Miami (United States) (AFP) - Randy Arozarena smashed a record-setting home run and drove in the winning run for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Arozarena's two-run blast over the left-centerfield wall in the first inning off White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease gave the Rays a Major League Baseball season-opening record streak of homers in 21 games.
That broke the old MLB mark of 20 games with homers to start a campaign set by the 2019 Seattle Mariners.
It also stretched the club record for consecutive games with homers, which had been 18 from 2017.
The Rays' total of 45 homers in their first 20 games was the second-most over such a span to start a season in MLB history, two off the record set by St.Louis in 2000.
Arozarena was the day's hero for the host Rays, driving in a run with a single in the fifth inning and delivering the game-winning run with a 10th-inning line drive single to right field.
The Rays improved their record to a MLB-best 18-3 and became only the fourth team since 1901 to start a season by winning its first 12 home games -- the New York Giants winning 15 in 1907, the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers taking 13 in 2009 and the Detroit Tigers capturing 12 in 1911.
