Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves

· Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

87-59, 40-34 Away

Final
1 - 3

Atlanta Braves

86-61, 49-26 Home

Rays denied potential playoff clinch as Braves win 3-1 behind Martín Pérez and Austin Riley

Seeking its first division title since 2021, Tampa Bay (87-59) entered with a four-game AL East lead and would have clinched no worse than a wild card with a victory and a loss by Texas to Seattle or the Chicago White Sox to Pittsburgh.

Riley's hit came after pinch-hitter Ozzie Albies' had his first triple of the season, a drive against Kevin Kelly (6-4). Ha-Seong Kim tacked on a two-run single for the offensively struggling Braves that proved crucial when Victor Mesa Jr. led off the ninth with a homer against Raisel Iglesias.

Iglesias bounced back to get the final three outs for his 32nd save in 35 chances for the Braves, who began the day with a three-game NL East lead.

Didier Fuentes (6-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, which sent the Braves into an important series against second-place Philadelphia with a big lift.

The Braves, who had scored just three runs in a three-game losing streak and lost the previous two games to the Rays by a combined score of 14-3, were held to two hits in 6 1/3 innings by Nick Martinez. But the offense finally came to life in the eighth against the bullpen, stringing together five straight hits.

Pérez turned in a stellar outing after escaping a major jam in the first. The Rays loaded the bases on three singles, but Chandler Simpson hit into an inning-ending double play that began with a sharp grounder to first baseman Matt Olson. He threw home for the force at the plate and catcher Drake Baldwin’s throw back to first just beat the speedy Simpson.

Up next Rays: RH Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.88) will take the mound for the opener of a three-game home series against the Houston Astros.

Braves: LH Chris Sale (14-9, 2.10) gets the ball for the start of the big series against the Phillies. The Atlanta ace will face RH Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.76).

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Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Aranda grounded out to pitcher.
	9th Inning	Simpson to second on fielder's indifference.
	9th Inning	Aranda hit for Mateo
	9th Inning	Hicks struck out looking. Tampa Bay Rays challenged: call on the field was upheld.
	9th Inning	Hicks hit for Madrigal
	9th Inning	Simpson walked.

Statistics

TB		ATL
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
12	Ground Balls	9
6	Strikeouts	3
1	Runs Batted In	3
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
5	Hits	7
0	Stolen Bases	0
3	Walks	0
0	Catcher Interference	0
1	Runs	3
1	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
31	At Bats	29
1	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
10	Runners Left On Base	3
0	Triples	1
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
0	Doubles	1
13	Fly Balls	17
0	Caught Stealing	0
122	Pitches	102
0	Games Started	0
3	Pinch At Bats	2
1	Pinch Hits	2
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
8	Total Bases	10
34	Plate Appearances	29
162.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
1	Extra Base Hits	2
1.4	Runs Created	2.0
.161	Batting Average	.241
.333	Pinch Hit Average	1.000
.258	Slugging Percentage	.345
.194	Secondary Average	.103
.235	On Base Percentage	.241
.493	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.586
0.9	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.5
1.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	2.3
12.0	Batter Rating	23.5
31.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.59	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.52
.097	Isolated Power	.103
0.50	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.00
.088	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.000
.032	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.138
2.0	Runs Produced	6.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.3
66.8	MLB Rating	75.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0