In case you missed it, the Tampa Bay Rays opened the season with 13 consecutive wins before they lost, 6-3, to Toronto on Friday night.

Tampa Bay’s 13-0 record matched the 1982 Braves and 1987 Brewers, trailing only the 20-0 start by the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association.

During their remarkable run, the Rays trailed in just six of their first 117 innings. And the Rays are one of just five teams since 1901 to start a season with a home run in at least 13 consecutive games. The others are the 2019 Mariners (20 straight), 2002 Guardians (14), 2017 Tigers (13) and 1954 Chicago Cubs (13).

The Rays’ sizzling start is fascinating because, let’s face it, in the have- and have-not world of Major League Baseball they are not considered an elite franchise, at least not in the same way the Yankees, Astros, Dodgers, Red Sox and Mets are. Lots of folks love or revile the Yankees; the Rays are treated more like a curiosity.

Never mind that Tampa Bay is at the forefront of analytics and creative baseball thinking. Or that, entering this season, the Rays had reached the playoffs four consecutive seasons, including a 100-win season in 2021 and a World Series appearance in 2020. Or that in the previous 15 years, they made the playoffs eight times.

Tampa Bay does far more with far less than any team in the major leagues. The Mets’ $345 million payroll is more than four times higher than the Rays’.

Yet Tampa Bay drew just 25,025 fans for their home opener at Tropicana Field. When the Rays beat Boston on Thursday for their 13th consecutive victory, only 21,175 fans showed up at “The Trop” to witness a slice of history.

The Rockies, in contrast, drew 48,230 for their home opener vs. Washington. A crowd of 22,250 showed up at Coors Field on Wednesday to see the sliding Rockies lose to the Cardinals.

It doesn’t compute, but baseball’s a funny game. For comparison’s sake, let’s match up the Rays and the Rockies, by some numbers:

• Record entering Saturday: Rays, 13-1 (plus-68 run differential); Rockies, 5-9 (minus-19).

• Home/road record: Rays, 10-0 at home, 3-1 on the road; Rockies, 3-4 at home, 2-5 on the road.

• Average home attendance: Rays, 17,210 (26th in majors); Rockies, 30,803 (13th).

• Team payroll: Rays, $73.9 million (28th, according to Spotrac); Rockies, $177.2 million (15th).

• Highest paid player: Rays, right-hander Zach Eflin, $11 million (14.89% of payroll); Rockies, outfielder Kris Bryant, $28 million (15.80%).

• Home runs: Rays, 34 (first); Rockies, 15 (18th).

• Batting average: Rays, .283 (third); Rockies, .267 (seventh).

• Batting average, runners in scoring position: Rays, .355 (first); Rockies, .256 (16th).

• OPS: Rays, .920 (first); Rockies, .739 (14th).

• Team ERA: Rays, 2.45 (first); Rockies, 5.28 (26th).

• Starters ERA: Rays, 2.65 (second); Rockies 5.48 (26th).

• Relievers ERA: Rays, 2.18 (second); Rockies 5.03 (23rd).

• Record, previous four seasons: Rays, 322-224 (.590, four playoff appearances); Rockies, 239-306 (.439, zero playoff appearances).

• Farm system rankings: Rays, sixth (according to MLB Pipeline); Rockies, 14th.

• Employees in research and development: Rays, 23; Rockies, nine.

You can draw your own conclusions but it’s clear that the Rays have discovered how to play winning baseball, in the tenacious American League East, despite a relatively paltry payroll, a gloomy home ballpark and a relatively disinterested fan base.

The Rockies? They’re still trying to figure it out.