Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After all the pomp and circumstances of Opening Day went away, there was a game to be played and it did not take long for the Tampa Bay Rays to get on the board.

Ji-Man Choi doubled, and then Brandon Lowe drove in Choi with a double of his own for the only run that the Rays would need on their way to a 5-2 over the San Francisco before a sellout crowd of 41,067 at Oracle Park.

Following the Lowe double, the Rays began to show their muscles, as Yandy Diaz hit a two-run home run that broke his bat and then Kevin Kiermaier launched a solo home run into the center field bleachers.

After that rough first inning, Dereck Rodriguez settled down, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking no one and striking out five, as his record fell to 1-1 on the young season.

Buster Posey singled to lead off the second inning, went to second, when Choi was unable to make the throw on a ball hit by Brandon Crawford, then after Rays starter Tyler Glasnow retired the next two, Joe Panik walked to load the bases; however, the attempt at a rally ended, when grounded to first to end the inning.

Glasnow went six innings, giving up zero runs on just three hits, walking just and striking out six, as he won for the second time in as many starts to begin the season.

The Rays stretched their up to 5-0 in the top of the seventh inning, as Michael Perez doubled and then after a throwing error by reliever Nick Vincent, Austin Meadows doubled in Perez.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval doubled down the left field line off of Rays reliever Wilmer Font, who gave up a single to Kevin Pillar. It was the first hit as a member of the Giants for Pillar.

Steven Duggar then cut the Rays lead down to three, as he doubled to the left-center field gap to score Sandoval and put an end to Fonts afternoon.

Despite getting the tying run to the plate in bottom of the ninth inning, Brandon Belt struck out and then former Rays third baseman Evan Longoria flew out to Guillermo Heredia.

NOTES: Prior to the game, and during the game, the Giants paid tribute to beloved members of the Giants family who passed away during the off-season, including Hank Greenwald, Frank Robinson, Peter Magowan and Willie McCovey.

The team also honored the first responders of the California wildfires that destroyed many different parts of California this past fall and also remembered the people who perished in those fires.

This is the second year in a row that the Giants have opened the home slate against an American League team, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Giants 6-4 to open the 2018 home season.

With the loss in the home opener, the Giants have lost back-to-back home openers for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 season, when they lost to the San Diego Padres 7-0 and then 8-4 the following season.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday for the Giants, while the Rays starter is yet to be determined.