TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Rookie Kameron Misner led off the ninth inning with his first major league home run, giving Tampa Bay a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday as the Rays began their season of home games at Steinbrenner Field.

Misner, a 27-year-old rookie who debuted in August, entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth and became the first player in major league history to hit his first big league home run for a walk-off on opening day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He drove a first-pitch fastball from Victor Vodnik (0-1) over the right-field wall for his second big league hit.

Pete Fairbanks (1-0) worked around two walks in the ninth for the win.

Tampa Bay is playing at the New York Yankees' spring training home after Hurricane Milton destroyed the Tropicana Field roof on Oct. 9.

Kyle Freeland struck out seven in six scoreless innings for the Rockies, coming off their sixth straight losing season. Freeland threw 53 of 67 pitches for strikes, starting his first eight batters with strikes and 15 of 20 overall.

Tampa Bay tied the score in the seventh on Jonathan Aranda's sacrifice fly and José Caballero's RBI single against Tyler Kinley.

Tampa Bay last year ended a streak of five straight postseason appearances.

Ezequiel Tovar hit an RBI double in the third and Kyle Farmer a sacrifice fly in the fourth against Ryan Pepiot, who gave up two runs — one earned — and six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and a walk.

Mickey Moniak made his Rockies debut as a pinch runner in the ninth and was caught stealing.

Key moment

With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, the Rays asked for a video review when plate umpire Mark Wegner ruled Curtis Mead was not hit by a pitch near his elbow guard. The call was upheld and Mead grounded into a forceout.

Key stat

Steinbrenner Field has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium: 318 feet down the left-field line, 399 in left-center, 408 in center, 385 in right-center and 314 in right.

Up next

Rays RHP Zack Littell (0-0) was inserted into the rotation following an injury to Shane McClanahan and starts Saturday against Colorado RHP Anthony Senzatela (0-0).

Deion Sanders' contract at Colorado extended through the 2029 season

Deion Sanders brought back the glitter — and the wins — to a downtrodden program in just two seasons.

For that, the Colorado Buffaloes rewarded the charismatic coach with a contract extension through the 2029 season, making him the highest-paid football coach in the Big 12 Conference and among the most lucratively paid across the country.

His five-year, $54 million extension includes $10 million in each of the first two seasons, $11 million in the next two and $12 million in Year 5. The deal was reached with three years remaining on Sanders' existing five-year, $29.5 million deal he signed when he was brought in from Jackson State.

"Coach Prime has revolutionized college football and in doing so, has restored CU football to our rightful place as a national power,” athletic director Rick George said in a statement. "This extension not only recognizes Coach’s incredible accomplishments transforming our program on and off the field, it keeps him in Boulder to compete for conference and national championships in the years to come.”

Sanders and the Buffaloes are coming off a 9-4 season in which they earned a spot in the Alamo Bowl.

The Buffaloes have big cleats to fill, though. They're losing Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Sanders' sons, Shedeur — a projected high pick in the upcoming NFL draft — and Shilo. Next season will mark the first time in many years that Deion Sanders won’t be coaching one of his kids.

Sanders and his high-profile staff have assembled another talented recruiting class — from high school recruits to transfer portal additions. The headliners of the class are Liberty transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter, Alabama transfer defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis and Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a five-star high school quarterback who arrived on campus early to get a head start. Either Salter or Lewis figures to step in and take over for Shedeur Sanders as Colorado attempts to make back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2004 and 2005.

With Sanders’ decision to stay put, the Buffaloes avoid all sorts of mass exodus — from the new fans and celebrities he's attracted to all the media attention the Buffaloes have received. In addition, the high-level recruits who were lured to town by the presence of Sanders figure to be staying, too.

Should Sanders take another job — in the NFL or another NCAA team — his buyout is $12 million if he terminates the deal on or before December 31, 2025; $10 million in 2026, $6 million in 2027, $4 million in 2028 and $3 million in 2029.

Among his incentives are $150,000 if the Buffaloes win nine games in the regular season and $100,000 for each additional victory in the regular season.

He also receives $150,000 if the team plays in the Big 12 title game and $150,000 if Colorado is invited to a non-college football playoff bowl. It’s $400,000 should the team win the conference championship or appear in the first round of the College Football Playoff. A first-round win earns him another $50,000. From there, it's $100,000 for the semifinals; $200,000 for the championship game and $250,000 if the Buffaloes win the national championship.

His selection as the Big 12 Coach of the Year would earn him $75,000 and the national award $150,000.

He’s certainly helped raise the profile of Colorado since taking over:

— 22 of Colorado’s 24 games have been selected to be on network television or the flagship ESPN.

— The two highest average home attendance seasons have been 2023 (53,180 fans) and last season (52,514).

— Colorado was sixth in viewership during the 2024 regular season, trailing only Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and Michigan.

— The football team generated $31.2 million in ticket sales in Sanders' first season in Boulder (a 4-8 record), according to the annual University of Colorado athletics NCAA financial reports. The program had $13 million in ticket sales the year before his arrival.

— Colorado has seen its applications to attend the school increase 20% from a year ago.

— Home football games have meant a combined $93.9 million in direct economic impact for Boulder and $146.5 million in regional economic impact, according to the school.

“To be honest, I don’t think that anybody fully was prepared for just how much national and international attention Coach Prime would generate for our community and the economic benefits that it would also engender,” John Tayer, the president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, recently said in an interview. “There’s just a great deal of enthusiastic energy.”

The success has carried over into the classroom as well. The football team had a GPA of 3.011 for the fall semester. It's the first time the football program has been over 3.0, the school announced.

“We’ve just scratched the surface of what this program can be,” Sanders said in a statement. "It’s not just about football; it’s about developing young men who are ready to take on the world. I’m committed to bringing greatness to this university, on and off the field. We’ve got work to do, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here, making history with these incredible players and this passionate fan base.

"Lastly, anybody got at least a five bedroom home with acreage for sale?”

Jokic has 27 points and 14 rebounds in Nuggets' 129-93 romp over Jazz

Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 14 rebounds before sitting the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 129-93 on Friday night to pad their lead in the fight for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Denver leads the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies by two games. The Nuggets trail Houston by 1 1/2 games for the second seed.

Jokic had 11 rebounds in the first quarter, nearly matching his game average of 12.8. Michael Porter Jr. finished with 20 points, and Christian Braun had 16.

Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray didn’t play. Utah was missing Lauri Markkanen and John Collins, its top two scorers.

Collin Sexton led the Jazz with 20 points, and Kyle Filipowski had 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Denver finished the third quarter with an 11-2 run and outscored Utah 25-8 to open the fourth.

Takeaways

Jazz: Coach Will Hardy called out his team following a lackluster second half against Memphis on Monday night. Utah played Houston tough on Thursday night and hung with Denver until the fourth.

Nuggets: With Murray out with a tight right hamstring, coach Michael Malone opted to go with a bigger starting lineup and brought Russell Westbrook off the bench. Peyton Watson and Braun were the starting backcourt.

Key moment

Jokic converted another buzzer-beating heave, this one from the top of the 3-point arc on the other side of halfcourt to beat the halftime clock. He hit a near full-court shot against Sacramento on Jan. 23.

Key stat

Watson’s four field goals were dunks, three of which came in a span of 1:06 in the third quarter when Denver built a 15-point lead.

Up next

The Jazz continue their five-game trip at Charlotte on Monday night. The Nuggets host Minnesota on Tuesday night.