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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 4, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- He was sometimes erratic, other times magnificent but always a question mark.
Ryan Rupe had one more chance to impress Rays coaches against the Red Sox on Wednesday, to make a final impression that might go toward assuring a spot in the rotation when camp opens next spring.
But as was the case several times this season, the right-hander was shaky in a 10-3 loss that foiled the Rays' attempt at a three-game sweep against Boston and moved them one loss from 100 this season.
"It's over," Rupe said. "It's been a whole year of inconsistencies."
His final start of the season turned into his 12th defeat after he allowed five runs on nine hits over five innings before an announced 10,985 at Tropicana Field.
The 26-year-old Houston native failed to win in his last seven starts.
"It was a tough year, but there's no excuses," Rupe said. "One thing that I take out of the year is that I proved to myself that I could pitch here again."
After his second stint with the Rays ended prematurely last September because of a blood clot in his throwing arm, Rupe (5-12) earned a spot in the starting rotation when this season began.
That's when the inconsistency began.
Rupe did throw more innings (143 1/3), start more games (26) and strike out more batters (123) than he ever had as a pro. He pitched into the seventh inning five times.
But he also lasted five innings or less nine times.
"I've thrown some really great games and I've thrown some really bad games," Rupe said. "I had two goals in spring training. One, I wanted one year to be healthy. ... The second was to have a decent year. I guess I reached one out of two."
Now 18-27 with a 5.90 ERA in 3762/3 innings with the Rays since 1999, he knows exactly what he needs to improve during the offseason.
"I have to increase my arm strength," said Rupe, who remains confident he will be in the rotation next year though his contract expires after this season. "My arm strength is horrible."
Fastballs that used to reach the mid 90s were topping in the low 90s, and there were noticeable dropoffs in velocity as games progressed.
"It's very understandable that it's going to be tough to start ... if I don't get to the fifth or sixth inning," Rupe said. "That's not a negative thing. It's the truth. (Manager Hal McRae) knows it and I think a lot of people know it that around the fifth I was fatiguing. That's due to arm strength."
The Red Sox certainly knew.
After allowing two earned runs in his past two starts, Rupe allowed runs in the first and third on run-scoring hits, a single and a double, by Boston centerfielder Trot Nixon.
Calvin Pickering, a graduate of King High, and Shea Hillenbrand then hit back-to-back homers off Rupe in the fourth inning to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.
Those were the 29th and 30th homers Rupe has allowed this season, a team high and third most in the American League.
"He's had his ups and downs," McRae said. "Tonight he had difficulty keeping it down and keeping it out of the middle. But it wasn't a terrible start as far as I'm concerned. ... I felt he gave us a chance."
Tampa Bay did its best to salvage a 10th win in its past 15 games after Rupe was pulled after the fifth inning.
Red Sox starter Derek Lowe (5-10) pitched into the seventh inning and was charged with three runs after allowing five hits.
"He shut us down," McRae said.
Rays first baseman Steve Cox led off the seventh with a double to extend a club-record streak of hitting at least one double to 41 games. Leftfielder Ben Grieve added a single before Lowe was replaced with Tim Wakefield.
The veteran knuckleballer allowed a two-run home run to designated hitter Aubrey Huff, the Rays' first in 253 at-bats, to make it 6-3.
But the Red Sox scored four in the last two innings off relievers Jeff Wallace and Jason Standridge.
Tampa Bay now must sweep its four-game series against the Yankees to avoid becoming the first team since the 1996 Tigers to lose 100.
"We won two out of three (against Boston)," McRae said. "We're happy any time we win a series."