TAMPA -- There has been plenty of discussion about the Rays’ struggles at George M. Steinbrenner Field and what they need to do to turn things around inside their temporary home ballpark.
Indeed, the numbers are jarring.
After a 4-3 loss to the Astros on Monday night, the Rays fell to 11-18 at Steinbrenner Field. That’s a .379 home winning percentage -- not the worst mark in the Majors, but it stands in stark contrast to their .556 mark on the road.
Tampa Bay won eight of its first 13 home games this season, and has lost 13 of 16 since then. It’s become an inescapable topic of conversation as the Rays (21-26) have fallen back to a season-high-tying five games below .500.
What’s the reason behind the dramatic home/road split? Theories abound. Players say they’re not doing anything different, that their effort remains the same regardless of the venue. But the simplest answer might be something manager Kevin Cash said after the game.
“We've got to play better baseball, regardless of the venue,” Cash said.
There is plenty of time to turn it around, but there is also some degree of urgency to make things right at home.
Monday night was the Rays’ MLB-leading 29th home game, beginning a stretch in which they’re playing 15 of 19 games at Steinbrenner Field. (Their lone road trip during that span is a four-game series in Houston next weekend.) After that, the Rays will play 59 of their remaining 97 games (60.8%) on the road.
“They're all important. The ones coming up are obviously going to be the most important,” Cash said. “Would like to see us play better baseball here. Whether we're here or somewhere else, just play better baseball.”
They almost played well enough to win Monday’s series opener. Ryan Pepiot recorded his third straight quality start and fifth in his last six outings, and all three runs he allowed came with two outs in the second inning. After that, Pepiot locked in and kept Houston off the board.
Then, in the fifth, it seemed like the Rays finally found some home-field advantage.
Down by three with a runner on in the fifth inning, Danny Jansen smacked a 2-0 sinker from Astros starter Colton Gordon out to right field. The 90.9 mph drive carried enough to just clear the fence for a two-run homer that, according to Statcast, would have only left two ballparks: Yankee Stadium and Steinbrenner Field.
“I'll tell you, I didn't think that was going,” Jansen said. “I saw the right fielder kind of closing on it. I thought [it was] maybe a double, so I'll try to pick up the pace a little bit. So I was a little surprised, but it definitely felt good.”
The Rays seemed to seize that momentum swing as they tied the game in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Yandy Díaz and José Caballero. But it quickly swung back in the Astros’ favor when Jake Meyers hit a go-ahead homer off Manuel Rodríguez in the seventh.
And the Rays couldn’t hit their way back into the game after that.
They had plenty of opportunities against the Astros’ bullpen, but Tampa Bay went just 1-for-11 with runners on base after Caballero’s double in the sixth and finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position overall.
“As an offense, we just put ourselves in position to get hits and maybe put some runs on the board and take the lead,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “But we just couldn't do it.”
The Rays nearly caught another break in the ninth against Josh Hader. Simpson reached on catcher’s interference, advanced to second on a high-hopping groundout and boldly stole third. But Walls popped up his bunt attempt to second baseman Jose Altuve, and Ben Rortvedt popped out to end the game.
“Just trying to get a strike to put down, and just unfortunately hit too low on the ball and it just went too far, and Altuve caught it,” Walls said.
“With Chandler at third base, feels like there's a lot of opportunity if you get it down. It's a really tough play for any fielder,” Cash added. “I like the direction he was thinking to get it to, with Hader coming off the mound the other way. It was a top of the zone fastball, I think, that just stayed up in the air a little too long.”
That small gap between winning and losing -- one pitch, one hit, one play -- has often worked against the Rays this year, especially at this ballpark.
“It feels like we're close -- so close,” Pepiot said. “Just one ball falls our way, one ball doesn't fall their way, and it's the difference in the game.”