ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a bruised lower left leg.
The right-hander departed his start Sunday after getting hit on the calf by a 107.5 mph line drive off the bat of the New York Mets‘ Starling Marte.
Both Pepiot and Rays manager Kevin Cash said they believe it will be a short-term injury.
“Really feel like this is a smart thing to do for him,” Cash said. “To land on that leg 100 times here in a couple of days probably didn’t make the most sense.”
Pepiot played catch for seven minutes Wednesday, including simulated mound throwing on level ground. He said being placed on the IL is frustrating.
“I don’t want to leave the team in a bad position,” Pepiot said. “Try to make it happen, go out there, and then end up screwing the bullpen for a second time.”
Pepiot hopes to throw off a mound this weekend or early next week.
“Just trying to take it day by day,” Pepiot said. “The swelling has gone down.”
Pepiot immediately fell to the ground but was able to get back up on his own after getting hit by Marte. He was removed after throwing a couple of warm-up pitches from the mound.
Pepiot is 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA in seven starts. He was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in December in a trade in which the Rays sent ace Tyler Glasnow to the National League club.
Right-hander Taj Bradley was reinstated from the 15-day IL and will start Friday night against the New York Yankees after being out all season with a right pectoral strain. Bradley allowed one run and two hits over 11 innings in two starts with Triple-A Durham.
“His stuff has been very, very good,” Cash said. “He’s throwing the ball over the plate. He’s controlling the running game. He’s got a lot of confidence with all of his pitches right now. He knows he’s going to have to mix against the Yankees on Friday.”
Other injured Rays starting pitchers could return this season.
Left-hander Jeffrey Springs, coming back from Tommy John surgery, is scheduled for a simulated game Thursday and an extended spring training game May 20.
Right-hander Shane Baz, also rehabbing following Tommy John surgery and a left oblique strain, is slated to make his second start with Triple-A Durham on Friday night.
Righty Drew Rasmussen is expected to resume throwing off a mound this month after undergoing hybrid internal brace surgery on his throwing elbow. He had two previous Tommy John procedures.
Ace Shane McClanahan is throwing at 90 feet following his second Tommy John operation. He is not expected back this season.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.