Padres Blow 3-1 Ninth-Inning Lead in 5-4 Rays Sweep, Falling to 72-65
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Padres Blow 3-1 Ninth-Inning Lead in 5-4 Rays Sweep, Falling to 72-65
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Summary
San Diego entered the ninth up 3-1 but lost 5-4 in 11 innings, completing a three-game sweep in Tampa and slipping outside the National League playoff field at 72-65.
Jonny DeLuca's 319-foot fly ball with two outs off Mason Miller should have ended the game, but left fielder Samad Taylor dropped it over the fence for a game-tying two-run homer.
The Padres briefly reclaimed a 4-3 lead in the 11th before Xander Bogaerts flubbed an easy force at home on DeLuca's grounder, allowing the tying run to score and the winning run to reach third.
Jorge Mateo followed immediately with a walk-off single, turning two routine defensive chances into the decisive mistakes of San Diego's most damaging loss of the weekend.
The defeat left the Padres a half-game from Arizona in the final NL wild-card race, with the clubs tied in the loss column and set to finish the season with a three-game series in San Diego.