Rays' Opening Day loss to Cardinals was even worse thanks to a 17-hit reason

The Tampa Bay Rays began their 2026 season on the road, facing the National League Central St. Louis Cardinals.

After building a 7-1 lead, the Rays blew it in the same inning, allowing the Cardinals to score eight runs, and blowing the big lead they had built, all in the sixth inning.

But that wasn't the only brutal part of this loss for the Rays. As Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report shared after the game,  their 17-hit performance makes this loss look even worse than their sixth-inning collapse already made it.

Rays' 17-hit performance wasted in a brutal loss

"Way to waste 17 hits," Rymer writes. "There were 103 games in which a team gathered 17 or more hits last year, and 100 of them were victories for that team. So, way to go, Rays. Still discovering market inefficiencies after all these years."

While Rymer's bashing of the Rays goes beyond the simple statistics, this feat is a rarity, making the Rays' 9-7 loss to the Cardinals feel a lot worse.

Only three teams lost last season when getting at least 17 hits, and now, on Opening Day, the Rays are kick-starting the 2026 season version of that statistic with a loss.

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Teams in MLB this year are 0-1 when getting 17 hits in a game. That statistic is going to change as the season goes along, but for now, the Rays stand alone with the most hits in Major League Baseball, and yet, they're 0-1.

Yandy Diaz had three hits, Chandler Simpson had one, Jonathan Aranda had two, Junior Caminero had one (and four walks), Ben Williamson had three hits, Jonny DeLuca had two hits, Jake Fraley had one, Nick Fortes had three, and Carson Williams had one.

Despite putting up 17 hits against the Cardinals, the Rays only scored seven runs and lost on Opening Day. This game was a strange one, with the 14-run sixth inning, and this 17-hit statistic, making this game one of the more odd ones in Opening Day history.

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