The San Diego Padres lost this one in a way they usually don’t. Typically, if the Friars have a lead in the seventh inning, the game is mostly over. Their bullpen has been nails all season, and is known as one of the most dominant in all of baseball. That was unfortunately not the case on Saturday afternoon. Bradgley Rodriguez allowed a season-high four runs in the seventh inning, loading the bases before a Yandy Díaz single (and Luis Rengifo throwing error) cleared them.
That would give the Tampa Bay Rays the series win, though the Friars certainly gave them a run for their money in Game 2. San Diego strung 10 hits together, including a Ty France home run (his 100th in his career), a Jake Cronenworth RBI-double and a Manny Machado two-run single. It was a great night at the plate for San Diego, but the ‘pen couldn’t hang on.
Taking the moundDrew Rasmussen (TB) v. Robbie Ray (SD)Rasmussen has looked every bit the pitcher Tampa Bay expected him to this season. He’s been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball during his career, pitching to a career 2.91 ERA through 601 innings. The right-hander has turned in five consecutive seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and is nearing his sixth.
The righty began his career with the Milwaukee Brewers as a reliever before being traded to the Rays. Tampa Bay converted him to a starter, where he has absolutely flourished. None of the Padres have an abundance of experience against the righty, so San Diego will need to solve him quick to win the series finale.
Ray has been fantastic for the Padres since being traded over from the San Francisco Giants at the Trade Deadline. He’s posted a 3.21 ERA through 26 appearances this season, splitting time between the two clubs. The former Cy Young winner has shown real grit this year, consistently finding creative ways to get hitters out.
The veteran left-hander was traded for in order to bolster San Diego’s rotation for the playoffs. He’s done exactly that. Ray will seek to continue that in the series finale today. Of Tampa Bay’s lineup, only Yandy Díaz has faced Ray more than 20 times. Díaz owns a career .333 average and 1.157 OPS against the lefty (24 at-bats).
Batter up!As stated, the offense looked fantastic in Game 2 of the series. Perhaps none more so than newcomer left fielder Dustin Harris. Harris went 3-for-4 and scored two runs in what was an eventful night at the plate. With that, he raised his batting average to .283 (53 at-bats), having gone 5-for-10 with the Padres.
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Gavin Sheets, DH
- Dustin Harris, LF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Freddy Fermin, C
Rengifo was unfortunately severely injured in the midst of his seventh-inning throwing error. The current diagnosis is a knee sprain, though Rengifo is headed back to San Diego for imaging on his knee. It seems very likely that the utility player will be out for the remainder of the season. Hopefully, Harris will step up to fill his place alongside the returning Samad Taylor.
Relief corpsWalker Buehler covered five innings quite well before departing the game. Kyle Hart, Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Yuki Matsui covered the final three frames. Apart from Rodriguez’s implosion and a lucky single given out by Morejon, the remaining trio was fantastic. It’s tough to see the rookie Rodriguez struggle, but he’s been nails this whole season. He had to struggle at some point, and this just happened to be it.
That means the Friars will be somewhat reliant on Ray to deliver a relatively deep outing. Their bullpen availability is somewhat slim, with Griffin Canning, Mason Miller, David Morgan and Wandy Peralta as options for the finale. That said, if Ray stumbles, Canning will likely be called upon to cover multiple innings for San Diego.
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