Rays Win Season-High 4th Straight, Beat Padres 4-1 With More Great Pitching

SAN DIEGO, Calif.

Much of the success the Tampa Bay Rays have experienced in the past dozen or so years has been based on the simple tenets of pitching and defense.

It's simple and maybe even too simplistic but it's real.

And it works.

It's certainly working on this trip out west.

Riding outstanding pitching from starters and relievers alike and tossing in several highlight-reel defensive plays, the Rays won their fourth straight game on Saturday night, beating the San Diego Padres 4-1.

It's their longest winning streak of the year, and their first four-game winning streak since last September How good has their pitching been? In their last 23 innings of work dating back to Thursday night's extra-innings win at Arizona, the Rays pitching staff has allowed just one run.

One.

In 23 innings.

"I didn't realize that, but it makes sense given how guys are coming into the game and doing what's asked of them, and maybe even more than that the way they are being so efficient with their pitches,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

"(Starter Ryan Pepiot) had really good stuff, and whenever he needed to make a pitch, he did.'' Pepiot threw six innings and allowed just one fluky run and three innings.

He was efficient throughout in pounding the strike zone, and got through his start with just 75 pitches.

He sat through long innings in the fifth and sixth, so Cash went to the pen to close this one out.

Edwin Uceta pitched a perfect seventh, but was helped by a home run-stealing catch by Chandler Simpson.

The rookie jumped over the center field wall to steal a 407-foot blast from Manny Machado, which would have been a home run in 15 of 30 MLB parks.

Hunter Bigge allowed a two-out double to Tyler Wade and then walked light-hitting Elias Diaz to bring up Fernando Tatis Jr.

But Bigge struck him out on a slider away to end the threat.

"He really locked in,'' Cash said.

"I'll speak for myself.

I was frustrated with the walk (to Diaz) because (Tatis) is the last guy you want to see come up there.

But I give Hunter a ton of credit for taking a deep breath and executing a lot of good breaking balls down and away.'' Pete Fairbanks came in to close it out in the ninth, and got through it with just one double to Machado.

it was his fifth save of the season.

The Rays continued their early success against National League teams.

The Rays are 10-4 against the NL, having won five straight series Colorado, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Arizona and now San Diego.

This run of pitching since Wednesday has been something else.

And it's been everyone.

During those 23 innings, it's been seven different pitchers who've gotten the job done.

The defense has been exceptional, too.

Besides not making an error in the past three games, they keep stealing hits and runs too.

In the third inning, right fielder Kameron Misner ran a long way to make an incredible catch right along the wall down the first base line.

Chandler Simpson made the play of the game in the seventh, grabbing what looked like a sure Machado homer.

"In that game and that situation, it was big to keep it from being at the time a one-run game.'' The Rays didn't do a lot offensively, but it was certainly enough.

Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run to left field off of Dylan Cease in the third inning his fourth of the year but first in three weeks and they added another run on a Christopher Morel double that drove in Junior Caminero, who had reached on an error by San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

It was a nice bounce-back for the Rays offense, which wasted an opportunity in the second inning when catcher Danny Jansen struck out with bases loaded.

The Rays added a third run in the fifth.

Lowe walked to open the inning, and Caminero doubled to left.

Cease then walked Jonathan Aranda to load the bases.

He struck out Morel for the first out, but he was at 95 pitches, so Padres manager Mike Shildt went to his bullpen for a left-hander.

Cash pinch-hit right-hander Curtis Mead a .125 hitter on the year for Misner, and on his sixth pitch, he punched a fly ball down the right field line.

Tatis caught it, but it was deep enough for Lowe to beat his throw home.

San Diego finally scored in the sixth inning after going 30 innings without a run.

Tyler Wade hit a ball into the gap in right-center that Simpson tried to chase down.

He dove for the ball but it was just out of his reach.

Wade wound up on third, and scored on a Tatis single The two teams will close out the series on Sunday afternoon.

First pitch is at 4:10 p.m.

ET.

Zach Littell (0-5, 5.48 ERA) will start for the Rays, and Randy Vasquez (1-2, 3.97 ERA) gets the call for the Padres..

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