Tampa Bay Rays fans blast officials for controversial calls as team's win streak is snapped: "The ump behind the plate needs to be investigated"

The Tampa Bay Rays lost their first game of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center in Toronto. Rays fans weren't happy with some of the umpiring calls that were made during the 6-3 loss.

Two single-run innings in the first two and a mammoth four-run fifth inning gave the Blue Jays a sizeable lead. Tampa Bay attempted to come back but could only salvage two runs in the seventh.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Rasmussen was taken off the field with the bases load in the fifth. However, replacement Colin Poche wasn't any better as he forced in two runs off the back of two walks before a costly error by second baseman Brandon Lowe gave away two extra runs.

"Losing always sucks," Lowe said after the game. "There's no loss that feels any worse or any better than any other ones. You kind of put them all in the same kind of category, you know? Every win is great. Every loss is terrible."

However, the umpires were heavily blamed by the Rays faithful, who pointed out key moments when they seemingly made mistakes. Questions were raised about the strike zone calls as fans alleged the umpires were too harsh on Rasmussen.

Tampa Bay Rays unable to set record for most consecutive wins

The Tampa Bay Rays' 13-game season-opening win streak is the longest in the MLB since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, who also won 13. The Rays tied the Brewers and the 1982 Atlanta Braves. However, they fell seven short of the 1884 St. Louis Maroons, who went on an unbelievable 20-game winning streak.

It's pertinent to note that the Rays' win streak came against Detroit, Washington, Oakland, and Boston, four teams that were last in their respective divisions before Friday's games.