Pepiot, Rays battle Mother Nature, drop series finale to O's
This browser does not support the video element.
TAMPA -- The Rays had to battle Mother Nature in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Orioles.
The temperature at first pitch was 93 degrees, with a heat index of 105, the hottest game the Rays have played at home this season. After six innings, their eighth home delay of the season lasted two hours and 36 minutes due to rain and lightning in the area, by far the longest since they moved into their temporary home at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
When the skies cleared and the temperature dropped -- a little bit, anyway -- Rays starter Ryan Pepiot was left battling his own highly competitive nature.
Pepiot placed the Rays’ 5-3 loss to the Orioles on his shoulders. He gave up five runs in six innings, with three of them coming on leadoff homers, and it was the first game this month in which Tampa Bay’s starting pitcher allowed more than three earned runs. Seeking their first series sweep in nearly a month, the Rays instead settled for a series victory.
“I'm hard on myself. Probably too hard. A lot of people tell me I'm too hard on myself,” Pepiot said afterward. “But I care about everybody in this room. I want to win every single time I take the mound and give the team a chance to win. … That one's on me. Give up five runs, and the offense comes back and puts up three. It just sucks.”
This browser does not support the video element.
But manager Kevin Cash, catcher Danny Jansen and others said Pepiot shouldn’t be critical of himself after the way he pitched during his third matchup against the Orioles in less than 35 days.
“I thought Pep threw the ball really well,” Cash said. “He filled up the strike zone, had good stuff. We've talked about this lineup, this Baltimore lineup -- they can hit, and they capitalized on a couple pitches. … But overall, I thought Pep threw the ball better than his stat line.”
This browser does not support the video element.
Indeed, there were some positive takeaways from Pepiot’s outing as he pitched through heat that forced him to change his jersey three times.
He struck out eight and walked only one batter. He threw 72% of his pitches for strikes. He covered six innings for the 15th time in 21 starts despite a 32-pitch third nearly knocking him out of the game. And he registered 18 swinging strikes, one shy of matching his season-high mark, with what shortstop Taylor Walls called “electric” stuff.
This browser does not support the video element.
“I know he's frustrated. That's the competitor in him. But I really felt like he threw the ball a lot better than what the results were,” Cash said. “And that happens sometimes. Hopefully he agrees, and if he doesn't, I know he'll get to work and do what he thinks he needs to do to get himself back in the direction he wants.”
Specifically, Pepiot knows he needs to limit the home runs that proved to be costly on Sunday. The Rays often say solo homers won’t beat you, but three leadoff shots did most of the damage.
The day got off to an inauspicious start, as Pepiot gave up a leadoff home run to Jackson Holliday on his second pitch of the game, a changeup down and inside. That one, Pepiot said, was as simple as Holliday putting a good swing on a good pitch.
This browser does not support the video element.
The other two were more frustrating, as Pepiot fell behind in the count then had to fight his way back into it. He has allowed 21 homers this season, tied for the third most in the Majors.
The Orioles pushed Pepiot to the brink as they tacked on three more runs in the third inning. Former Ray Alex Jackson hit a leadoff homer, and Gunnar Henderson ripped a two-run double to right-center on a 97.1 mph fastball at the top of the zone. The Orioles dinged Pepiot again in the sixth, as Ryan O’Hearn hit a full-count changeup out to right field after the right-hander had retired nine batters in a row.
“Overall, frustrating with the end line of it,” Pepiot said. “Filled up the zone, threw a lot of strikes, getting ahead of most people. One of those days.”
This browser does not support the video element.
The Rays still managed to make it interesting after the long delay. Down by three entering the bottom of the ninth, they scored once and staged an impressive rally against Orioles closer Félix Bautista, bringing Junior Caminero to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.
This browser does not support the video element.
Caminero got ahead in the count, 3-0, then took a pitch that appeared to be outside for a called strike. Two pitches later, Caminero swung and missed to end the Rays’ hopes of a sweep.
“Winning the series is huge,” Jansen said. “Obviously we wanted to sweep today, but try to carry the momentum into the next series, for sure.”
This browser does not support the video element.