TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Mangum collected three more hits and Shane Baz struck out a career-high 10 in six innings, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 on Tuesday night.

Mangum drove in two runs and scored twice, one day after he went 4 for 4 with two steals in his second major league game.

Brandon Lowe homered as Tampa Bay earned its third consecutive win. Lowe finished with three hits and three RBIs.

Baz (1-0) allowed seven hits and walked none in his first start of the season. Mason Englert pitched two innings before Mason Montgomery finished the nine-hitter for the Rays.

Pittsburgh right-hander Thomas Harrington (0-1) permitted six runs and seven hits in four innings in his major league debut. He struck out two and walked four.

Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes each had two hits for the Pirates, who left seven runners on base.

Mangum hit a two-run double in Tampa Bay’s three-run first. Lowe’s two-run shot in the fourth lifted the Rays to a 6-0 lead.

Baz struck out four of his final five batters.

Key moment

Kameron Misner singled home Mangum during Tampa Bay’s big first inning against Harrington.

Key stat

Baz, Englert and Montgomery combined for 15 strikeouts and no walks.

Up next

In a duel of opening-day starters, Pirates star Paul Skenes (0-0, 3.38 ERA) faces Ryan Pepiot (0-0, 1.50 ERA) on Wednesday afternoon. The forecast for the gametime temperature is 91 degrees.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

 The No. 24 University of South Florida Men’s tennis team (18-3) are now on a nine-game win streak after facing Charlotte on Friday and Liberty on Sunday and walking away victorious. The Bulls lead the conference and are undefeated with a 5-0 record.

The Bulls defeated Charlotte on Friday with a score of 6-1. South Florida took two of the three doubles courts, starting with a 6-3 win on Court 1 by Hugo Car and Ettore Danesi. Elijah Cham and Agustin Cuellar sealed the deal with a 7-6 (8-6) triumph on Court 3.

The Bulls dominated on the singles courts, taking all but one. Toto Llanes started off strong with a swift 6-1, 6-3 win on Court 6. Cham followed with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory on Court 3. Danesi clinched the match with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) triumph on Court 5. Car added some cushion with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win on Court 1. Gughi Verdese wrapped it up with a battle on Court 4, scoring 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 and walking away victorious.

The Bulls continued their hot streak on Sunday when they faced Liberty University and walked away with a 5-2 win. The Bulls started the match by clinching the doubles point. Llanes and Ben Hudson finished first with a 6-1 win on Court 2. Car and Danesi clinched it with a 6-2 triumph on Court 1.

Verdese quickly took Court 3 with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Cham followed with another swift 6-3, 6-4 victory on Court 2. Cuellar clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph on Court 1. Llanes wrapped up the match with a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (10-6) win on Court 6.

The Bulls have been ranked top-25 for three consecutive weeks, for the first time in over a decade. The Bulls lead the conference with a 18-3 record, 5-0 AAC.

UP NEXT
The Bulls will wrap up regular season play with two road matches next weekend. First, they will face Middle Tennessee (11-9) on Friday. The Bulls are 5-6 against Middle Tennessee in match-up history, losing to them 3-4 just last year. They will continue to play UAB (8-11) on Sunday. The Bulls are undefeated against UAB with a program record of 3-0. Their last match-up resulted in a 4-2 win at home.

About USF Men’s Tennis
Be sure to follow USF men’s tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
Head coach Ashley Fisher is in his ninth year at the helm of the program for the 2024-25 season. Fischer has guided the Bulls to four NCAA Tournaments, including three trips to the second round. He was named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2017 & 2019 after leading USF to the conference title in each of those seasons.

 After sweeping the Tulane Green Wave, LHP Corey Braun and OF Marcus Brodil have swept the American Athletic Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week honors, the league office announced on Monday. It’s the pair’s first AAC Player and Pitcher of the Week honor.

FOR MORE USF BULLS STORIES – CLICK HERE FOR GOUSFBULLS.COM

The Bulls stretched their win streak to five games after a historical sweep over the Tulane Green Wave in Tampa this past weekend. South Florida swept Tulane for the first time since 1993 and the first time in Tampa. The Bulls are now 5-1 in conference play, the best conference start since 2015.

Braun led the Bulls to a 3-0 shutout win over Tulane on Friday night. The Seminole native pitched the first complete game of his career. Through nine innings, he held the Green Wave to two hits. He struck out six batters and only allowed one walk. Braun became the first South Florida pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete-game shutout since Collin Sullivan did so against Wichita State on May 17, 2019.

Brodil led the Bull’s bats with a .600 average, two doubles, and eight total bases. On Sunday, the Dunedin native set a career-high of four RBI while going 3-for-3 and scoring three runs. Brodil posted a perfect fielding percentage.

Braun, Brodil, and the Bulls will welcome the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats for a midweek matchup on Tuesday, April 1. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

Series History:
The Bulls and Wildcats will meet for the 86^th time on Tuesday. South Florida leads the all-time series 68-17. The Bulls lead the series in Tampa, 42-9, and are on a nine-game winning streak.

Note-A-Bull:

• Marcus Brodil has recorded a team-leading 11^th multi-hit game of the season with two this past weekend.
• Carlos Jacome recorded his fifth multi-hit performance of the season and his third three-hit performance on Sunday. He has recorded a home run in both conference series.
• Lance Trippel is currently on a team-leading five-game hitting streak. He hit his third home run on Saturday and posted a season-high three RBI.
• RHP Matt Goldenbaum earned his first career win on Sunday. The redshirt freshman pitched three innings, holding the Green Wave to one hit.
• RHP Bryce Archie earned his third win of the season on Saturday. In four innings, he struck out three batters.

Hannahs at the Helm:
Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida’s eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals, guiding ISU to a spot in the 2023 NCAA Super Regional. He takes over a USF team that went 26-29 last year and features 24 new players.

60th Year of USF Baseball:
The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF has won 11 conference titles – five tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro, and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro, and 1 C-USA). Bulls baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades.

Tickets:
Tickets to watch Bulls baseball at the USF Baseball Stadium may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or clicking HERE.

Follow us:
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF Baseball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

About USF Baseball
The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida’s eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro, and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro, and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades. USF has had 131 MLB Draft Picks. Former 2018 first-round draft pick Shane McClanahan is a two-time MLB All-Star.
– #GoBulls –