ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mason Miller’s hands went up in exultation.
“I saw the ball in his glove,” Miller said. “I thought he had it still.”
Samad Taylor’s hands went up in confounded despair.
Miller’s hands dropped quickly to his side in frustrated dejection.
That sequence in the ninth inning Sunday summed up just about perfectly the Padres’ weekend at Tropicana Field.
Victory just would not happen, as the conclusion came in the form of a gut punch of a 5-4 loss to the Rays in 11 innings.
“Tough one to swallow,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said afterward.
It was with two outs in the ninth inning, with the Padres ahead 3-1 and a runner on first base, that Miller hung a slider up and in to Jonny DeLuca, who pulled it down the left-field line.
Taylor closed in on the ball after a run of about 80 feet toward the shortest portion of the wall and had the ball in his glove in front of and just above the 5-foot wall before his wrist smacked into the wall and the ball fell to the ground on the other side of the wall.
TBR – Jonny DeLuca 2-run HR (9)
⚡ Game-tying HR ⚡
📏 319 ft | 💨 90.7 mph | 📐 40°
⚾️ 88.4 mph slider (SDP – RHP Mason Miller)
🏟️ Out in 1/30 parks (🎯 TB)
SDP (3) @ TBR (3)
🔻 9th#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/6kTzst3QYg
— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) August 30, 2026
“Hit my glove and should be caught,” Taylor said. “We should be having a different conversation. Should be having a conversation about a win, and instead, we’re having a conversation about a mistake that I made.”
He probably would have caught the ball were he not 5-foot-8 and going almost full speed when his arm collided at the angle it did.
“Six inches higher, it’s a catch,” Miller said. “Six inches lower, it’s probably a catch. But it’s right at the wrist height. And I know Samad probably feels terrible, too, but he is making a baseball play,”
Taylor was spot on about the conversation that could have been had.
Playing the American League’s best team, the Padres had the final two games of the series in hand before the practically impermeable back end of their bullpen blew late leads.
Saturday, the Padres suffered just their fourth loss in the 61 games in which they held a lead in the seventh inning when Bradgley Rodriguez was charged with four runs in the seventh inning and the Rays held on for a 7-6 victory.
What happened Sunday had never happened in 2026. It was the first time in 60 games this season that the Padres lost when leading after eight innings.
“What a crazy series,” DeLuca said. “Just in general. But I mean, yeah, that’s probably the most exciting one we’ve had this year.”
After the Padres took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 11th when automatic runner Manny Machado advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ty France’s sacrifice fly, David Morgan struck out Junior Caminero before yielding a bloop single to Liam Hicks. After pinch-runner Kenny Piper stole second base, Chandler Simpson was intentionally walked to load the bases.
DeLuca then chopped a ball softly to the left side that shortstop Xander Bogaerts ran in to grab. But his chance to get the force at home disappeared when he bobbled the ball, and the game was tied.
Two pitches later, Jorge Mateo walked it off with a line drive to center field.
“Tough losses, some really close games and some tough ways to lose,” Padres starting pitcher Robbie Ray said.
Until it fell apart, the Padres had matched the feverish intensity of the Rays and were on the verge of achieving a feel-good rebound victory.
But they blew any chance to score in the 10th by essentially illustrating a handbook on bad baseball.
With automatic runner Jase Bowen on second base, Jake Cronenworth popped up a bunt, Bowen was thrown out trying to steal third and Machado struck out looking.
Yuki Matsui got the Padres to the 11th by stranding Mateo at third base, which he had reached with a steal with one out.
The lack of execution in the ninth, 10th and 11th was in contrast to how well the Padres had played in building a 3-1 lead.
Ray allowed one run in six innings, outdueling one of the AL’s best starting pitchers in Drew Rasmussen, who surrendered two runs in his six innings.
The Padres scored both those runs in the sixth inning when France drew a one-out walk and Jackson Merrill followed with a single grounded through the right side on which France — not the fleetest of foot — rounded second and got to third base while Merrill took second on the throw to third by right fielder Ryan Vilade.
That brought the infield in, which allowed for Bogaerts’ hard grounder to get past shortstop Taylor Walls and drive in both runners.
Caminero’s 455-foot home run leading off the bottom of the inning cut the Padres’ lead in half.
The Padres added a run and lost Tatis and manager Craig Stammen in the seventh.
Taylor, activated off the injured list on Sunday, laid down a bunt single to lead off the inning and got to third when a throw from pitcher Cam Boozer, which seemingly would have picked off Taylor, got past first baseman Jonathan Aranda. The ball rolled all the way into the Rays’ bullpen in foul territory while Taylor sprinted to third.
Sung-Mun Song’s fly ball to the track in right field brought in Taylor to make it 3-1.
Tatis, up next, laid down a bunt and appeared to get to second base when Boozer’s throw got past Aranda and bounced down the line as Tatis ran to second base.
But Tatis was called out by home plate umpire Tyler Jones for interference because he ran most of the way to first inside the baseline.
The call is always controversial, and Tatis was as angry as anyone involved with the Padres could ever remember. He was restrained as he approached the umpires and was eventually tossed after throwing his helmet to the ground as he walked away.
“Obviously, I’m hot,” Tatis said. “I just got a base hit taken away (in) a really tough series. People have (been) pitching really well, and we’re over here grinding.”
The Padres will have to continue doing so, and quickly.
They headed Sunday night to Cincinnati for the second half of this trip.
The three games here were grueling and costly.
The Padres lost Luis Rengifo, who has been one of their key contributors since the All-Star break, to a knee injury on Saturday. And after arriving in Florida 1½ games up in the race for the final National League wild-card spot, they now trail the Diamondbacks by a half-game.
“Going into September, it’s that time of year where you’ve got to lock it in and focus, and go out and play your best baseball,” France said. “I think everyone understands that and knows we need to do that. And looking forward to it.”