ST. PETERSBURG -- The turf at Tropicana Field has a new look and a new feel.

The Rays returned to their home dome Tuesday afternoon for a 3-3 tie in an exhibition against the Tigers, giving players a chance to test out the newly installed playing surface before Thursday’s season opener against the Blue Jays.

From afar, the most obvious change is visual. This is the first time The Trop has featured a striped field, more closely resembling a mowed grass field. The Rays donated 75,000 square feet of their old turf to the City of St. Petersburg, Hillsborough County and other groups to be used for local batting cages, soccer fields and more.

But there is a more practical difference, too. The warning track is the same, only with Safeshell (crushed walnut shells) scattered on the surface. But the turf is now backfilled by coconut husks, rather than rubber pellets. The Rays expect that will lead to “truer” bounces, more like what they see on natural grass fields, and the new surface will slow down balls that moved more quickly in previous years.

“It plays extremely different. I think that's one of the biggest things that we're noticing now,” second baseman Brandon Lowe said. “Especially like [when you] watch BP, you don't get the big hops off the rubber pellets like we used to. Much, I feel like, truer hops and stuff like that. We're not getting weird spin off the ground balls in the infield.

“It's a more true playing surface, I feel like. It's been good so far, so we'll see how it holds up. … Still early and trying to see how it looks and how it plays, but as of right now, there's nothing negative about it.”

Lowe said there will be an adjustment period for the Rays vets accustomed to the old turf, but he doesn’t think it will take long for them to get used to it. There are also a handful of Rays with limited experience at Tropicana Field, including Amed Rosario, Richie Palacios and José Caballero, who must quickly learn the intricacies of their new home ballpark.

For that reason, manager Kevin Cash said the Rays coaching staff would work hard Tuesday and Wednesday to hit as many fly balls, pop-ups and grounders as possible to help the players feel comfortable on the new surface.

“The turf looks awesome,” Cash said. “I really think it’ll be pretty seamless after the first couple weeks.”

Pepiot ready for Rays debut
Ryan Pepiot spent about a month working out at Tropicana Field before Spring Training began, but Tuesday was his first chance to pitch off the mound. He looked right at home during his 88-pitch start, striking out eight while allowing two hits and a walk over six scoreless innings.

“That’s really encouraging,” Cash said.

The right-hander finished the spring on a high note, too. He gave up one run over his final 14 innings after recommitting himself to filling up the strike zone, putting him in a good place as he prepares for his first regular-season start against the Rangers next Monday.

“I just felt like myself,” Pepiot said. “Just go out there attacking each guy, trying to get ahead, trying to get guys out as fast as possible. … I’m definitely where I want to be at this stage.”

Around the horn
• The Rays’ Opening Day pitching staff is set after Monday’s decision to slot lefty Tyler Alexander into the rotation and right-hander Jacob Waguespack into the bullpen. They still have not announced a decision on their backup catcher or a left-handed-hitting reserve to replace the injured Jonathan Aranda, with Alex Jackson and Austin Shenton the top internal candidates to take each spot.

• Right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who signed a Minor League contract late in Spring Training, pitched the final three innings. The veteran starter gave up a pair of two-out walks and a three-run homer in the eighth but was otherwise pleased with his performance, especially since he hadn’t pitched in a real game since the 2022 postseason.

Odorizzi won’t make the Opening Day roster and acknowledged he could use another outing to build up his workload and fastball velocity. He expects to speak with president of baseball operations Erik Neander soon to determine his next step.

• Yandy Díaz and Lowe each went deep against Tigers starter Casey Mize. Díaz crushed a projected 427-foot, 110.4 mph blast off the batter’s eye in the third inning, and Lowe launched a 407-foot, 109.7 mph shot to right field in the sixth.

• Speedy prospect Chandler Simpson reached on catcher’s interference in the sixth inning and immediately stole second and third base. Shortstop prospect Carson Williams was hit by a pitch in the eighth, showed some obvious irritation and responded by stealing second and third, then scoring the tying run on a wild pitch.