TORONTO -- For Ryan Pepiot, the Rays’ 3-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre came down to one pitch. One fastball. One mistake.
Pepiot continued to pitch well overall, putting together his fifth quality start of the season and his fourth in his past five outings. The right-hander held Toronto’s lineup to six hits and a walk while striking out seven over six innings, and he kept them off the board while looking dominant for the first five.
“The three runs doesn't reflect how well he did today. It was one pitch, one mistake,” outfielder Travis Jankowski said. “He left it out there for us, and as an offense, we have to be better. One run is not going to cut it.”
But standing in front of his locker afterward, Pepiot’s focus was squarely on an 0-2 fastball down the middle to Alejandro Kirk in the sixth and the resulting outcomes: a three-run homer and another loss, dropping the Rays to 19-23 on the year.
“One mistake. That's the name of the game,” Pepiot said. “It doesn't matter how I feel. We win the game, that's all that matters.”
Of course, it would be unfair to pin the defeat on Pepiot. Manager Kevin Cash even said he was “very encouraged” by the way the right-hander pitched overall. After running up a 4.91 ERA in his first four starts, Pepiot has recorded a 3.18 mark in his past five outings.
The Rays managed just one run against Jays starter Chris Bassitt and didn’t record a hit after the fifth inning. That continued a trend for Tampa Bay’s lineup, which has scored only 12 total runs with Pepiot on the mound so far this season. Among 79 qualified pitchers, Pepiot’s 2.15 average run support is the third-lowest in the Majors.
“It just can't become a habit. We have to get things going offensively,” Jankowski said. “We have to kind of look ourselves in the mirror and say, 'Hey, each individual one of us is in this lineup for a reason -- some to slug, some to get on base. We have to identify ourselves, and we have to stick to that.' It's on us. It's on no one else.”
The lack of run support left Pepiot with no margin for error, and his mistakes came in one sixth-inning sequence. He got ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 0-2, but wound up walking him. Then came a two-out single by Daulton Varsho and Kirk’s homer -- the first one allowed by Pepiot since April 20 against the Yankees -- on a fastball that he wanted to elevate.
“He swung at one way above his head earlier in the game. Tried to get it up there, and I just threw it right down the middle,” Pepiot said. “Left the yard, three runs, game over.”
Jankowski exits early
Jankowski left Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning due to left groin tightness. Taylor Walls entered to play shortstop, and José Caballero took Jankowski’s spot in right field.
Jankowski said afterward he started feeling some soreness in his groin on his first defensive play of the game, a first-inning flyout to right by Bo Bichette, and “it just didn’t get much better throughout the game.” It got worse in the sixth inning, when he ran after Kirk’s home run.
“I didn’t think it was fair to be out there [for] the pitchers, to not be able to make a play for them playing at 50-75 percent,” Jankowski said. “I don’t think it’s a high level of concern, but I think we’ll have more answers [Thursday] once I wake up.”
Jankowski wasn’t sure if the injury would require a stint on the injured list, noting that he’s dealt with this issue before and it could feel better after a day off.
The Rays don’t have any healthy position players on their 40-man roster who aren’t already active, although right fielder Josh Lowe is nearing his return after going 2-for-4 with a home run in his fifth Minor League rehab game with Triple-A Durham on Wednesday night.
Encouraging moment for Misner
The Rays’ lone run came in the fourth inning, when Christopher Morel reached on a ground ball, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Kirk. Up came Kameron Misner, who knocked an RBI single to right field to put the Rays on the board first.
It was Misner’s first RBI since April 23, snapping a three-week drought. After a scorching hot start to the season, Misner had been in a 6-for-51 slump with no extra-base hits leading up to his RBI single off Bassitt.
“A game of adjustments. Pitchers obviously are going to change what they're doing, but I have to, too,” Misner said. “There's not really any excuses. Just got to be better.”