2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season

The bullpen blew a lead and Tampa Bay lost, 9-5,[1] but came back to win the third game, 7-6 (the second of the opening series was rained out).

[2] However, the team continued to play better than in past years, and on May 4 moved into a tie for second place, the latest that Tampa Bay had been that high in the standings since the 1999 season.

[3] The Rays trailed off going into May, falling eventually back into last place, but surged into their series in Orlando, Florida, against the Texas Rangers, which they swept.

The Rays' lack of pitching between their two aces and closer Al Reyes led to the coining of the idiom, "Kazmir and Shields, then off come the wheels."

Improvements made to the bullpen at the trade deadline led to shorter losing streaks and, eventually, more series wins.

On August 11, Starting pitcher Edwin Jackson pitched the Devil Rays 1st complete game shutout of the year in a 3-0 win against the Rangers.

Andy Sonnanstine broke a team record with seven consecutive strikeouts on June 10 in a victory over the Florida Marlins, his first win of the season.

On September 3, Carlos Peña broke the club single-season home run record, previously 34, held by José Canseco (1999) and Aubrey Huff (2003).

On September 16, he became the first Rays player to hit 40 home runs in a season, the 40th being a leadoff homer coming off Jarrod Washburn in the 4th inning of a 9-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Carl Crawford approached the 1,000-hit plateau, but a groin pull in late September ended his season early, leaving him stuck at 990 career hits.

His injury, however, did not prevent him from finishing the season with a share of the AL stolen base title with Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 10, Scott Kazmir became the first Rays pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season, in a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.