Amid offensive tailspin, Padres suffer sweep to Rays
Apr 27, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) scores against Tampa Bay Rays catcher Danny Jansen (19) during the third inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The ailing Padres desperately needed to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Rays. Randy Vasquez took the mound, hoping to be the one to stop the Padres’ skid.
Tampa Bay countered with Zack Littell.
The Padres jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Jose Iglesias in the bottom of the second.
The Rays answered with a Taylor Walls solo homer to tie it in the third. Brandon Lowe gave the Rays a lead, singling home another run.
In the bottom of the third, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Gavin Sheets singled ahead of Manny Machado. The Padres’ All-Star third baseman lined a sacrifice fly to right field, again tying the score.
After getting two quick outs to start the top of the fifth inning, things started unraveling for Vasquez. Two singles and a wild pitch gave the Rays a 3-2 lead. Vasquez was unable to finish the fifth, and Adrian Morejon relieved him.
There were a few notable moments where the Padres were looking like their old selves. Defensively, Tatis gunned down Jose Caballero at home, preventing the Rays from extending their lead in the seventh. Tatis is certainly doing all he can. He also launched a 106.2 mph liner to right that was caught. That line drive had an expected batting average of .890 and would have been a home run in three MLB parks, per Baseball Savant.
DON'T. RUN. ON. TATIS. pic.twitter.com/lINKjCm1xe
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 27, 2025
Morejon pitched 1 1/3 solid innings. Manager Mike Shildt seemed to want to empty the tank in the bullpen, given they have two days off this coming week. Jeremiah Estrada and Jason Adam combined for two scoreless innings. Closer Robert Suarez came in for some work in the ninth, with the Padres still trailing by one. He was not nearly as sharp as he has been in the past. Former Padre Travis Jankowski led off with a double. Chandler Simpson, who has been something of a villain in this series, singled him home to extend Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-2.
As it has for the majority of the past two weeks, the Padres’ offense went down with barely a whimper in the bottom of the ninth as the team suffered its fourth straight loss and series sweep to the Rays.
The offense is mired in an enormous slump right now. The Padres have not scored more than four runs since April 14, a string of 11 games.
Of course, this has a lot to do with one-third of the lineup on the injured list. Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, and Luis Arraez are all on the shelf, and at least the first two may be out for an extended period of time. The current set of healthy Padres are going to have to figure it out before they lose all the ground they built with their strong start. It feels like if the top of the lineup of Tatis, Sheets, and Machado do not produce all the runs, the Padres aren’t getting any.
It also feels like if Merrill and Cronenworth do not return soon (assuming Arraez will be back sooner), this Padres team is in trouble.
For now, they have a day off on Monday before a two-game series against the Giants at home. At this point, splitting those two games seems almost a must.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.