Rays rally in the seventh, powered by the bottom of the order, to swing momentum vs. Padres

The Rays were in a difficult position after 6 1/2 innings at Tropicana Field on Saturday evening, with the starter Nick Martinez already having given up a pair of one-run leads earlier in the game. As the contest moved into the late innings, the Padres kept applying pressure, eventually taking a three-run advantage against Rays relievers Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly in the seventh.

Tampa Bay’s path to a victory, though, came from the bottom part of the lineup. In the seventh, the Rays’ late-inning approach changed the feel of the game, with the “bottom of the order” producing the kind of timely contact and run-making that can flip a multi-run deficit into a manageable one. The inning became the clearest swing point, not only because the Rays drew back into striking distance, but because it forced the Padres to defend under pressure rather than control the game’s tempo.

The sequence mattered because the Padres had established their lead against the Rays’ leverage arms in that middle-of-the-game window. Once a team turns the game in the seventh, it often looks to protect the advantage through the back end. Here, Tampa Bay’s answer prevented the Padres from settling into that late-inning role.

For the Rays, the comeback also underscored a familiar truth in baseball: when the top of the order is quiet, the middle and bottom still have ways to create damage, whether through lengthening at-bats, getting into counts, or turning contact into base runners. The Rays’ ability to generate offense after falling behind by multiple runs helped erase the momentum the Padres carried in the seventh.

The win was also described as part of a bigger outcome, with Tampa Bay pulling off a victory that helped it win the series against San Diego. Series context can amplify the importance of a single late inning, because it determines how teams enter the final stretch of a homestand or road swing and can affect how bullpen usage is shaped across consecutive games.

Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly were on the hook during the seventh when the Padres moved ahead by three, and that is the broader lesson for how comebacks play out. A team can lose leverage on the mound and still recover if the offense keeps the inning alive. Saturday’s game offered that reminder in a concentrated form.

What to watch next for Tampa Bay is whether the approach that sparked the seventh carries forward, especially the ability for lower-order bats to contribute when the game tightens. For San Diego, the concern is permitting runs once the game had already tilted, particularly when a multi-run advantage is earned in a single frame. The contrast between the seventh for the Padres and the seventh for the Rays is likely to be a point of emphasis as both teams continue their season-long push.