After trading lopsided victories, the Tampa Bay Rays and visiting San Diego Padres will face off in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday.

San Diego won the opener, 13-5, on Friday, and Tampa Bay bounced back with an 11-4 victory on Saturday.

And as the Padres look to hold on to a National League wild-card spot — or even challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers for the West division title — they won’t enter Sunday’s game feeling anything but confident.

“It’s say it’s a pretty good spot,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said after Saturday’s loss, assessing his team. “Played a lot of really good baseball, firing on a lot of cylinders. We’re never out of a game. … We win, we’ll keep you down, and if we happen to be down, we’re going to find a way to scratch and claw and get on top.”

And while Saturday’s game didn’t turn out in the Padres’ favor, they didn’t give up, their manager said.

“Look at that effort in the last four innings. That could’ve been an easily been a mail-it-in game, but it’s scary that this team does nothing but foot on the pedal and gas out of the way,” Shildt said. “It was a great August, but it will be an even better September.”

That could hinge on San Diego’s pitching.

The Padres (77-61) racked up 23 hits over the first two games of the series against the Rays. They gained some traction offensively late in Saturday’s loss, but pitching struggles resulted in a deficit that was too large to overcome.

In six of the past eight games, San Diego starting pitchers lasted fewer than six innings on the mound. The Padres hope that right-hander Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.57 ERA) can provide a quality start on Sunday. Cease gave up four earned runs on seven hits and four walks, while striking out four over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision in a 7-5 win over St. Louis on Tuesday.

Cease is 1-2 across five career starts against the Rays. He has a 5.40 ERA, with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks over 23 1/3 innings.

As for the Rays, they’re hoping to build off Saturday’s performance.

Every player in their batting order safely reached base at least once. Rookie Junior Caminero belted his first career home run at Tropicana Field, and his third in the past eight games. The 21-year-old shortstop played in seven games in 2023 and was called up on Aug. 13, and he appears to be with the Rays for the long haul.

“He’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason,” teammate Brandon Lowe said. “The thing that gets me is the plate discipline, with how hard he swings the bat. I think he’s top five or something like that, in the league, with bat speed. To be able to take those swings as hard as he can, but also not swing at everything, he’s very refined in his approach and I think that’s one of the things that helps him succeed in those situations.”

The Rays (67-68) are slated to start right-hander Ryan Pepiot (7-6, 3.61). Pepiot gave up five runs, but only two earned, in his most recent start against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. He struck out six batters and issued one walk over six innings but was tagged with the 5-1 loss.

Pepiot has two career appearances against the Padres — one start — and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. Over eight innings against the Padres, Pepiot gave up four earned runs on nine hits, with seven strikeouts and four walks.

–Field Level Media