Rays’ Clinch Party Crashed: Braves Steal 3-1 Win Behind Pérez, Riley

ATLANTA — The Tampa Bay Rays came in thinking clinch. The Atlanta Braves made them think again.

Martín Pérez spun seven scoreless innings, Austin Riley delivered the go-ahead single in the eighth, and the Braves denied Tampa Bay a potential playoff berth with a 3-1 win Thursday.

Pérez Slams the Door

Tampa Bay loaded the bases in the first on three singles, but Chandler Simpson grounded into an inning-ending double play. Matt Olson fired home for the force, and Drake Baldwin’s throw back to first just beat Simpson. Pérez escaped, then controlled the game from there.

Nick Martinez was strong for the Rays, holding Atlanta to two hits over 6 1/3 innings. But the Braves’ offense finally woke up in the eighth against the bullpen.

Atlanta’s Eighth-Inning Ambush

Pinch-hitter Ozzie Albies ripped his first triple of the season against Kevin Kelly (6-4). Riley followed with a run-scoring single for Atlanta’s first lead of the series. Then light-hitting Ha-Seong Kim tacked on a two-run single, and suddenly the Braves had a 3-0 cushion. The Braves strung together five straight hits in the inning.

That cushion mattered when Victor Mesa Jr. led off the ninth with a homer off Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias shrugged it off and slammed the door for his 32nd save in 35 chances.

Didier Fuentes (6-2) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth. The victory was a jolt for a Braves team that had scored just three runs during a three-game losing streak and had lost the previous two games to the Rays by a combined 14-3.

What It Means

Tampa Bay (87-59) entered with a four-game AL East lead and would have clinched no worse than a wild card with a win plus a Texas loss to Seattle or a Chicago White Sox loss to Pittsburgh. Instead, the Rays remain on hold.

Atlanta (86-61) began the day with a three-game NL East lead and now heads into a massive series against second-place Philadelphia with momentum.

Up Next

Rays: RH Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.88) takes 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 against the Phillies. He’ll face RH Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.76).

For Tampa Bay, the champagne stays on ice. For Atlanta, the statement just got loud.