San Diego Padres at Tampa Bay Rays

Chandler Simpson slapped the ball to left field, scrambled out of the batter’s box and immediately pointed into the Rays’ dugout. He shouted as he jogged down the first-base line, pumping his arms at his sides, then roared and pumped his fist after stepping on the bag. Believe it or not, Simpson is generally a pretty quiet guy. But he’ll get himself amped up for “big situations,” he said, “where I know the team needs it.” And they needed this one. “Just kind of blacked out right there,” Simpson said afterward, grinning. “Hyped for the game and the team.”​ That energy radiated from the American League-leading Rays’ dugout to every corner of Tropicana Field on Saturday evening, as Simpson’s RBI single capped a wild seventh-inning comeback in Tampa Bay’s 7-6 win over the Padres before a crowd of 25,621. It was the Rays’ 81st victory of the season and their 33rd in come-from-behind fashion. They’ve done this before. But even apart from the context of extending the club’s AL East lead over the Yankees (77-59) to 4 1/2 games with 27 remaining, they felt like it was an important game to win. “That was a gutsy comeback, man. That was great,” starter Nick Martinez said. “That's a big win, man. Especially this time of the season, right? They stayed in the fight, man. They kept the energy up and made things happen for us.” But after 6 1/2 innings, the Rays were in a tough spot. Martinez had already given up a pair of one-run leads, and the Padres pulled ahead by three against relievers Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly in the seventh. With San Diego’s shutdown bullpen getting ready to go, and closer Mason Miller looming, it seemed the momentum had swung away from Tampa Bay.