In terms of a winning the whole day from start to finish, the Tampa Bay Rays will have a hard time topping Friday.
The Rays, who secured their future in the area early in the day, opened their series against the San Diego Padres with a 9-4 victory. They will try to beat the Padres again on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Tampa Bay scored five times on just two hits in the fourth inning, building a six-run lead on their way to improving their home record to an American League-best 44-23.
Junior Caminero stretched his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single.
Earlier Friday, Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 5-2 to proceed with funding for the franchise’s new $2.3 billion stadium across Tampa’s waterway and close to the Buccaneers’ football stadium.
The project, called the Rays’ “Forever Home” by the front office, is expected to be ready for the 2029 season.
“Excited for our fans,” said manager Kevin Cash, a Tampa native. “A lot of hard work. A lot to be excited about. We experienced Tampa baseball last year playing at Steinbrenner Field. I don’t single out Tampa or St. Pete or Sarasota or Bradenton. To me, it’s the Tampa Bay area, and I think that’s special for our entire fanbase.”
San Diego starter Casey Mize threw a comebacker into left field later that night that could have started a double play. Instead, the Rays plated five unearned runs.
“Things kind of just snowballed from (the throwing error),” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Not our prettiest game on any side of the ball tonight.”
Saturday’s matchup will feature two right-handers who are trending up.
The Padres will send out Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.63) for his 27th start.
The San Diego hurler has earned the victory in two of his past three starts, beating the Minnesota Twins on Sunday and the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 11 after allowing one run in six innings in both outings.
Sandwiched in between that was a 2-1 loss in New York to the Mets in which he yielded two runs on two hits in yet another six-inning effort.
“I think he smells the postseason,” Stammen said. “That’s one thing that’s part of his career is being a part of that every single year. So he smells that. He knows the team needs the quality starts.
“He also sees the other starters doing really well, and I think internally that motivates him. And he’s just been able to make a lot of really good pitches here lately.”
Buehler is 2-0 with a 4.00 ERA in three starts against the Rays.
Cash will turn to steady Nick Martinez (13-4, 2.93) on Saturday. The All-Star will attempt to earn the win for the fourth time in his past five starts.
In his most recent outing, the 36-year-old Miami native was brilliant against the Baltimore Orioles. He fired six innings of one-hit, shutout ball with four strikeouts.
Martinez is 1-4 with a 4.88 ERA in five appearances (four starts) against the Padres.
–Field Level Media
