When the Rays acquired catchers Michael Perez from Arizona and Mike Zunino from Seattle, the team’s defensive capabilities behind the plate were strongly improved.
Facing the 2017 World Series champions to start the 2019 campaign, these two young catchers showed off their defensive skills and did their part to help secure the Rays’ first series win of the season.
On Opening Day, it was Mike Zunino getting the nod behind the plate as the battery mate for Blake Snell. Zunino threw out two Houston runners trying to steal on him, and those runners quickly found out how expeditiously Zunino could get the ball from home plate to second.