Rays West Coast road trip preview

Coming out of spring training, most fans expected the AL East to be the juggernaut division with the 2024 AL champs, rejuventated Red Sox, and young and hungry Orioles. Not even to mention a Rays team that is always in the mix and the Blue Jays with their uber-talented roster. However, the NL West has emerged as the best division in baseball and they are showing no signs of slowing down. With the Padres and Dodgers leading the MLB with 16-7 records and the Giants only a game behind them, they certainly contain some of the fiercest competitors.

Beginning tonight, the Rays will take on the Diamondbacks and Padres in back-to-back road series. Both clubs are off to great starts and will be legitimate playoff contenders this year. The D-Backs have won seven out of their last ten games, while the Padres have an incredible 12-1 home record so far.

Therefore, the Rays will have to find a way to win at least few games against solid competition. It has been a struggle to this point as Brandon Lowe and company are currently 3-10 against teams that are above .500. Let's break down both of these crucial series.

Rays vs. Diamondbacks (April 22nd - 24th)

The Rays will travel to Chase Field to play the Diamondback in a 3-game set. Tampa Bay has only played Arizona in their home ballpark for 14 games and hold a respectable 8-6 record. Their record at home against the Snakes is much more dominant as they are 10-4 in those contests. In fact, the Diamondbacks were swept at the hands of the Rays at Tropicana Field in 2024.

Also in 2023, the year that the Diamondbacks went to the World Series, the Rays went 2-1 against the NL West club at Chase Field. With all that being said, history is in favor of the Rays, but they will still need to capitalize on this winning streak against a very good offensive team.

Rays vs. Padres (April 25th - 27th)

The Padres will be an even more challenging foe as they are currently toe-to-toe with the game's best overall team in the Dodgers. To make matters worse, San Diego has a 12-1 record at Petco Park. However, the Rays are also historically great against the Friars as they have assembled a 16-11 record against the talented club.

Tampa Bay has also seen success in San Diego's home domain as they went on their amazing 2020 postseason run at Petco Park. It's where Mike Brosseau hit his improbable go-ahead home run against Aroldis Chapman and where they completed the unlikely ALCS series win over the dynamic Houston Astros. Let's hope that we can continue our winning ways at this park, despite the completely altered roster.