Tampa Bay Rays at Colorado Rockies

Everything was new for Liam Hicks on his first day with the Rays. He walked into the visitors' clubhouse at Coors Field on Tuesday afternoon to find a new No. 34 uniform. New teammates and coaches. A new opportunity, with regular work behind the plate and a natural fit in the cleanup spot. A new place in the standings, having been dealt Monday from the Marlins to Tampa Bay’s American League-leading squad. So many new pitchers to learn. The thought even crossed his mind that he’d have to learn a new home run celebration, but he was hesitant to ask about it before taking the field for his first game. Didn’t want to jinx anything, you know? Hicks had to learn a lot about the Rays on Day 1, and they got to learn a lot about him. Tampa Bay’s newest catcher launched his first career grand slam, guided starter Freddy Peralta through a shaky Rays debut then handled 7 1/3 brilliant innings from the bullpen in a 9-7, 11-inning win over the Rockies on Tuesday night. “I mean, it went pretty well, yeah,” Hicks said, grinning. “Not exactly how I probably drew it up, but I mean, I'm really happy with how it went and excited we got the win.” Batting cleanup, Hicks stepped in against Rockies starter Gabriel Hughes with the bases loaded in the third inning. He turned on a fastball and blasted it a Statcast-projected 402 feet out to right field for his first career grand slam and the Rays’ first of the season. It also made him the first player in franchise history to hit a slam in his team debut. After all he’d been through over the last 24 hours, what was going through his head in that moment? “Just relieved,” he said, smiling. “You feel the pressure, even though you're not trying to put pressure on yourself \[in the\