Chandler Simpson gets key hit as Rays beat Padres in back-and-forth game

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — The San Diego Padres tried their best to beat the Tampa Bay Rays at their own small-ball game Saturday, taking a three-run seventh-inning lead with a rally that included a bunt single with two on and a double steal.

But the Rays weren’t going to take that and responded with an eventful four-run rally in the home seventh, capped by a huge clutch single by a fired-up Chandler Simpson, and ended up with a 7-6 victory.

The Rays improved their American League-leading record to 81-54, and extended their East division lead to five games over the Yankees, who lost the opener of a doubleheader to Boston, with the second game Saturday night.

The Rays’ go-ahead rally was very much a team effort before a Tropicana Field crowd of 25,621, second largest of the season.

They loaded the bases with a leadoff walk by Richie Palacios and singles by Cedric Mullins and Taylor Walls. Yandy Diaz then laced a ball over the head of centerfielder Jackson Merrill and off the centerfield wall.

Palacios scored, but with a quick relay to second baseman Luis Rengifo, the Padres had Mullins hung up between third and home, and Walls between second and third. As Mullins broke for home, Rengifo pivoted to throw, and as the ball went errantly past the plate, he crumpled to the ground with a leg injury and was taken off the field on a cart.

With the score tied and Diaz on third, the Padres brought in lefty Adrian Morejon. He got Aranda to ground out for the first out. The Rays then had Jorge Mateo run at third for Diaz and, after the Padres intentionally walked Junior Caminero, had righty Ryan Vilade hit for catcher Liam Hicks. Vilade showed bunt at first, then struck out for the second out.

That brought Chandler Simpson to the plate in a challenging left-on-left matchup with the hard-throwing Morejon. Simpson took a 100.3-mph sinker, fouled off another at 99.9 mph, then slapped a 99.7-mph four-seamer past diving third baseman Manny Machado, and celebrated the moment as he got to first.

The Rays grabbed a first-inning lead — the seventh straight time they scored first — when Diaz led off with a double, then scored on a two-out single by Hicks.

The Padres got even in their third when No. 9 hitter Dustin Harris led off with a single and scored on a double by one-time Rays prospect Jake Cronenworth, who is now in his seventh season with San Diego.

The Rays went right back ahead on a loud and long 453-foot homer to center by Jonathan Aranda, second longest of his career.

The homer was Aranda’s 17th of the season, but only his third in 39 games since the mid-July All-Star break after hitting 14 in 93 before.

Nick Martinez got through the first five innings allowing just the one run, but he ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing a leadoff single to Manny Machado, then a two-run opposite-field homer to Ty France that tucked just inside the rightfield foul pole.

The Rays responded quickly again to get back even, as Junior Caminero snapped a career high-matching 15-game homerless streak with a laser to the left of center, clocked at 107.8 mph off the bat and measured at 426 feet. That was Caminero’s 36th of the season, tying him, at least temporarily, with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead.

After Garrett Cleavinger created much of the mess in the seventh, Kevin Kelly eventually got the third out and worked the eighth. Bryan Baker finished for the Rays, converting his 28th consecutive save and major-league leading 39th overall.

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