The poor luck that had dogged Xander Bogaerts before The Trop seemingly robbed him of a home run on Friday is detailed in Kevin Acee’s newsletter this morning.
If it’s going to bite him again on Saturday, it will have to be off the bench as the 33-year-old veteran will give way to Jake Cronenworth at shortstop in Game 2 in Tampa Bay.
First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. on Padres.TV.
Today’s starters. pic.twitter.com/KUmYCGT3x9
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 29, 2026
The day out of the lineup is Bogaerts’ first since July 26, when Sung-Mun Song was on the roster to spell him at the position. But Song has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso get more at-bats, leaving Cronenworth to make his first start at shortstop since April 11, before his lengthy concussion absence.
Cronenworth is hitting .269/.337.360 with three homers in 51 games (.697 OPS) since returning from the injured list.
Bogaerts is in the midst of the worst season of his 14-year career, as his .640 OPS as of Sunday is 20 points below his OPS in his first full season with the Red Sox in 2014.
Bogaerts is a .260/.328/.388 hitter for a .716 OPS across four seasons so far with the Padres, nearly 100 points below his OPS (.814) across 10 seasons with Boston.
The year began with Bogaerts flirting with a rebound as he had a .784 OPS through the first month of the season. But he’d been below .595 in each subsequent month until improving a bit in August as he at least began to get on base.
Through Friday, Bogaerts is hitting .213/.341/.347 through his first 91 plate appearances this month.
With Cronenworth (.617 OPS) manning shortstop — and batting second as he’s come to do against right-handers — Luis Rengifo (.638 OPS) will play second base and bat eighth and Dustin Harris (.660 OPS) will play left field and bat ninth.
Gavin Sheets (.703 OPS) will serve as the DH and bat seventh, while Luis Campusano (.862 OPS) will bat sixth and catch right-hander Walker Buehler.
Friday’s loss shaved the Padres’ lead over the Diamondbacks to a half-game in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot.
Here is how the Rays will line up for Game 2:
8/29 ⚾ Rays Lineup is Out!
Provided by mlbstartingnine (@DailyMLBLineups for link)
📊 Live Line: Rays -127 • O/U 8.0#Rays #RaysLineup #MLB pic.twitter.com/2CnaT9MEkh
— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) August 29, 2026
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.63 ERA)
He’s thrown three straight quality starts (2.00 ERA, 18 IP), doubling his total for the season. Buehler has a 5.21 ERA in 12 starts on the road so far. He’s made three career starts against the Rays, all last year (18 IP, 4.00 ERA).
Here’s how Buehler has fared against current Rays:
Rays RHP Nick Martinez (13-4, 2.93 ERA)
The former Padre was a first-time All-Star this year and he leads qualifying starters with 1.3 walks per nine innings. His strikeout rate (5.3 per nine innings) is his lowest since returning from Japan. Martinez has a 4.50 ERA in 18 innings against his old team since leaving the Padres as a free agent after the 2023 season.
Here is how Martinez has fared against current Padres:
