The game was over.
Samad Taylor had caught Jonny DeLuca’s fly ball at Tropicana Field’s short left-field wall with two outs in the ninth and the San Diego Padres leading by two. Then Taylor collided with the low wall, the ball popped from his glove and went over the fence.
The game was not over.
The cutout in the wall was designed to help longtime Rays left-handed left fielder Carl Crawford rob home runs. This time, it robbed Taylor of the final out and turned DeLuca’s fly ball into a game-tying homer. Jorge Mateo completed the escape two innings later with a walk-off single in a 5-4 victory.
The win gave Tampa Bay its fourth straight victory and an MLB-leading 14th series sweep, matching the franchise record set in 2021.
Before the late chaos, both teams spent the first three innings making scoring chances disappear.
San Diego put runners at the corners with two outs in the first after Manny Machado walked and a fielding error by Mateo on a Ty France grounder, but Drew Rasmussen got Jackson Merrill out on a groundout. Jonathan Aranda singled in the bottom half, only to be caught stealing as Junior Caminero struck out for an inning-ending double play.
In the second Dustin Harris hit a single to get on base with one out. Two batters later Nick Fortes threw out Dustin Harris at second to end the half-inning. Ryan Vilade walked to begin the botto of the second for the Rays and moved up on Chandler Simpson’s sacrifice bunt. Robbie Ray stranded him with a strikeout and a popup.
The Padres broke through in the fourth. France walked, Merrill singled and both scored when Xander Bogaerts sent a ground ball past Taylor Walls and the drawn-in infield for a 2-0 lead.
Caminero cut the deficit in half immediately. He led off the bottom of the inning by launching Ray’s pitch 440 feet into the left-center-field seats. His 37th homer tied him for the American League lead and extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Tampa Bay had a chance to do more in the fifth. Mateo walked, stole second and third to put the tying run 90 feet away with one out. Taylor Walls fouled off a bunt attempt with two strikes, and Yandy Díaz grounded out to end the inning.
This started to feel like a game that could be close and get away. The Rays never gave up.
Rasmussen kept the Rays close, completing six innings while allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Ray was just as effective, holding Tampa Bay to Caminero’s homer and two other hits over six innings.
San Diego added an unearned run against Cam Booser in the seventh. Taylor reached on a bunt single and advanced to third when Aranda’s throw on a pickoff attempt got away. Sung-Mun Song brought him home with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis Jr. was then called out for leaving the running lane on a bunt and was ejected along with Padres manager Craig Stammen after the play.
Another lost Rays opportunity came in the eighth. Walls was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a groundout and stole third, but Adrian Morejon struck out Aranda to preserve San Diego’s 3-1 lead.
That sent the Rays to the ninth against Mason Miller, still down two. Caminero opened with a single, but Miller struck out Liam Hicks and retired Simpson on a line drive.
DeLuca then lifted a fly ball down the left-field line. Taylor tracked the ball and timed it perfectly to make the catch and appeared to finish the game. His collision with the low wall knocked the ball loose and it dropped over the fence for DeLuca’s ninth homer.
Instead of a loss, Tampa Bay had a 3-3 tie.
The Padres lost another scoring chance in the 10th when Hicks threw out automatic runner Jase Bowen trying to steal third. Tampa Bay moved Mateo to third in the bottom half but failed to bring him home.
San Diego went back ahead in the 11th after Tyler Wells’ wild pitch moved Machado to third and France followed with a sacrifice fly.
The Rays answered one last time. Richie Palacios replaced automatic runner Jonathan Aranda and moved to third on Hicks’ single. Pinch-runner Kenny Piper stole second before San Diego intentionally walked Simpson to load the bases. DeLuca chopped a ball to short that Bogaerts could not handle, allowing Palacios to tie the game.
Mateo followed with a line drive into left field to score Piper and seal a walkoff win in a game that was previously lost.
The Rays next series sweep opportunity starts tomorrow when they face the New York Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm with Ian Seymour slated to start for the Rays opposite Robert Stock.
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