Rays 10, Padres 4
Record: 70-50
Attendance: 21,301
Fresh off a three-game sweep of the Mariners, the Rays ventured into Southern California for a three-game set against the Padres, with old friend Wil Myers and old antagonist Manny Machado both on hand to greet them. Myers was Rookie of the Year for the Rays in 2013, but was traded to the Padres in December 2014 for Jake Bauers, who was traded last off season to the Indians for Yandy Diaz. Myers' hasn't quite lived up to expectations, settling in as a .250 hitter with 14 HRs a year. Machado of course accepted a ten-year, $300 million offer from the Padres and in his first year with them he is hitting about .260 with big-time power numbers, 26 HRs and 70 RBIs.
But the Padres fell to the Rays anyway, 10-4. Rays bats came alive, 14 hits to go along with the ten runs, led by Matt Duffy's 4 for 4 and Avisail Garcia's 3 for 6, including his 17th HR with one on in the first inning. Even Oliver Drake pitched in with a base hit and an RBI. The Rays held a 3-2 lead going into the seventh, when they scored three runs, followed by four more in the eighth. With an eight-run lead, Andrew Kittredge gave up a two-run homer to Ian Kinsler, but the game was over long before that.
Diego Castillo opened the game with a shaky inning, giving up a run on two hits. Bulker Austin Pruitt then tossed four good innings giving up a single run, Roe and Drake combined for three innings of scoreless ball, and then came Kittredge who threw the home run ball to Kinsler.
And so the Rays begin the series with the Padres with a win, extending their winning streak on the road to seven games and their dominance in their last four series, which they swept three of. They needed to capitalize on the current soft schedule to have any hope of making the playoffs. And so far, they have. We'll know more about this team by the end of the month--but it's mid-August and so far, so good.
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