Padres score (again) in final at-bat to start September with customary win over Rays – San Diego Union-Tribune

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The final month of the season began with the Padres playing the same way they always did.

They beat the Rays 4-3.

Given the time of year and the fact that surrounding teams in the playoff race continue to win most days, this was a crucial win.

“We're playing our game, man,” manager Mike Shildt said when the postseason position was discussed. “… We're taking care of our business, and that's the way this game works.”

And that's basically what we should be thinking about with this team right now.

That's normal for the Padres. Most nights they are the embodiment of all the cliches that winning is the only thing that matters.

“It doesn't matter now,” said Xander Bogaerts, whose sacrifice fly scored the winning run in the ninth inning. “You can be 0 for 4 or 0 for 5, it's about basically playing solid baseball.”

Throughout the day, there were repeated reminders of why the Padres (78-61) are in this position: They are tied with the Diamondbacks for the National League's first wild-card spot and, with 23 games remaining, are just five wins away from surpassing last year's total.

It was the latest affirmation of their personalities and their beliefs. They played baseball, even though there were as many losses as there were victories, and they were always sure that it would ultimately lead them to what they are today.

The Padres had only six hits, but they managed ten walks and were relentless at the plate. They ran, they hit a home run, they got runners moving with bunts and fly balls.

“We didn't have the most hits and we didn't score the most runs,” Jake Cronenworth said. “But the at-bats were outstanding.”

The ninth inning began with Cronenworth's walk. Manny Machado's single moved Cronenworth to third base, where he was replaced by Tyler Wade, who scored on Bogaerts' fly ball to center field.

Robert Suarez managed a walk and a single after one out, recording his 30th save.

And before that, the Padres had squandered a three-run lead, which, while it doesn't happen often, still contributed to this trademark victory.

The Padres have a 29-17 record in games in which they have blown a lead, which illustrates the difference in this year's team as much as anything else. As does Sunday, which was their 29th win in a game in which they were tied or trailing in the seventh inning or later, and their 18th win that came in their final at-bat.

Last season, they secured 18 wins in the seventh or later inning, eight of which came in the final at-bat, and finished 18-33 in games in which they blew a lead.

“That's something we've seen with this team for a long time,” Bogaerts said. “We just have that talent. … We find a way. That ability to find a way is very special. Sometimes it doesn't have to be pretty. At this time in September, it's about getting the job done.”

The Padres' 19th win by just one point (compared to nine last year) was shocking.

The Padres forced Rays starter Ryan Pepiot to make repeated pitches early in the game – 23 in the first, 24 in the second and 20 in the third – and ended up with 200 pitches in the game. That has only happened 46 times in the major leagues this season, and the Padres have done it four times (league-leading).

In the fourth they took a 3-0 lead.

Jackson Merrill's 21st home run was responsible for two of these runs.

After Bogaerts opened the inning with a single, Merrill hit a fastball that Pepiot had been getting past batters all season, at 95 mph and nearly at the top of the strike zone, 421 feet above the center field wall.

“I was looking for a heater that I could turn on,” Merrill said.

David Peralta followed with a single and went to second base when Luis Campusano was walked. That was the end for Pepiot, who had thrown 89 pitches in his three-plus innings.

With Cole Sulser pitching, a sacrifice bunt by Mason McCoy moved Peralta to third base. The Rays intentionally walked Luis Arraez before Jurickson Profar sent a fly ball to the left-field track to score Peralta.

The Rays tied the game in the sixth inning as Dylan Cease lost his control and Jason Adams never really showed his control.

Cease, who pitched five innings, walked one batter and allowed a single, threw 10 straight balls to start the sixth inning and then allowed a single that loaded the bases and ended his day.

Adam, who was celebrated with a video tribute and ovation during Friday's game at the ballpark where he played from 2022 until his trade by the Padres on July 28, replaced Cease and scored a run with his third pitch to Junior Caminero.

A double play grounder by Josh Lowe brought in the second run and put a runner on third base, but with two outs the Padres had a chance to pull away with the lead.

That didn't happen, however, as a ball bounced in front of Padres catcher Campusano and past him to the backstop, allowing Brandon Lowe to run in from third base.

“(Cease) threw the ball well, and since we've had him, I don't think Adam has made a mistake,” Bogaerts said. “Sometimes that happens in this game. … But it's nice that we got them and took them with us.”

Yeah, no big deal.

“I mean, that's what we do,” Shildt said. “We don't want to give up leads. That's not what we do. … But if we get into a situation where we have to fight back, that's what we do.”

Originally published: September 1, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.