Rays Star Not Worried After Bullpen Implosion vs Cardinals
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Things looked great for the Tampa Bay Rays in their Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen was having a great day on the mound against Matthew Liberatore, who was performing at a high level himself. Both starters surrendered only one earned run during their respective outings.
It was when the bullpens were called upon that things got ugly. In what ended up being a 14-run sixth inning, the Rays scored six runs off Matt Svanson, Justin Bruihl and Chris Roycroft. Tampa Bay was feeling great, holding a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the frame.
But their bullpen had an even bigger meltdown. Ian Seymour failed to record a single out while being charged with five earned runs. Garrett Cleavinger got one out and gave up two earned runs, while Griffin Jax got the final two outs and surrendered another run.
Drew Rasmussen opens up about Rays bullpen struggling
A 1-1 game entering the sixth exited with a 9-7 lead for the Cardinals, which they would hold onto as no more runs were scored in the afternoon.
Rasmussen couldn't hide his disappointment in the outcome. He did everything he could to put the team in a position to win the game, exiting his outing in line for his first victory in 2026.
But everything unraveled, turning what would have been a great start to the campaign into a brutal loss. However, confidence is not lost in the bullpen, as Rasmussen took a big picture approach to the outcome.
“It is one day. It is frustrating. But it’s not the end of the world. Those guys are really good, right? We’ve got 161 more of these things. The quality that’s coming out of our bullpen is never in question,” the All-Star starting pitcher said, via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
“It is one day. It is frustrating. But it’s not the end of the world,” #Rays Rasmussen said after bullpen blew it. “Those guys are really good, right? We’ve got 161 more of these things. The quality that’s coming out of our bullpen is never in question.” https://t.co/VE1X0sDlu5
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 27, 2026
Cleavinger and Jax are arguably the two best relief pitchers Tampa Bay has in its bullpen. They are going to be major pieces of the puzzle at the back end in high-leverage roles, helping replace what was lost with Pete Fairbanks not having his team option exercised.
The relief pitching duo suffered the same fate as so many of the World Baseball Classic participants did.
San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb, in the 2026 season opener against the New York Yankees, surrendered seven runs, six earned, in five innings. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had the worst start of his career, lasting 0.2 innings and being charged with five runs as his defense faltered behind him.
As Rasmussen noted, things like this will happen over the course of a 162-game marathon regular season. Occurring on Opening Day is certainly far from ideal, but things like that tend to have a way of evening out as the season goes along.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.