Meet The Opponent: 3 Things to Know About the San Diego Padres
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After losing their first four road games of the season, the Tampa Bay Rays won two extra-inning thrillers in Arizona. And now it's off to San Diego to take on a 17-8 Padres team that has the second-best record in baseball.
The Rays, 11-14 through the first 25 games, are here at Petco Park for a three-game series. They play at 9:40 p.m. ET on Friday, 8:40 p.m. on Saturday and 4:10 p.m. on Sunday.
Here are the projected pitching matchups:
- Friday night: Tampa Bay's Shane Baz (2-0, 3.22 ERA) vs. San Diego's Michael King (3-0, 2.57 ERA).
- Saturday night: Tampa Bay's Ryan Pepiot (1-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. San Diego's Dylan Cease (1-1, 6.04 ERA).
- Sunday afternoon: Tampa Bay's Zack Littell (0-5, 5.28 ERA) vs. San Diego's Randy Vasquez (1-2, 3.97 ERA).
The Padres have made the postseason three times in the past five years, and are hoping to do it again this season in the tough National League West. They are a half-game ahead of the San Francisco Giants and one game ahead of the defending world-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona, which just lost two of three to the Rays, is three games back.
San Diego won the series a year ago, taking two of three at Tropicana Field from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. They also won in 2023, winning twice from June 16-18. Prior to that, the Rays owned the series, going 8-1 in 2013, 2016 and 2019 matchups.
Petco Park is home to some nice memories for the Rays. It was a neutral site host during the 2020 COVID year, and the Rays won the ALDS against the New York Yankees and ALCS against the Houston Astros before losing the 2020 World Series to the Dodgers in Arlington, Texas.
Here are three things to know about the Padres:
1. They've been red-hot at home
San Diego opened the season with 11 straight wins at home, sweeping the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Guardians the first week. Then the Padres took three straight from Colorado April 11-13 and won their opener against the Chicago Cubs the next day. Their lone loss came the day, a 2-1 defeat in 10 innings, before winning the series on April 16 with a 4-2 win.
Only the New York Mets have been as good at home, also going 12-1. It's a little different for the Padres, who were actually better on the road last year. They won 45 games at Petco, but 48 on the road.
2. Dealing with injuries to lineup
Despite the lofty record, the Padres are really banged up right now. First baseman Luis Arraez went on the seven-day concussion list after a bad crash at first base on Monday. Also out are outfielder Jackson Merrill (hamstring), second baseman Jake Cronenworth (ribs), outfielders Jason Heyward (knee) and Brandon Lockridge (hamstring) are also out.
This is an opportunity for the Rays' pitching staff to keep them in check during this series. The Padres have plenty of other weapons, of course. Fernando Tatis Jr. is having a great year. He's hitting .333 with eight home runs and 17 RBIs. Manny Machado is hitting. 283 and offseason pickup Gavin Sheets has been a pleasant surprise. He's hitting .309 with three homers and 12 RBIs
3. Great bullpen work by familiar face
San Diego knows that it takes to close out games. Closer Robert Suarez already has 10 saves and has only allowed three hits and no runs in 11 innings of work.
He's got a great set-up man, too, and it's a familiar face to Rays fans — right-handed reliever Jason Adam. He's pitched in 12 games and is 2-0 with nine holds. He's pitched 13 innings and has allowed just one earned run and six hits.
Adam was traded to the Padres at the deadline last July 28, and the Rays got three high-profile prospects in return. They got right-handed pitcher Dylan Lesko, the Padres' No. 3 prospect at the time, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. (No. 8) and catcher J.D. Gonzalez (No. 12).
Adam was a mainstay in the Rays' bullpen from 2022 to 2024. He pitched in 170 games for Tampa Bay, and was 10-7 with 24 saves and 52 holds.
Related Rays stories
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- MORGAN REACHES AAA: Tre' Morgan, the No. 4 prospect in the Rays' farm system, joined the Durham Bulls after missing the first few weeks of the 2025 regular season with a quad injury. CLICK HERE
- SMITH CRACKS TOP 100: With Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez officially graduating to the big leagues, Rays outfielder Aidan Smith took his spot on MLB Pipeline's list of the top 100 prospects. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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