Padres, Rays enter series in fine position amid tight races

The San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays enter Friday's series opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the encouraging part of the standings above their respective cut lines.

However, there is little wiggle room for either club.

For the Padres, getting a healthy Casey Mize (5-7, 3.44 ERA) back on the mound is important. The bullpen session the right-hander tossed Wednesday showed his team that the former No. 1 overall draft pick is ready to go.

Mize, 29, slipped on the dugout steps in his last start Saturday, creating concern about the oft-injured hurler's health.

Minus Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta and Lucas Giolito, the Padres -- who led the Arizona Diamondbacks by one game for the final wild-card spot entering Thursday -- brought in Mize in a four-player swap to strengthen their rotation.

"I wasn't out there, but all reports came back and said Casey is good to go," Padres manager Craig Stammen said Wednesday after they salvaged one game against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates in a 3-0 win. "You never know when you see someone sprain an ankle how bad it is."

Mize is 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA in four starts with the National League West club, surrendering five home runs in 18 innings.

Against the Rays, he is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four outings (three starts).

The bullpen has been stout for San Diego with the back end belonging to 2025 All-Star Adrian Morejon (9-2, 2.63 in 61 games) and elite closer Mason Miller (32 of 33 save chances), but Wednesday it was without right-hander Jeremiah Estrada, who was placed on the 15-day injured list for the third time.

Estrada (2-3, 3.48) is on the IL with a third different injury, a right shoulder impingement.

San Diego has won four of six and is 16-8 in August, yet the club is 31-34 on the road this year.

The American League East-leading Rays left Detroit with something they had not had in two weeks: a series victory.

In the rubber match against the Tigers, the visiting staff crafted its 12th shutout in an AL-best 79th win, a 3-0 victory that saw just two Detroit singles and no baserunner in scoring position.

In his best start over five outings with his new team, Freddy Peralta spun six scoreless innings, allowed the two hits and faced two batters over the minimum.

The Rays improved to 15-4 on the road dating back to July 20 and lead the New York Yankees by 3 1/2 games.

With a strong trio of starters and nine-game winner Ian Seymour in the fourth spot, Tampa Bay was pleased to see a sharp start out of Peralta, who came over from the New York Mets and pitched to the other big acquisition, catcher Liam Hicks, on Wednesday.

"He just attacked the zone with conviction," said Hicks, who is hitting .309 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 18 games with his new club. "You know how good the stuff is. So just getting him in-zone early and getting strike one, and he can throw everything off that."

On Friday the Rays will start Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.10), who threw five shutout innings at the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

The left-hander is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in one 2023 start against the Padres.

--Field Level Media