Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves
TB
Tampa Bay Rays
86-59 · W1
ATL
Atlanta Braves
83-62 · L2
Tampa Bay Rays beat Atlanta Braves 7-1 at Truist Park. Freddy Peralta earned the win; AJ Smith-Shawver took the loss.
The Rays beat the Braves 7-1 at Truist Park, riding four home runs and six innings from Freddy Peralta. Peralta earned the win, allowing one earned run on 92 pitches with two strikeouts. AJ Smith-Shawver took the loss after giving up three strikeouts but absorbing three home runs over three frames. Junior Caminero opened the scoring in the top of the first with a solo shot to left center. Liam Hicks followed with a two-run blast in the third, plating Caminero and stretching the lead to 3-1. Yandy Díaz and Richie Palacios each went deep later to seal the rout. The K model projected Peralta to fan more than two. He finished with exactly two. Smith-Shawver punched out three. The NRFI model registered a neutral lean, and the first inning ended scoreless despite Caminero's homer coming in the top half and Drake Baldwin driving in Ronald Acuña Jr. in the bottom of the frame.
Junior Caminero homered for the 39th time this season and scored twice, finishing 2-for-3.
Freddy Peralta logged six innings with two strikeouts, falling short of his K model projection but earning the win with a one-run outing.
Tampa Bay's four home runs came from four different hitters, with Yandy Díaz and Liam Hicks each driving in two.
The NRFI model leaned neutral, and the first inning stayed scoreless even as both teams crossed the plate shortly after.
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| ATL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
Scoring Summary
Junior Caminero homers (39) on a fly ball to left center field.
Drake Baldwin singles on a line drive to right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. Ronald Acuña Jr. scores. Matt Olson to 3rd.
Liam Hicks homers (18) on a fly ball to right center field. Junior Caminero scores.
Victor Mesa Jr. singles on a ground ball to center fielder Michael Harris II. Chandler Simpson scores.
Yandy Díaz grounds out, second baseman Ozzie Albies to catcher Sean Murphy to first baseman Matt Olson. Jorge Mateo scores.
Yandy Díaz homers (22) on a line drive to left field.
Richie Palacios homers (9) on a line drive to right field.
Key Performers
Yandy Díaz
TB
2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Liam Hicks
TB
1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Junior Caminero
TB
2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
Richie Palacios
TB
1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
Batting
| TB | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richie Palacios 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Jorge Mateo SS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - |
| Chandler Simpson LF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Jonny DeLuca CF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Kenny Piper C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Liam Hicks C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
| Jonathan Aranda 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Yandy Díaz DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - |
| Victor Mesa Jr. RF | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Junior Caminero 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| Totals | 39 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| ATL | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Harris II CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Mauricio Dubón SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Drake Baldwin DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Matt Olson 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Sean Murphy C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Ozzie Albies 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Austin Riley 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
| Mike Yastrzemski LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Totals | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Pitching
| TB | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peralta, F (W, 8-11) | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 92-59 | 4.82 |
| Kelly | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15-11 | 2.13 |
| Sulser | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17-12 | 4.84 |
| Baker | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9-6 | 1.61 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| ATL | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith-Shawver (L, 0-2) | 3.1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 81-51 | 7.71 |
| Suter | 3.2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 45-33 | 3.52 |
| Hernández, E | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 49-32 | 2.45 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 9 |