Padres fall to Rays 4–1 as offensive struggles continue

San Diego, California – The San Diego Padres’ offensive struggles continued Saturday night at Petco Park in a 4–1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

While the Padres finally snapped their 30-inning scoreless streak — the third-longest in franchise history — they were unable to generate enough offense to get back in the win column. San Diego has now lost three straight games overall and suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time this season.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tyler Wade led the way for the Padres’ lineup, combining for four of the team’s five hits. Wade doubled and tripled, later scoring San Diego’s only run on an RBI single by Tatis Jr. in the sixth inning, which ended the scoreless stretch.

The Padres nearly closed the gap in the seventh when Manny Machado launched a deep drive to center field, but Tampa Bay rookie Chandler Simpson, the fastest player in Major League Baseball, made a leaping grab at the wall to rob Machado of a home run.

Outside of Tatis Jr., Wade, and Machado’s double, the rest of the Padres’ lineup went 0-for-23 at the plate.

Dylan Cease started for San Diego but struggled with his command, walking four and throwing 95 pitches over just 4.1 innings. Cease struck out six but allowed a solo homer to Brandon Lowe and left the game trailing. The Padres bullpen once again had to pick up significant innings, with five relievers combining to cover the final 4.2 frames.

Adding to the Padres’ woes, reliever Logan Gillaspie exited after throwing just one pitch due to an oblique injury. Manager Mike Shildt confirmed after the game that Gillaspie would miss time, testing the depth of San Diego’s bullpen even further.

The Padres will try to avoid a sweep Sunday afternoon with Randy Vásquez scheduled to start against Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell.

Despite the recent slump, San Diego has games left in April and a long season ahead to regain their footing — and their offense.