Colby Lewis restricts Tampa Bay Rays as Mike Napoli guides club home with strong homer
Colby Lewis hit the headlines again this time and it was expected that the Texas Rangers hurler was going to bring a strong show to the mound on Monday, October 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The pitcher took out most
of the competition with his good throws as the Rangers clinched Game 3 of the American League Division Series to go 2-1 up in the competition.
Mike Napoli on the other hand, kicked off the scoring trail for the Rangers to lead the club to a 4-3 victory over the Rays. Rangers’ bull-pen was lucky enough to walk away with the winner as two runs went against the visiting Texas side in the seventh and
eighth innings.
Rays’ David Price was looking strong in the game till he conceded four runs in the seventh inning. His contribution with the ball would have been a lot different if he walked off the mound at the end of the sixth inning. However three runs went against the
ace opener in seven hits and 6.2 innings of pitching. The player picked up his first post-season defeat in the year.
Lewis, on the other hand picked up his first win of the campaign with just one hit and home-run allowed in the game. The player had a good pitching record against the Rays in the season and he escalated his performance in the first post-season game. The
star finished his role on the mound in six innings. His earned run average was 1.50.
The Rays however never started off on the back foot against Lewis. They tried their best to beat him around the strike zone. The only person who got to him was none other than rookie star, Desmond Jennings. Rays’ left-fielder was up to the mark in the fourth
as he drove Colby Lewis for a 366 feet home-run. With the Rays 1-0 up, it all looked like Price was on top of things.
That was a misconception on part of the pitcher as he allowed a two run homer to Napoli in the seventh inning. Adrian Beltre was on base and he was led home in style as Napoli smashed a 425 feet homer to left-field. The comeback was a start as the Rangers
subsequently loaded the bases later on. Craig Gentry, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus were loading the bases on a 2-1 score line.
Tampa Bay faced Josh Hamilton and their infield strategic shift to the right proved nothing more than a problem as Hamilton smashed the ball hard towards the right for a two-run RBI single. Rangers went 4-1 up and Price earned one run from the play as reliever
Brandon Gomes earned the other one.
With Lewis off the mound, Darren Oliver came in to replace the starter but his contribution went weak for the Rangers as he pitched 0.1 innings, allowing three hits and a run. On a bases loaded situation, Oliver got Sean Rodriguez out on a grounder but conceded
a run to Johnny Damon.
Mike Adams was the next person to concede a run from the Rangers’ bull-pen as he allowed a home-run to Desmond Jennings. Neftali Feliz had to pitch for 1.1 innings to control the threat as he ended the game with a double play. The Rangers restricted the
Rays to three runs and won the game 4-3.
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