Rays 4, Padres 2: The sweep smell of success

The Rays closed out their series in San Diego with a sweep.

The Padres are heavily considered to be one of the hottest teams in baseball this season, but between dropping two of three to the Detroit Tigers during the week, then losing the first two games of the series to the Rays, they’re not quite living up to the hype they were generating a couple weeks ago.

Today, as the Rays looked to sweep the series, it was Zack Littell on the mound for the Rays against Randy Vasquez for the Padres.

Top of the first the Rays went 1-2-3, then bottom of the inning the Padres followed suit.

In the second, the Rays got a leadoff baserunner as Jonathan Aranda was (delicately) hit by a pitch. Vasquez was pitching really inside, nearly hitting Junior Caminero. It’s worth noting that Vasquez’s last start in Detroit was a really rough outing for him and he churned through nearly 50 pitches in his first two innings of work. Caminero grounded into a double play, eliminating the baserunner. In the home half, Xander Bogaerts hit a leadoff single. Oscar Gonzalez then singled to follow him. A double play got two outs, but Jose Iglesias singled to bring Bogaerts home, putting the Padres on the board first.

In the third, Taylor Walls went yard with a one-out solo home run to tie things up.

Chandler Simpson took a two-out walk, and because he’s Chandler Simpson, he stole second. Brandon Lowe singled, bringing Simpson home. With one out in the home half, Fernando Tatis Jr. singled, but it was pretty funny to watch Caminero stare down the ball as it slow-rolled down the baseline hoping it would go foul. Gavin Sheets then singled to put men at the corners. A sac fly by Manny Machado scored Tatis, tying up the game.

The game headed into the fourth at a tie, and Caminero got a one-out single to start things off. Too bad the Rays left him stranded. The Padres went down in order in the bottom of the inning.

In the fifth, Chandler Simpson got a two-out single, then Brandon Lowe singled, getting Simpson to third. A wild pitch allowed Chandler to score, giving the Rays back the lead.

Once Yandy Diaz walked, that was it for Vasquez. Adrian Morejon came in from the pen, and got the final out of the inning. In the home half, Fernando Tatis Jr. got a two out walk, but no runs scored.

As the game headed into the sixth, and Travis Jankowski got a single with two outs, but he was soon headed back to the dugout as the final out of the inning wrapped things up. Littell’s day was done after five with a final line of 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K on 73 pitches. Manuel Rodríguez was in from the Rays’ pen in relief. Bogaerts got a one-out walk before being eliminated in a double play to end the inning.

Jeremiah Estrada was the next Padres’ reliever up, and Danny Jansen singled, followed by a Simpson single to put two on. Jose Caballero replaced Janson as a pinch-runner. Neither runner would score, however, as a groundout and double play followed to end the inning. The Rays did challenge the tag out at home that was part of the inning-ending double play but the call was upheld. In the home half, the Rays turned pitching duties over to Mason Montgomery. Connor Joe kicked things off with a walk, then advanced to second on a Jose Iglesias sac bunt. Edwin Uceta came in with two outs in the inning as a pinch-hiiting Elias Díaz was announced. Uceta got the final out to end the inning.

Former Ray Jason Adam was the newest reliever up, and got the Rays out in order. The Rays returned the favor in the home half, getting the Padres three-up, three-down.

In the ninth, Robert Suarez came out in relief, and Jankowski got a leadoff double. Two outs later, unsung rookie superstar Simpson singled to score Jankowski, adding a little bit of buffer to the Rays’ lead.

Pete Fairbanks was in to close things out for the Rays and hopefully maintain their lead and secure the sweep. With one out, Caminero robbed a hit from Gonzales, nabbing it right out of the air. Fairbanks induced a groundout to collect the final out of the game, completed the sweep, and extended the Rays’ winning streak to 5.

Final: Rays 4, Padres 2