How could so many things go wrong for the Rays in one night? Well …

BALTIMORE — The Rays have had so many good days where they did so many great things and won so many games.

Then, they had Friday.

And a 22-8 loss to the Orioles.

By the end of the long night, the Rays had matched the most runs they’d ever given up in a game. They’d blown their biggest lead of this season. Ryan Pepiot had the shortest start of his career. Every reliever they used gave up runs. Jose Caballero made his pro pitching debut.

According to MLB.com, the Orioles’ 14-run win is the largest by a team in a game it trailed by at least six runs in at least the last 125 seasons.

What happened?

“Just baseball, to be honest with you,” Rays veteran Brandon Lowe said.

Over the course of 162 games, there are going to be nights somewhat like this. Just not now, not with how well things had been going for the Rays.

“It almost doesn’t seem right,” said reliever Eric Orze. “We’ve thrown the ball so well for so long. With the law of averages in baseball, at some point this is bound to happen. So, hopefully we got it all out in one game and we just leave it at that.

“But we’re going to keep rolling forward. We’ve got a really good group, really good team, and (Saturday’s) a new day.”

There really is no other way for the Rays to take it.

Rays infielder/outfielder Jose Caballero delivers a pitch during the eighth inning. He allowed six runs on five hits, including two homers, and a walk in the inning. [ STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH | AP ]

As bad as they looked Friday, as much as they did wrong, as frustrated as they were, this is still the same team that came in as the majors’ best over the last seven weeks —30-14 since May 9 — and via a series of other checkpoints that fueled their remarkable run.

“They’re going to happen — you’re going to have games where we stink and I stink,” Pepiot said. “That’s the beauty of our game. You play almost every single day, and you see a different thing that happens every single game, and you just flush it.

“You win, you celebrate, you flush it, because it’s a new day; a new game starts all over again. And then (Friday) sucks, flush it, come back (Saturday). (Zack) Littell will pick us up and throw really well like he’s been throwing really well all season, and we’ll get after it (Saturday) and leave this one behind.”

The really crazy part about Friday was that the Rays led 6-0 in the second inning after hitting three home runs — by Jonathan Aranda, Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe.

“Yeah, you feel good,” manager Kevin Cash said. “But a lot of respect for that lineup over there and what they’re capable of doing. They showed why we have so much respect for them. They were pretty relentless. I mean, every guy we brought in, it felt like they kind of had an answer for.”

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

That the Orioles pretty much did.

It started with coming right back in the home half of the second to score four runs and end Pepiot’s night, as he was approaching 40 pitches for the inning.

The Rays’ Josh Lowe, right, celebrates with Chandler Simpson after hitting a home run during the second inning, putting Tampa Bay ahead 2-0. [ STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH | AP ]

“I feel like a terrible teammate for letting the bullpen have to wear all of that the rest of the game,” Pepiot said. “I put us in a hole. The offense did an unbelievable job hitting three home runs in the second inning.

“I’m just going out there trying to get a quick shutdown inning. Honestly, just trying to throw the ball down the middle and make them hit the ball. When you get a six spot, you’re not trying to go out there and nibble. You’re trying to get the guys back in and do exactly what they just did. And I didn’t do that.”

Pepiot said there was no good reason for his bad night.

He felt fine physically. Liked the game plan for facing the Orioles twice in 12 days. Thought his mechanics were good. Wasn’t letting innings speed up on him as has happened before.

“Just didn’t execute pitches and couldn’t get those final outs,” Pepiot said. “And put the team in a really tough situation.”

When he saw Cash coming out of the dugout, Pepiot tried to wave him back in an effort to at least save the bullpen some innings.

“I was like, let me figure this stuff out, because I don’t want to put the bullpen in that kind of a situation,” Pepiot said. “I already felt terrible enough that the offense had just gone out there and put up six, and I’d just given four of them back already. Let me wear it, let me go out there and get this guy out, flush it, leave it at four and just go as long as I could.”

Cash wasn’t having it, and Pepiot’s day ended after 1 ⅔ innings and 48 pitches. That started a bullpen brigade that included Mason Montgomery, Orze, Edwin Uceta, Forrest Whitley and Caballero, the versatile infielder/outfielder who Cash spoke with last week about potential pitching duty.

Rather than go up to the clubhouse and start his post-start arm care, Pepiot stayed and stewed.

“I’ll think about this one for a while,” he said. “I sat in the dugout until about the fifth inning before I came up (to the clubhouse) to do some stuff. You do that to the team, you don’t just sit come in here and sit down. You watch that, and you can pick up the guys that picked you up and you cheer on the offense for giving you a lead that you swindled. I’ll forget about it (Saturday).”

Maybe there was some cosmic payback to the game. It was just nine days ago when the Orioles took an 8-0 lead at Steinbrenner Field, and the Rays came back to win 12-8.

“They owed us the comeback,” Brandon Lowe said.

• • •

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.