BALTIMORE \u2014 The Rays have had so many good days where they did so many great things and won so many games.<\/p>\n
Then, they had Friday.<\/p>\n
And a 22-8 loss to the Orioles.<\/p>\n
By the end of the long night, the Rays had matched the most runs they\u2019d ever given up in a game. They\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n
According to MLB.com, the Orioles\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
What happened?<\/p>\n
\u201cJust baseball, to be honest with you,\u201d Rays veteran Brandon Lowe said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt almost doesn\u2019t seem right,\u201d said reliever Eric Orze. \u201cWe\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re going to keep rolling forward. We\u2019ve got a really good group, really good team, and (Saturday\u2019s) a new day.\u201d<\/p>\n
There really is no other way for the Rays to take it.<\/p>\n
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. [\u00a0STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH | AP\u00a0]<\/p>\n
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\u2019 best over the last seven weeks \u201430-14 since May 9 \u2014 and via a series of other checkpoints that fueled their remarkable run.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to happen \u2014 you\u2019re going to have games where we stink and I stink,\u201d Pepiot said. \u201cThat\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou win, you celebrate, you flush it, because it\u2019s 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\u2019s been throwing really well all season, and we\u2019ll get after it (Saturday) and leave this one behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The really crazy part about Friday was that the Rays led 6-0 in the second inning after hitting three home runs \u2014 by Jonathan Aranda, Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, you feel good,\u201d manager Kevin Cash said. \u201cBut a lot of respect for that lineup over there and what they\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Explore all your options<\/a><\/p>\n That the Orioles pretty much did.<\/p>\n It started with coming right back in the home half of the second to score four runs and end Pepiot\u2019s night, as he was approaching 40 pitches for the inning.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a terrible teammate for letting the bullpen have to wear all of that the rest of the game,” Pepiot said. \u201cI put us in a hole. The offense did an unbelievable job hitting three home runs in the second inning. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019re not trying to go out there and nibble. You\u2019re trying to get the guys back in and do exactly what they just did. And I didn\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Pepiot said there was no good reason for his bad night.<\/p>\n He felt fine physically. Liked the game plan for facing the Orioles twice in 12 days. Thought his mechanics were good. Wasn\u2019t letting innings speed up on him as has happened before.<\/p>\n \u201cJust didn\u2019t execute pitches and couldn\u2019t get those final outs,\u201d Pepiot said. \u201cAnd put the team in a really tough situation.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, let me figure this stuff out, because I don\u2019t want to put the bullpen in that kind of a situation,\u201d Pepiot said. \u201cI already felt terrible enough that the offense had just gone out there and put up six, and I\u2019d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Cash wasn\u2019t having it, and Pepiot\u2019s day ended after 1 \u2154 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.<\/p>\n Rather than go up to the clubhouse and start his post-start arm care, Pepiot stayed and stewed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll think about this one for a while,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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\u2019t 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\u2019ll forget about it (Saturday).\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey owed us the comeback,\u201d Brandon Lowe said.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter<\/a> to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.<\/p>\n Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast<\/a> to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.<\/p>\n Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe Rays’ Josh Lowe, right, celebrates with Chandler Simpson after hitting a home run during the second inning, putting Tampa Bay ahead 2-0. [\u00a0STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH | AP\u00a0]<\/p>\n