Rays finally homeward-bound after going .500 on marathon road trip

SAN FRANCISCO – No, the Rays players did not need to pack a Costco-sized cache of unmentionables for their two-week journey on the West Coast. Management showed the traveling party some mercy halfway through the rare 12-game trip by footing the hotel-laundry bill for everyone’s personal clothing.

“The bag was little,” starter Shane Baz said, “but you got all the essentials done.”

What did the Rays get done on the field as they visited the Angels, Mariners, A’s and Giants? Not enough to make a move in the American League Wild Card race.

Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Giants denied Tampa Bay the psychological and practical boost of a winning record on the marathon trip, which they finished 6-6. The Rays actually lost ground in a playoff race in which they feel they still belong. They were 55-58 and five games out for the third and final Wild Card spot when they left home. They return 61-64 and a half-game worse.

Two players summed up the mixed feelings that are unavoidable on a .500 trip.

Designated hitter Yandy Díaz: “At the end of the day, it’s not a negative balance. We were able to win a couple of series and I think the guys are getting a little more comfortable, and I think good things are coming ahead.”

Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot: “Seven and five on a road trip sounds a lot better than 6-6.”

Pepiot was unhappy with how his 10th loss of the season went down. He and Giants All-Star Logan Webb each carried two-hit shutouts into the sixth inning. After allowing a Jung-Hoo Lee double to start the game, Pepiot retired 15 of his next 18 hitters, including the first two in the sixth.

Then, he lost the strike zone after Heliot Ramos roped a two-out single to left. Rafael Devers singled after getting ahead 2-0, Willy Adames drew what Pepiot called a “non-competitive walk” and Dominic Smith drove in all three runners with a broken-bat single.

Adames raced first to third on the single and kept going when he saw shortstop Ha-Seong Kim’s back to third base while taking the relay from right fielder Jake Mangum. Kim spun toward third, where he thought Adames would be, saw the former Ray dash for home and fired a throw to catcher Hunter Fedducia, which was late.

“It was a good, aggressive baserunning play,” Kim said.

Christian Koss’ RBI double to left gave the Giants a 4-0 lead, ended Pepiot’s afternoon and all but sealed a .500 trip that manager Kevin Cash deemed insufficient, especially considering the 16 home runs his team hit in 12 games, seven by third baseman Junior Caminero.

“I’m glad we were able to get to .500,” he said, noting that the Rays began the trip with series losses to the Angels and Mariners. “I think we would all agree that we needed to do better and get more wins. We’re ready to go home.”

The figurative road for the Rays is daunting. A 5 1/2 game deficit sounds doable, except they have to climb over three teams -- Cleveland, Kansas City and Texas – before challenging whomever owns the final playoff spot.

The Rays play 22 of their final 37 games against the Yankees, Guardians, Mariners, Blue Jays and Red Sox, all teams ahead of the Rays in the playoff race.

The quest starts Tuesday night, when the Yankees, who have a solid hold on the third Wild Card spot, open a two-game series at Steinbrenner Field in the teams’ final meeting of the regular season.

“I think it’s one of the most important series we have left,” Díaz said. “We always play good baseball against them. Hopefully this time we’ll be the same and we will be able to get two wins.”

Cash has a more holistic view of the remaining schedule.

“We’ve just got to play good baseball again,” he said. “We’ve got to play good baseball against everybody. At this point, when you’re behind in the standings like we are right now, you can’t cherry-pick what teams you are more likely to need wins against. We need wins against everybody.”