The series finale on Sunday between the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres could be seen by a true cynic as a movable force against a resistible object.
Tampa Bay will vie for a series sweep behind right-hander Zack Littell (0-5, 5.28 ERA), who’s pitched well at times but been hurt by a lack of offensive support and untimely home run balls.
The Rays will take aim at a San Diego team that’s scored one run in the last 34 innings and owns its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Littell’s most recent start was the Rays’ last loss, a 5-1 decision Tuesday night at Arizona. He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk over six innings but was hurt by two mistakes.
Pavin Smith drilled a two-run homer in the third inning and Tim Tawa blasted a solo shot in the fifth. Both homers came after Littell fell behind in the count and had to come in with meaty pitches.
Littell has thrown eight home run balls in 29 innings, tied for the most in the majors.
“You put good lineups in good positions, they’re going to make you pay,” he said.
This will be Littell’s first career start against the Padres after 18 relief appearances, mostly coming with the San Francisco Giants. He’s 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA over 16 2/3 innings despite allowing 22 hits and 14 walks against San Diego.
Given how badly San Diego is slumping offensively, though, this might be an ideal time for Littell to take the mound. A team that made the most of its opportunities for most of the season’s first three weeks has now lost six of eight with its lineup missing a spate of All-Stars.
Saturday night’s 4-1 loss did feature the Padres’ first run in 30 innings but also a pair of damning failures that shaped the outcome. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a double and got to third with one out but was caught in a rundown on Manny Machado’s tapper to the mound. In the eighth, with the tying runs at the corners with two outs, Tatis chased a slider off the outside corner and struck out to end the inning.
“We know who we are,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “We know the situation that we’re in. We know we have guys out, guys that are key pieces to our team. We’re running into some good pitching sometimes.”
Bogaerts has been among the biggest strugglers this weekend, going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts to see his average drop to .239 with no homers and five RBIs. He also has errors in both games of the series, with Friday’s throwing error leading to an unearned run in a 1-0 verdict.
“No one’s feeling sorry for ourselves,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said.
The Padres will turn to right-hander Randy Vasquez (1-2, 3.97) to avoid the sweep. Vasquez is coming off a tough performance in Monday night’s 6-4 loss in Detroit, lasting two-plus innings and yielding six runs off five hits and three walks with a strikeout.
His only career start against Tampa Bay was a brutal one last August. Vasquez was pounded for 11 hits and nine runs over 4 1/3 innings in an 11-4 defeat.
–Field Level Media
