Rays’ Franklin hit in head on deck by teammate’s bat

He went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, though the Rays did beat the visiting Padres 2-0, thanks to a strong pitching performance from Chris Archer. While initially remaining in the game en route to drawing a walk and scoring in the first inning, Franklin was then removed from the contest as a precaution.

“I don’t think we looked too good in any respect today, it’s just the honest truth”, Padres manager Andy Green said.

“Baseball’s a game where you’ve got to be on top of your game no matter what the score is”, Archer said.

Miller hit his 25h homer in the first inning after going deep twice in a 15-1 rout Tuesday night. He has 11 home runs since the All-Star break.

MISCELLANY: RHP Alex Colome got the final four outs for his 28th save, first since August 6. He escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth. Campos had a 6.59 ERA in 10 games after allowing five runs in Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Rays. While the Rays are percolating at the plate, San Diego is limping to the finish line of its nine-game road trip.

“It comes down to me, I haven’t done anything to really get the offense going”, Myers said.

The Tampa Bay Rays rank in the bottom third of the majors in runs scored but one would have a hard time convincing the San Diego Padres of that fact. A few feet away, teammate Kevin Kiermaier was stretching, swinging a bat over his head with one arm. Franklin was wearing his batting helmet but still took a solid blow.

Franklin passed a concussion protocol test. “Partially it was my fault”.

He had not realized Franklin had stepped behind him to grab a bat and, on his initial backswing, he hit Franklin in the head. OF Alex Dickerson (general soreness) was the designated hitter for the second straight game.

Rays shortstop Matt Duffy left the game in the fourth inning with a sore left Achilles tendon. Duffy returned August 12 after missing two months with a strain in the same tendon. “Be smart about it”.

Evan Longoria had three hits and his 27th homer while tying Carl Crawford atop the Rays’ career list with his 1,235th game played.

Longoria holds the franchise mark in a number of offensive categories including homers, RBIs and extra-base hits.

The Rays plan to discuss Wednesday the next step for RHP Chase Whitley, one of two pitchers nearing a return from Tommy John surgery. Options for Whitley, who pitched six scoreless innings Tuesday night in a rehab assignment, include being reinstated from the disabled list in the coming week or continuing to build up innings in the minors.