San Diego Padres swept in Tampa as Samad Taylor drops fence catch to hand Jonny DeLuca a home run
The San Diego Padres fell to 72-65 on the season after dropping a weekend series to the Tampa Bay Rays, a sweep sealed by a ninth-inning play in which outfielder Samad Taylor caught a fly ball at the left-field fence and let it fall, converting a game-ending out into a game-tying home run Sunday. The ball off the bat of Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca traveled 319 feet at an exit velocity of 90.7 mph and carried a .010 expected batting average. San Diego, which had entered the weekend holding the final National League wild card position, now sits a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, the two clubs tied in the loss column.
Key takeaways
- The San Diego Padres were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, falling to 72-65 on the season.
- In Sunday's ninth inning, Padres outfielder Samad Taylor caught a fly ball at the left-field fence and dropped it, turning a game-ending out into a game-tying home run for the Rays' Jonny DeLuca.
- After the loss, San Diego fell out of the final National League wild card position and now sits a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, tied in the loss column.
- The Padres and Diamondbacks close the regular season against each other in a three-game series in San Diego that also serves as the tiebreaker, with their season series tied at five wins apiece.
- San Diego had entered the Tampa series with a 16-8 August record and had added starting pitchers Casey Mize and Robbie Ray via trade.
The San Diego Padres fell to 72-65 on the season after dropping a weekend series to the Tampa Bay Rays, a sweep sealed by a ninth-inning play in which outfielder Samad Taylor caught a fly ball at the left-field fence and let it fall, converting a game-ending out into a game-tying home run Sunday. The ball off the bat of Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca traveled 319 feet at an exit velocity of 90.7 mph and carried a .010 expected batting average. San Diego, which had entered the weekend holding the final National League wild card position, now sits a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, the two clubs tied in the loss column.
Mason Miller was on the mound in the ninth inning protecting a 3-1 lead. Junior Caminero led off with a 78-mph single to center, but Miller struck out Liam Hicks and got Chandler Simpson to line out. With two outs, he induced a fly ball from DeLuca to left field. Taylor tracked it into the corner, caught it as he ran into the fence, and dropped it. DeLuca was credited with a home run, tying the game at three.
The Padres retook the lead in the 11th on a Ty France fly ball, going ahead 4-3. Reliever David Morgan struck out Caminero to start the bottom half. Hicks followed with a bloop single to center, and San Diego walked Chandler Simpson after Hicks stole second, setting up a potential double play. DeLuca then grounded weakly to shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts could not convert the force at home, tying the game and leaving the winning run at third with one out. Jorge Mateo singled to left on the next at-bat to complete the sweep.
San Diego and Arizona close the regular season against each other in a three-game series in San Diego, a set that also serves as the tiebreaker, with the season series between the two clubs standing at five wins apiece. The Padres had entered the Tampa series with a 16-8 August record, including a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, and had bolstered their rotation with trade acquisitions of starting pitchers Casey Mize and Robbie Ray.