Rays began using "The Opener" followed by a "Bulk Guy" on May 18 and onward for almost 90 of their next 120 games. They had second lowest ERA in MLB during that run and it was why their overall record in those games was third best in MLB
And Choptalk correctly notes that directly on the heels of Joe Maddon and Rays beginning deeper analytics and most notably, shifting defenders in 2007, the Astros were the second team to follow suit, most notably with defensive shifts