San Diego PadresvsTampa Bay Rays
SD 6/TB 7
Things to say
The Rays edged the Padres 7-6 at the Trop.
01
opener
Rays took it 7-6, real back-and-forth one. Padres kept clawing back but Tampa answered every time. Came down to the last at-bat basically.
02
key player
The heart of the Rays order carried it — a couple of guys left the yard and that was the difference in a one-run game.
03
hot take
San Diego's manager went to the pen way too early. You've got a starter with good stuff and you pull him? That's how you cough up a lead.
04
deep cut
Both bullpens were gassed by the seventh, and in a park like the Trop the ball carries different — you could feel that late.
05
exit
Anyway, Padres need to bounce back tomorrow or this road trip gets ugly. We'll see if the bats show up.
The recap
Rays walked it off, 7-6, in a back-and-forth that had no business being this tense on a getaway day. San Diego jumped out early and looked comfortable, but the bullpen coughed up the lead late and left the door cracked open.
Tampa's heart of the order kept grinding, and once the game got to the ninth you could feel it coming — one swing and the yard erupted. Padres let this one slip through their fingers, and it stings a lot more than a one-run loss should.