The Tampa Bay Rays continued their impressive season Friday night, using a five run fourth inning and a pair of home runs to pull away from the San Diego Padres for a 9-4 victory.
Yandy Díaz and Cedric Mullins each homered and drove in two runs, while Shane McClanahan delivered another strong outing at home as the American League-leading Rays improved to 80-54. Tampa Bay became the first team in the AL to reach 80 victories and won for the fourth time in its last five games.
Díaz opened the scoring in the third inning when he sent a pitch to the opposite field and over the right field wall for his 20th home run of the season.
The homer also moved Díaz into fifth place in Rays franchise history with 119 career home runs. He also climbed to fourth on the club’s all-time RBI list with 470. Tampa Bay then broke the game open in the fourth.
The Rays sent nine batters to the plate and scored five times, taking advantage of San Diego’s inability to finish the inning. Although Tampa Bay managed only two hits in the frame both coming with two outs from Taylor Walls and Díaz the Rays capitalized on the Padres’ mistakes to build a commanding 6-0 lead.
McClanahan improved to 10-6, allowing three hits and four runs three earned in 5 2/3 innings. The 29-year-old left hander walked two and struck out four. More importantly, McClanahan continued his dominance at home, improving to 8-1 in his home starts this season.
The Padres finally began cutting into the deficit in the sixth. After Jonny DeLuca’s two-out single in the fifth extended Tampa Bay’s advantage to 7-2, Jackson Merrill launched a two-run homer in the sixth to bring San Diego within three runs at 7-4.
That was as close as the Padres would get. Tampa Bay answered with another run in the sixth when Junior Caminero singled home a runner, restoring a four-run advantage.
Mullins then provided another big blow in the seventh, hitting a solo home run to push the Rays’ lead to 9-4. Chandler Simpson also contributed at the top of the lineup, collecting two hits, stealing two bases and scoring twice as Tampa Bay continued to pressure the Padres on the bases.
San Diego starter Casey Mize was charged with the loss, falling to 5-8. He allowed seven runs only two earned on six hits over five innings. The Padres received a bright spot from Merrill, whose two-run homer helped spark their brief comeback attempt.
Despite the loss, San Diego entered the contest playing excellent baseball, having won eight of its previous 10 games. But on Friday, Tampa Bay’s combination of timely hitting, aggressive baserunning and another strong home performance from McClanahan proved too much.
With their record now at 80-54, the Rays remain firmly atop the American League and continue to establish themselves as one of baseball’s most complete teams as the regular season enters its final stretch.
