnny Damon drove in two runs, and Kelly Shoppach homered.
Little did the Rays know that the next time the team would win on April 15th, not a single player would remain on the roster. In fact, not a single player from the 2011 roster would last long enough in Tampa Bay to play with anyone on the current roster. Evan Longoria departed after the 2017 season, the last member of the Rays who could remember winning a game on April 15th. Yandy Diaz, the club’s current longest tenured player, arrived in Tampa in 2019.
Between 2012 and 2025, the Rays went 0-11 in games on April 15th (no games were played on April 15th, 2014 (weather), 2019 (Monday offday), and 2020 (COVID-shortened season). That streak finally came to an end on April 15th, 2026.
11 Games, 11 Losses
The Rays losing on the same day 11 years in a row is nothing other than pure chance. The likelihood is minuscule. No matter how good or bad the Rays are in any given year, the chances that they would not win on April 15th in over a decade would be nearly impossible. Yet it happened.
Tampa Bay’s 13-year losing streak began in 2012 with a close loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double, and closer Alfredo Aceves locked down a 6-4 win for the Red Sox, shutting down Tampa Bay in the ninth.
In 2013, the Rays lost another close game to the Red Sox. Down 2-1 in the top of the ninth, Ben Zobrist drove in Desmon Jennings to tie the game. It took a walk-off double from Mike Napoli in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 3-2 for the Red Sox.
After bad weather cancelled their April 15th game in 2014, the Rays next played on April 15th in 2025, against the Blue Jays. Toronto’s bats went crazy, scoring 12 runs in the first five innings. The Rays scored four runs in the ninth, but still did not come close to a comeback, losing 12-7.
In 2016, the Rays fell victim to prime Chris Sale in Chicago. Tampa Bay’s starter, Jake Odorizzi, performed admirably, tossing seven scoreless innings. With the game tied 0-0 in the top of the ninth inning, Alex Colome surrendered the lone run of the game, as Melky Cabrera drove in Jimmy Rollins (yes, he played for the White Sox!). Chris Sale completed the shutout, going all nine innings and striking out nine Rays en route to a 1-0 White Sox victory.
A year later, the Rays ran into Sale again, this time with the Boston Red Sox. Odorizzi again took the mound against Sale, but this time, he was forced to exit in the second inning with a tight left hamstring. Erasmo Ramirez piggybacked off of Odorizzi and delivered four innings of one-run ball. Sale allowed one run in seven innings, and when he left the game after the top of the seventh, the game was tied 1-1. But the Red Sox scored in the bottom of the seventh, with Mitch Moreland scoring on a fielder’s choice groundout. The Rays again lose by one run, falling 2-1.
2018 offered a forgettable 10-4 loss to the Phillies, and the Rays’ next April 15th game would not be until 2021. The Rays nearly ended their April 15th losing streak in 2021. Tampa Bay entered the bottom of the ninth tied 4-4 against the Texas Rangers, and Yandy Diaz reached third base, representing the winning run. Manuel Margot would strike out, stranding runners at the corners, and the next inning, Adolis Garcia belted a go-ahead two-run home run to give Texas a 6-4 lead. Ian Kennedy locked down the save, and Tampa Bay lost another close game.
The Rays’ streak continued in 2022 with a 3-2 loss against the White Sox, during which Dylan Cease outdueled Drew Rasmussen. April 15th, 2023, saw the Rays lose 5-2 at the hands of the Blue Jays, and in 2024, the Angels plated five runs in the 8th inning, beating the Rays 7-3. Finally, in 2025, the Rays fell to the Red Sox, losing 7-4.
11 games. Four of them against the Red Sox, two against the White Sox, two against the Blue Jays, and one loss each against the Phillies, Rangers, and Angels. Four of the losses were one-run losses, and two of them saw the Rays lose by two runs. Once, the Rays lost in extra innings, and once, they were walked off in the ninth. Their run differential in those 11 games was 33-62.
Finally, Tampa Bay Breaks Through
Against the White Sox, on April 15th, 2026, the Tampa Bay Rays finally broke through. They won 8-3, and carried an 8-0 lead in the ninth inning, coming close to a shutout win. Junior Caminero, Jonny DeLuca, and Jake Fraley each contributed a home run, and Tampa Bay cruised to a victory, finally conquering their demons on April 15th.
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