League: MLB Sport: Baseball Country: United States Category: Scores & Results

Rays defeat Braves 7-1 behind home runs from trio of hitters

2 sources • 1 min read • Latest: Sep 9, 2026, 2:04 AM

Last updated Sep 9, 2026

Rays defeat Braves 7-1 behind home runs from trio of hitters

Summary

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-1 on Tuesday at Truist Park. Tampa Bay utilized solo home runs from Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz, and Richie Palacios, along with a two-run homer from Liam Hicks, to secure the series-opening victory. Braves starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver took the loss after pitching 3 1/3 innings and surrendering four runs. Atlanta struggled to generate offense after the first inning, recording only two additional hits for the remainder of the game. Rays starter Freddy Peralta recovered from a 32-pitch first frame to finish six innings of work. The teams continue their series on Wednesday.

Source Links

Yahoo Sports Batterypower.com

By the Numbers

•Tampa Bay hit five home runs in the 7-1 series-opening win.
•AJ Smith-Shawver allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings for Atlanta.
•Freddy Peralta earned the win for the Rays after pitching six innings.
•The Braves lost for the first time in the series while maintaining a four-game division lead.

Latest Updates

2:04 AMYahoo Sports — Braves outshined by Rays’ stars in series-opening loss
5:30 PMBatterypower.com — AJ Smith-Shawver seeks improvement as Braves kick off series vs. Rays - Battery Power

What they're saying

"
Kicking off a critical late-season homestand Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, a breakthrough performance from AJ Smith-Shawver on the mound or a strong performance from its star hitters could have been enough to deliver the Atlanta Braves a tone-setting win. Unfortunately for them, they got neither of those. An early exit from Smith-Shawver […]
— Yahoo Sports