Rays' Freddy Peralta delivers again in win over NL East-leading Braves

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Sep 8, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ATLANTA — Coming off a series split against a sub-.500 Rangers team that manager Kevin Cash deemed “not good enough,” the Rays seemed to face a greater challenge Tuesday in opening a three-game set against the National League East-leading Braves.

A lot went well for the Rays in the 7-1 win.

Junior Caminero hit his (for now) American League-leading 39th homer. Liam Hicks, Yandy Diaz and Richie Palacios also went deep. Chandler Simpson got to show off for the hometown folks by stealing his 40th base, becoming just the fifth player to reach that mark in each of his first two seasons. Former Brave Jorge Mateo hustled to create an add-on run in the sixth. Closer Bryan Baker returned to the mound for the first time since leaving Friday’s game ill.

But the best thing that happened for the Rays was that Freddy Peralta overcame a shaky first inning to deliver a dominant third-straight six-inning start.

Peralta threw 32 pitches in the first, allowing a run on three straight singles and a two-out walk while facing seven Braves. From the second inning on, he retired 14 of the 16 Braves he faced, allowing only a pair of two-out singles, and throwing only 60 pitches.

In beating the Tigers, Mets and Braves in consecutive starts, Peralta has thrown 18 innings, allowed two runs, 10 hits and one walk while striking out 13.

The win improved the Rays’ AL-leading record to 86-58, and maintained their four-game AL East lead over the Yankees, who beat the Rockies.

The Rays also reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff berth to at least four, pending later games. A celebration could take place as soon as Thursday.

After a frustrating loss Sunday in Texas, a day off Monday and news Tuesday that smooth-fielding shortstop Taylor Walls was placed on the injured list due to a right hip flexor strain, the Rays grabbed a first-inning lead and added on repeatedly.

Caminero got them going with a two-out homer in the first, a 455-foot blast to left that was his 39th of the season, one ahead of Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead.

The Braves answered by slapping three straight one-out singles off Peralta, but that was all they’d get off the veteran acquired in an Aug. 2 trade.

The Rays stayed on the attack.

With Caminero on first in the third, Hicks delivered a two-run homer to right-center field measured at 407 feet. That was Hicks’ 18th homer overall, and fourth since joining the Rays in an Aug. 3 trade.

Simpson, playing his first pro game in his Atlanta hometown, showed off a bit to his 100-plus family and friends in the Truist Park stands with a single. He then swiped second for his 40th steal, matching the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the AL lead. Simpson went to third on a flyout and scored on a single by birthday boy Victor Mesa Jr., who turned 25 Tuesday.

The Rays got another run in the sixth, when Mateo reached on an infield single, advanced to third after drawing an errant pickoff throw to first and scored when Yandy Diaz grounded out.

Diaz took matters into his own hands in the eighth by lacing a line-drive homer to left, his 22nd of the season.

Kevin Kelly, Cole Sulser and Baker teamed to work the final three innings.

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