August 22, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) pitches against the New York Mets during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports After two consecutive wins, the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres will face off in the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday.
San Diego won the first game 13-5 on Friday, and Tampa Bay bounced back with an 11-4 win on Saturday.
And since the Padres are looking to maintain their hold on a National League wild-card spot — or even challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for the West Division title — they’ll go into Sunday’s game feeling nothing but confident.
“This is a pretty good situation,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said in assessing his team after Saturday’s loss. “Played a lot of great baseball, a lot of cylinders firing. We’re never out of a game. … We win, we’ll keep you down, and if we’re down, we’ll find a way to scratch and claw and get on top.”
Their manager said even though Saturday’s game didn’t go in the Padres’ favor, they didn’t give up.
“Look at the effort the last four innings. This easily could have been a mail-it-in game, but it’s scary how this team does nothing but keep the foot on the pedal and take the gas off,” Shildt said. “It was a great August, but this September will be even better.”
It might depend on San Diego’s pitching.
The Padres (77-61) put up 23 hits in the first two games of the series against the Rays. They got a bit of a boost offensively in Saturday’s loss, but pitching struggles made the deficit too large to overcome.
In six of the past eight games, San Diego’s starting pitchers have lasted less than six innings. The Padres are hoping right-hander Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.57 ERA) can provide a great start Sunday. Cease gave up four earned runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four in 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision in a 7-5 win over St. Louis on Tuesday.
Cease is 1-2 in five career starts against the Rays. His ERA is 5.40 with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks in 23 1/3 innings.
As for the Rays, they’re hoping to build on Saturday’s performance.
Every player in their batting order reached base safely at least once. Rookie Junior Caminero hit his first career home run at Tropicana Field, and his third in the last eight games. The 21-year-old shortstop played seven games in 2023 and was called up on August 13, and it looks like he’ll be with the Rays for a long time.
“They’re the No. 1 prospect in baseball,” teammate Brandon Lowe said. “The thing I like about them is their plate discipline, the way they swing the bat. I think they’re top five or something like that in the league in terms of bat speed. They’re able to take those swings as much as they can, but not swing all over the place, they’re very refined in their approach and I think that’s one of the things that helps them be successful in those situations.”
The Rays (67-68) are scheduled to start with right-hander Ryan Pepiot (7-6, 3.61). Pepiot gave up five runs, but only two were earned, in his most recent start against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. He struck out six batters and gave up one walk in six innings, but was tagged with a 5-1 loss.
Pepiot has appeared against the Padres twice in his career – starting once – and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. In eight innings against the Padres, Pepiot gave up four earned runs on nine hits, with seven strikeouts and four walks.
–Field Level Media