Ayrton or Aryton?
That is a question.
When Costa, a 24-year-old right-hander for the RailCats, was born, there was a miscommunication between his parents about the spelling of his first name.
He was named after Ayrton Senna, the late Formula One star from Brazil.
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But when Costa’s mother filled out his birth certificate, his father wasn’t present. They were talking via a spotty pay phone connection — cell phones weren’t omnipresent in 1992 — and she heard a spelling of “Aryton” instead of “Ayrton.”
So on legal documents, including his RailCats’ contract, it’s Aryton. It’s that way on the team’s roster and on his nameplate at his locker in the clubhouse.
But he uses Ayrton with his friends and on social media. And he was listed that way during his career at the University of Antelope Valley.
On occasion, he’ll write Ayrton on a document, then get questioned when it doesn’t match the Aryton on his driver’s license.
“It’s kind of a pain in the butt,” Costa said with a laugh.
Indeed, he has a sense of humor about the situation. With his father a big racing fan, Costa was going to be named after whichever driver won the 1991 Formula One world championship. He joked he prefers the name Ayrton/Aryton to Nigel — British star Mansell was the runner-up to Senna in ’91.
By any name, Costa gave the RailCats a chance to complete a sweep of Kansas City in Sunday’s series finale at the Steel Yard.
In a spot start, he allowed one run — a homer to Ryan Retz to lead off the fifth — on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He departed after five innings with the score tied at 1-1.
But the T-Bones took a 5-1 decision, ending the RailCats’ four-game win streak and stretch of 10 in 11 games.
The RailCats (49-44) trail Lincoln (49-43) by a half-game in the Central Division, with Sioux City (48-44) a game behind. The RailCats have a day off Monday, when the Saltdogs open a series at the Explorers.
With his team competing for a postseason berth, RailCats manager Greg Tagert praised Costa’s performance. The rookie received a no-decision as Kansas City starter Jared Messer pitched six innings of one-run ball, stopping the T-Bones’ six-game losing streak.
“To have a great chance at this thing, you have to have everybody contribute,” Tagert said. “And, boy, did Aryton Costa contribute. We just couldn’t get any offense going against Messer.”
Costa didn’t find out until Saturday night he was starting, as the RailCats’ staff wanted to wait to make a decision until after that game.
In the spring, Costa completed his college career at Antelope Valley, going 10-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 15 starts as a senior, throwing an NAIA-high 110 2/3 innings. Because of the workload, Tagert typically likes to use just-graduated college starters out of the RailCats’ bullpen. Gvein the extra workload, he has been particularly cautious with Costa, who signed Aug. 14.
But Costa, who made one previous one-inning spot start for the RailCats among his four appearances before Sunday, delivered against Kansas City in lowering his ERA to 3.29.
“One thing you cannot undervalue is that he throws strikes,” Tagert said.
“He didn’t break 83 mph. But I don’t care what pitcher it is over the years … There has to be a place, in our mind at least, for somebody who throws strikes.”
Costa acknowledged it has been an adjustment shifting from starting to relieving. After his strong outing Sunday, the Californian was receiving a stream of calls and text messages from family members and friends, who were watching on the internet.
“I had to eat up some innings,” Costa said. “I felt pretty good, but I let one pitch get away from me.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff
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Up next: RailCats (Charle Rosario 10-3) at Sioux Falls (TBA), 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, WEFM-FM 95.9.