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The first five innings Ryan Pepiot threw Wednesday night in Toronto were certainly good enough to lead the Rays to a win.
But the couple of mistakes he made in the sixth ended up being the reason they lost, 3-1 to the Blue Jays.
Pepiot was protecting a one-run lead when he opened the sixth by getting ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-2 before walking him on seven pitches.
Pepiot bounced back to strike out Anthony Santander and George Springer, then allowed a ground ball single to right to Daulton Varsho.
Pepiot got ahead of Alejandro Kirk 0-2 but then made his biggest mistake.
He went with the four-seam fastball that had been working so well but didn’t get it high enough, and Kirk drove it over the right-centerfield fence for a three-run homer.
The loss dropped the Rays to 19-23 and ended their five-game winning streak over the Jays. They’ll need to win Thursday’s matinee to extend their streak of series wins over Toronto to four.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, though they could have had more.
Jonathan Aranda drew a leadoff walk, then was forced out by Christopher Morel, who stole second and went on to third on an errant throw.
Struggling rookie Kameron Misner, who had five hits in his previous 41 at-bats, laced a single to right to score Morel.
That marked the third straight game the Rays had scored first, something they had done only twice before — and not in the last month — and only the 15th time in 42 games overall.
Jose Caballero followed with a double, giving the Rays runners on third and second with one out.
But with the infield playing in, Travis Jankowski grounded to second baseman Ernie Clement, who threw home to get Misner. Ex-Jay Danny Jansen, who had two hits Tuesday, grounded back to pitcher Chris Bassitt for the third out.
The one run was all the Rays could do offensively against Bassitt and three relievers.
Misner made a sliding catch in center to end the eighth with two on, keeping the Rays within two.
Pepiot allowed three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out seven.
News Wednesday that the Bucs will play their home opener Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. against the Jets will make Dale Mabry Highway a busy place. The Rays are scheduled to play their final regular season home game the same day against the Red Sox, with a 12:10 first pitch, across the street at Steinbrenner Field. The Rays had asked the NFL to avoid conflicts, as parking will be an issue with most of the baseball game parking in the Raymond James north lots.
Junior Caminero joined some elite players Tuesday as the sixth-youngest player in modern major-league history (since 1901) to hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning or later:
Mickey Mantle, 20.283, on July 29, 1952
Ted Williams, 20.254, on Aug. 19, 1939
Jimmy Sebring, 21.159, Aug. 31, 1903
Albert Pujols, 21.248, Sept. 21, 2001
Giancarlo Stanton, 21.266, Aug. 1, 2011
Junior Caminero, 21.312, May 13, 2025
3:07, Rogers Centre, Toronto
Pitchers: Rays— RH Zack Littell (2-5, 4.40); Jays — RH Kevin Gausman (3-3, 3.97)
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Sun; 95.3-FM, 620-AM, 106.7-FM (Spanish)
Info:raysbaseball.com
Friday: at Marlins, 7:10. Rays, RH Taj Bradley (3-2, 4.24); Marlins, RH Max Meyer (2-4, 4.37)
Saturday: at Marlins, 4:10. Rays, RH Drew Rasmussen (1-4, 3.38); Marlins, RH Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.52)
Sunday: at Marlins, 1:40. Rays, RH Shane Baz (3-2, 5.02); Marlins, RH Sandy Alcantara (2-5, 8.10)
• • •
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But the couple of mistakes he made in the sixth ended up being the reason they lost, 3-1 to the Blue Jays.
Pepiot was protecting a one-run lead when he opened the sixth by getting ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-2 before walking him on seven pitches.
Pepiot bounced back to strike out Anthony Santander and George Springer, then allowed a ground ball single to right to Daulton Varsho.
Pepiot got ahead of Alejandro Kirk 0-2 but then made his biggest mistake.
He went with the four-seam fastball that had been working so well but didn’t get it high enough, and Kirk drove it over the right-centerfield fence for a three-run homer.
The loss dropped the Rays to 19-23 and ended their five-game winning streak over the Jays. They’ll need to win Thursday’s matinee to extend their streak of series wins over Toronto to four.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, though they could have had more.
Jonathan Aranda drew a leadoff walk, then was forced out by Christopher Morel, who stole second and went on to third on an errant throw.
Struggling rookie Kameron Misner, who had five hits in his previous 41 at-bats, laced a single to right to score Morel.
That marked the third straight game the Rays had scored first, something they had done only twice before — and not in the last month — and only the 15th time in 42 games overall.
Jose Caballero followed with a double, giving the Rays runners on third and second with one out.
But with the infield playing in, Travis Jankowski grounded to second baseman Ernie Clement, who threw home to get Misner. Ex-Jay Danny Jansen, who had two hits Tuesday, grounded back to pitcher Chris Bassitt for the third out.
The one run was all the Rays could do offensively against Bassitt and three relievers.
Misner made a sliding catch in center to end the eighth with two on, keeping the Rays within two.
Pepiot allowed three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out seven.
Tampa traffic jam
News Wednesday that the Bucs will play their home opener Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. against the Jets will make Dale Mabry Highway a busy place. The Rays are scheduled to play their final regular season home game the same day against the Red Sox, with a 12:10 first pitch, across the street at Steinbrenner Field. The Rays had asked the NFL to avoid conflicts, as parking will be an issue with most of the baseball game parking in the Raymond James north lots.
Impressive company
Junior Caminero joined some elite players Tuesday as the sixth-youngest player in modern major-league history (since 1901) to hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning or later:
Mickey Mantle, 20.283, on July 29, 1952
Ted Williams, 20.254, on Aug. 19, 1939
Jimmy Sebring, 21.159, Aug. 31, 1903
Albert Pujols, 21.248, Sept. 21, 2001
Giancarlo Stanton, 21.266, Aug. 1, 2011
Junior Caminero, 21.312, May 13, 2025
Today: at Blue Jays
3:07, Rogers Centre, Toronto
Pitchers: Rays— RH Zack Littell (2-5, 4.40); Jays — RH Kevin Gausman (3-3, 3.97)
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Sun; 95.3-FM, 620-AM, 106.7-FM (Spanish)
Info:raysbaseball.com
On deck
Friday: at Marlins, 7:10. Rays, RH Taj Bradley (3-2, 4.24); Marlins, RH Max Meyer (2-4, 4.37)
Saturday: at Marlins, 4:10. Rays, RH Drew Rasmussen (1-4, 3.38); Marlins, RH Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.52)
Sunday: at Marlins, 1:40. Rays, RH Shane Baz (3-2, 5.02); Marlins, RH Sandy Alcantara (2-5, 8.10)
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.
Continue reading...
