Rays reopen hurricane-damaged stadium, beat Cubs 6-4

With cowbells ringing in the stands, Bryan Baker was fired up after striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong to give the Tampa Bay Rays a triumphant return to Tropicana Field.

Back home for the first time in 561 days after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium, the Rays beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Monday in front of a sellout crowd of 25,114.

Shane McClanahan allowed two Cub runs and one hit in four innings. He struck out five and walked four. McClanahan returned to the mound last week for the first time after a series of injuries forced him to miss two full seasons.

Kevin Kelly (1-1) pitched a perfect fifth to earn the win and Bryan Baker finished for his first save, yielding Matt Shaw’s solo shot in the ninth.

Jameson Taillon (0-1) allowed four runs — three earned — and seven hits in six innings.

RHP Javier Assad makes his season debut for the Cubs against Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (0-0, 1.80) on Tuesday night. Assad, who has a 3.43 ERA across four seasons, is taking Matthew Boyd’s spot in the rotation. Boyd was placed on the 15-day injured list with a a left biceps strain.



It cost nearly $60 million to replace the titled roof and rebuild the Trop after a hurricane swept through downtown St. Petersburg in October of 2024. The new roof was installed last August while the Rays played their 2025 season across the bay in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field — the spring training home of the New York Yankees. (AP Photo Chris O'Meara)