TAMPA — The Orioles should know George M. Steinbrenner Field, the temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays as Tropicana Field undergoes repairs from damage caused by Hurricane Milton last October.

If players didn’t grow up in the organization — and therefore didn’t play in rookie league games here — then they likely spent their spring in Florida and would have played Grapefruit League games against the New York Yankees in this ballpark. Many players made an effort to get to the stadium in March knowing they would have seven games here this year.

And if all of that somehow doesn’t apply, then the players almost certainly have played on the road against the Yankees during the regular season. The American League East leaders modeled the dimensions of this stadium off their home in the Bronx.

The Orioles also underwent a full pregame on the field — something they normally wouldn’t do in a city with a heat index of 103 degrees — just in case they needed an extra reminder of how this stadium feels.

So all that’s to say the Orioles are familiar with this ballpark, even if it’s their first time playing a major league game here. It should have given them a bit of an advantage compared to a team coming in with no experience here. Yet, it did the opposite, and the heat likely played a factor in that too for a team that spent the weekend playing in uncharacteristically cold June rain. The Orioles, a team riding a resounding 11-2 win the night before to complete a sweep over the Angels, were eaten alive by small ball, weak contact off Zach Eflin and a lackluster offensive performance as the Rays took the first game of the four-game series, 7-1.

“The heat’s a factor, right? But Ef also kind of grew up in this area, as well,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It’s a factor for the other team, as well. I definitely think it’s an adjustment period a little bit to a certain degree, but I feel like we had a good energy.”

While Eflin hasn’t been his sharpest at times this season, in his last three starts, as he pitched to a 1.83 ERA across 19 2/3 innings, he was back to his usual self. But on Monday, Eflin allowed seven runs in five innings, his second-worst outing since the Rays traded him to Baltimore last July.

The first run can be credited to the dimensions — Josh Lowe‘s 334-foot home run would have stayed in every other stadium, and likely been an easy out for the right fielder. But in the second inning, a bunt that was hit only 34.8 mph escaped a diving Eflin — a play he hesitated on and probably could have made had he not — and brought in a run. And in the third, another infield single brought in a third run, one of several instances of the Rays taking advantage of weak contact strategically placed around the Orioles’ defenders to move the line.

In the fourth, it was a pickoff error, allowing a runner to get on base and turning what would have been a solo home run for Brandon Lowe into a two-run shot. By the fifth, it was back-to-back doubles down the very tight left-field line that runs along the bullpen wall — a design feature they don’t usually have to deal with in other stadiums — to score two more for Tampa. That prompted a visit from the Orioles’ trainer, pitching coach Drew French and Mansolino. Eflin’s hands were sweaty by that point — the heat will do that — and the coaches were concerned, he said, because of how he let the ball slip out of his hand, and he already had a towel and rosin at his disposal. Eflin waved them off and finished what would be his last inning.

“My [pitch] shapes weren’t typical today, so it’s kind of hard to locate when I expect them to do something and they weren’t doing it,” he said. “And they did a good job battling me, they had a good game plan coming in. They had a lot of first-pitch hits, playing small ball with a couple of bunts and stuff. So hats off to those guys.”

Adding to Eflin’s woes was the performance of the Orioles’ offense, which sputtered versus Rays starter Ryan Pepiot. They scored just one run against him — a solo home run from Adley Rutschman in the fourth inning that also benefited from the extreme heat — as Pepiot spun a career-high eight masterful innings and struck out 11.

“He was really good,” Mansolino said. “He made it really hard on our hitters. He’s been tough on lefties all year, we kind of know that, we’re a very left-handed team, our best players are kind of left-handed in a lot of ways. Kind of lined up good for him tonight, he threw the ball great. I thought we battled. He was just better.”