MLB notebook – The importance of April games; Rays lose Pepiot

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It is a common refrain to dismiss games early in the season and then grabble with the consequence. That would mean addressing the importance of games from mid-August and that simply tightens the noose around those teams fighting for post-season positions.

With major league baseball now a month into the season, the importance of early season games appears more pronounced. Not that separation among teams is definitive, the position in standings, here in the early weeks, could determine a summer of hope or another experience with misery and despair.

Here in early May, the Tampa Bay Rays appear to be the poster child for the significance of early season victories.

By virtue of a 3-0 victory over the Giants on May 1, the Rays won 14 of 19 games between April 10 and May 1. In that period, they were 17-7 in 24 games between April 4 and May 1. Tampa Bay won 19 of their opening 31 games and share the top of the AL East leader board with the New Yor Yankees.

“The morale is high,” said Rays pitcher Nick Martinez of his team’s character over the opening month of the season. “We’re playing to win. People say you really can’t win a season in April, but you can sure lose it, right?”

The dimension of winning has evolved.

Here’s a team without a sustained line-up of power, lack of hitters who bang into the gap and an unsettling pitching staff.

By the force of the game, the Tampa bullpen has been significant and starters reliable. The Tampa relievers, in games April 28 through May 1, held the opposition scoreless. Over that span, they have limited hitters to seven hits, five walks, 10 strikeouts and no runs.

“The pulse here in the clubhouse is pretty steady,” said reliever Bryan Baker, who recorded his eight save of the season in that 3-0 win over the Giants. “I don’t think we get too high or too low. It’s been really fun to be part of this team. We have some good veteran presence in this locker room. I think steady is the best word I can come up with to describe our clubhouse right now.”

From an offensive perspective, the Rays have two of the top hitters in the American League by average. In games through May 1, outfielder Chandler Simpson was hitting .314 and DH Yandy Diaz was hitting .333 with five home runs.

In games through May 1, the Rays were hitting .249 as a team and held opponents to a .233 batting average.

In the trainer’s room … Before the start of an early May home stand against the Giants and Blue Jays, the news filtering out of the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse was disappointing. That was likely an understatement for the Rays learned that starting right-hander Ryan Pepiot was lost for the season.

Inflammation in his right hip was discovered late in spring training and, though the opening month of the season, the condition was exacerbated. That lead to missing the opening weeks and then on May 1, manager Kevin Cash told the media before a series opener against San Francisco that Pepiot will undergo season-ending surgery.

This will transpire on May 13 and be performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd, a member of the Nashville Hip Institute and team physician for the NFL Tennessee Titans.

“Toward the end of (spring training) camp, it felt that was something that was not going away,” Pepiot said April 10 in the Rays clubhouse. “I did not think it was good for the team just to go out and give it a try.”

In four seasons at the major league level, two each with Dodgers and Rays, Pepiot compiled a combined mark of 24-21 and a 3.54 ERA for 64 starts. In 2005 with Tampa Bay, he went 11-12, 3.86 ERA in 31 starts and threw 167.2 innings.

A full recovery is expected, and Pepiot hopes to rejoin the Rays at Port Charlottle for 2027 spring training.

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