Pepiot’s Debut Plans Thrown Into Disarray: Rangers 9, Rays 3

The Tampa Bay Rays' pitching continues to be inconsistent at the start of the season. The good news is we are only in the fifth game, with plenty of time to figure it out.

Hopefully, this team will figure it out sooner than later.

Ryan Pepiot made his debut with the Rays to open the series against the Texas Rangers and the first inning was not one he will want to remember. Marcus Semien and Corey Seager both drew walks to open the game. There was hope the Rays might squeeze out of the inning on an Evan Carter groundout, but they were only able to get the out at second and weren't able to turn the double play. That set the stage for Josh Jung to blast a changeup from Pepiot to give the Rangers an early 3-0 lead.

The Rays struggled to respond in the bottom of the first, with Yandy Díaz striking out swinging and Brandon Lowe grounding out, stifling any potential rally. Randy Arozarena hit a well-struck line drive that unfortunately found Travis Jankowski's glove to end the inning.

Things got a little exciting at the top of the fourth. Jared Walsh hit a groundball to shortstop, and Wyatt Langford rounded second base since third base was uncovered and decided to keep running home since it was uncovered as well. Austin Shenton tossed the ball from first base to Pepiot, who won the foot race home to finish the unorthodox 5-3-1 double play.

Pepiot finished his first Rays start with 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 ER, and 3K. Take away those four walks, and the Rays have a much better chance in this game. A combination of command issues and good plate discipline with his changeup was key to the game. Rangers batters swung at 11 of his 22 changeups, including Jung's homerun, and only missed on one swing that was outside of the zone.

The bottom of the seventh inning saw a glimmer of hope for the Rays as Richie Palacios launched a solo home run, putting the Rays on the board. Curtis Mead's walk and another home run by Jose Siri brought the score to 6-3, injecting new energy into the Rays' lineup.

Dane Dunning was stunning for the Rangers. He took a one-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing with 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 7 K on 93 pitches.

Phil Maton took the mound for the Rays in the ninth inning and looked like he left his command in the bullpen. Jankowski got things going for the Rangers with a double. The Rays got an out thanks to Shenton leaping for the roof to snag a Semien line drive. Corey Seager was intentionally walked, which he probably appreciates, given that the following three Rangers players that stepped into the batter's box had Maton pitches find their body instead of their bat. After back-to-back hit by pitch to Carter and Adolis Garcia, a ball hit Jung on the wrist, ending his night, but since he swung, it counted as a strike. Another walk to Josh Smith extended the Rangers lead to 9-3.

The Rays fought to the end, with Curtis Mead and René Pinto recording hits in the bottom of the ninth. Pinto's hit came on an infield pop-up that the Rangers lost against the backdrop of the roof, giving the Rays a double on what should have been an out after a night of getting out on what could have been hits. The Rays ultimately sealed the loss, as the game ended with a flyout by Yandy Díaz.

You have to take advantage of what the other team gives you. The Rangers converted walks, intentional walks, and hit-by-pitches into runs, but the Rays did not. It is too early to panic, though; the team certainly has some things to work on with the pitching staff. It's a good thing there is still plenty of baseball left. The second game of this series is tomorrow night at 6:50 pm ET, when Zach Eflin starts for the Rays opposite Andrew Heaney for the Rangers.