Rays return favor by blowing out Padres

Field Level Media|published: Sat 31st August, 19:32 2024

Aug 31, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Brandon Lowe (8) slides safe at home as San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka (20) waits for the ball in the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

After giving up 13 runs to San Diego in a lopsided series-opening loss, Tampa Bay returned the favor with an 11-4 win over the visiting Padres on Saturday afternoon.

San Diego appeared to be following up on Friday's win early on. The Padres took a quick first-inning lead after Jake Cronenworth's two-run home run.

The Rays responded by scoring nine runs over the first five innings of the game, highlighted by a four-run scoring surge in the second inning and a three-run tally in the fourth.

The Rays recorded 13 hits. Junior Caminero hit a three-run home run. Jose Caballero went 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Brandon Lowe went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Josh Lowe went 2-for-4 with an RBI-triple. Christopher Morel and Ben Rortvedt each had an RBI in the winning effort.

Caballero scored Caminero on an RBI ground ball in the first, then Lowe kickstarted the scoring in the second when he recorded an RBI on a liner to center. Caminero followed up with his three-run home run, the third of his season.

In the fourth, Caballero lined a single to left to score Jurickson Profar and Morel. Rortvedt then singled to right to score Lowe, making it 8-2.

The Rays batted 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Tampa Bay's Shane Baz (2-2) got the win on the mound. He settled down and didn't allow any runs after the two-run home run in the first inning. Baz gave up two runs on two hits and three walks, with five strikeouts over five innings.

San Diego's Randy Vasquez (4-7) was credited with the loss. He gave up nine earned runs on 11 hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings.

The Padres had 10 hits. Luis Arraez and Mason McCoy each went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

San Diego started to gain some offensive traction late in the game. It scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning, and the Padres managed to load the bases in the ninth inning. Manny Machado initially appeared to drive home a run during the Padres' desperate effort to keep the game going, but the call was overturned by video review for the final out of the game.

--Field Level Media

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