B. J. Upton remains powerless as the Tampa Bay Rays crash out of the postseason - ALDS
The Tampa Bay Rays were knocked out of the American League Division Series in Game 4 on Tuesday, October 4, at the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg when their rivals, the Texas Rangers, managed to attain a 4 – 3 score line by the end of the game.
Two individuals were missing from the Rays’ hitting table. Evan Longoria and B. J. Upton produced nothing substantial in the last two games spelling trouble for the club.
Upton went in to the game with four At-Bats. He ended up squandering all three as he was struck out thrice and retired once. The knock was similar to Game 3’s contribution. The player was walked twice by Colby Lewis and he struck out one in two At-Bats.
The left fielder had been a vital organ in the hitting lineup for the first two post season games.
He went 4 – for – 8 in those two games, yielding two walks, three doubles and three runs. Unfortunately, he was unable to rise to the occasion against the Rangers in this game and that left the Rays dependent on Sean Rodriguez, who yielded all three runs
for the club against the Rangers.
"I didn't show up when I needed to and I needed to show up today, and I didn't produce," Upton said. "I think that's what's kind of weighing on me right now. When my team needed me, if you keep your [Nos.] 2-3 hitters off the bases, obviously it's going
to be tough to win. Obviously we have the talent to still get the job done.
"I just didn't get it done. I think if I get it done, it kind of trickles down to Longo, and I just couldn't get anything going for us."
Upton and Longoria were both on top when the series kicked off but as the Rangers figured out how to pitch to the two men, the Rays lost their two brightest men from the attacking order. Upton had a respectable batting average of .243 in the season.
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