Lou Piniella’s 2004 Devil Rays had interesting path to record streak

ST. PETERSBURG — As a pitcher who spent most of the 2004 season with the Devil Rays, Doug Waechter had a pretty good sense of the team that set the franchise record with a 12-game winning streak.

And as an analyst for Bally Sports Sun working Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox, Waechter has a pretty good perspective on the current squad that tied that mark.

“When we went on our streak it seemed like we would just find ways to win, and we had confidence at all times that someone would be the hero,” Waechter said after the 9-7 win.

“I see the same confidence in this year’s club, but the difference is that they have the talent to push for much bigger goals in the postseason.”

That 2004 team was an interesting group.

The manager was fiery Lou Piniella, in the second of his three tough years leading his hometown team.

The roster was an odd mix of rising young homegrown players like Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Aubrey Huff and Toby Hall; and declining veterans such as Hall of Famer Fred McGriff (who hit his 493rd and final homer during the streak), Tino Martinez, Eduardo Perez and Jose Cruz. Jr. (also, briefly, a relatively unknown Jose Bautista, who would turn into a star with Toronto.)

The season didn’t start well. After a trek to Japan for a two-game opening series, the Devil Rays by mid-May had a majors-worst 10-28 record.

But on June 9, two days after the Lightning won their first Stanley Cup, the Devil Rays blew a ninth-inning lead before rallying in the 10th to beat the Giants. They didn’t lose for nearly two weeks, improving to 33-34 before the streak ended with a walkoff loss June 23 at Toronto.

But there was another streak ahead, as they lost 12 straight from Aug. 27-Sept. 10, becoming the second team to have winning and losing streaks of at least 12 games in the same season. Still, they finished with 70 wins, the most in their seven seasons, and Piniella led a champagne toast the final weekend in Detroit.

“I wanted them to feel good about themselves,” Piniella said then. “I wanted these kids to realize they had taken a step forward.”

Glasnow feeling ‘awesome’

Tyler Glasnow figured his first session throwing off the mound would go well Tuesday, as he says he feels fully over the oblique strain that has sidelined him since Feb. 27.

“It was cool,” Glasnow said. “The past week and a half, everything’s just been awesome. I don’t feel it, I don’t think about it anymore. So it’s just kind of like the next step.”

Glasnow threw 15 pitches, all fastballs, in what he said was “a normal transition” to the mound. “Everything feels back to normal,” he said.

He will increase his workload over several more bullpen sessions, then advance to live batting practice and minor-league rehab games.

The Rays haven’t shared a specific date for Glasnow’s return to the big-league rotation, but a rough timetable would have him built up to starter duty (five innings/90 pitches) sometime in mid-May.

Miscellany

The Rays beat the Red Sox for the 12th straight time at Tropicana Field. … Boston pitcher Zack Kelly left in the fifth inning in obviously extreme discomfort, with the team saying it was due to “right elbow pain.” … Yandy Diaz, who left Tuesday’s game after landing hard on his left shoulder, was in Wednesday’s lineup at designated hitter. He went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly. … Taylor Walls, who missed four games due to tendinitis in his left elbow, returned to action, playing third base.

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