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It’s been a historic skid for the Rays as of late. As Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sun pointed out, the team has played to a less than stellar 9-25 record immediately after going 25-9 on their torrid stretch in May and June. But Rays’ opening day starter Ryan Pepiot was up for the task of getting the squad on track.
On the other side was turbo sinkerballer Jose Soriano, who came into tonight’s contest leading starters with a nearly 70 percent ground ball rate. It was a pitcher’s duel through the first three innings, as the game went scoreless into the fourth.
That’s when the Rays offense went to work.
It started with a chopped infield single by Yandy Diaz, which was quickly followed by a 411 foot blast by Brandon Lowe for his 20th homer of the year. For the career Ray, it was his third consecutive year reaching the single-season milestone and his fourth overall. Additionally, Lowe is the third Ray to reach 20 home runs this season, joining Junior Caminero (28) and Diaz (20)
The Rays added five more hits in the inning, including a two run single by 2024 Heart and Hustle Award winner Jake Mangum, a squeeze by Taylor Walls, and an RBI double by Chandler Simpson. After a fielder’s choice by Diaz in his second plate appearance of the inning, it was seven to nothing Rays.
Pepiot was perfect through four, with his first blemish being a two run home run off the bat of Jo Adell. He would be taken out of the game in the fifth after allowing another run (once again thanks to Adell. Overall it was a strong performance for Pepiot, as he struck out six in five and two thirds.
The Rays offense was quiet after its fourth inning outburst, but it didn’t matter. Even though there would neither be a hold or a save situation for the Rays bullpen, the Rays threw out their best.
Newcomer Griffin Jax only needed one pitch to get out of the sixth inning jam. After that, Bryan Baker, Edwin Uceta and Pete Fairbanks all pitched scoreless innings, striking out two batters a piece. If nothing else, it was a signal that the Rays really wanted to secure this win.
It will be a 4pm eastern time start tomorrow, as Shane Baz looks to nail down the series win against the Angels changeup specialist Tyler Anderson.