Evan Longoria shines as Tampa Bay Rays crush Baltimore Orioles 4-1 – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays displayed some top quality baseball skills as they overcame the inform Baltimore Orioles 4-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday, October 3 in the finale of their three match series.
Orioles will be disappointed with the outcome of the game. After edging past the Rays in Game 2, they had an excellent chance to wrap up a superb series victory at Tropicana Field but Tampa Bay had other ideas. Fighting back, Joe Maddon and company outclassed
their opponents in every aspect of the game to win the series 2-1.
Evan Longoria ended the season in an emphatic style as he homered to left in the first inning to put his side on the board. Longoria and Ryan Roberts hit back-to-back home-runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. Another home-run by Longoria in the
sixth sealed Orioles’ fate on the night.
"It was cool," Longoria said at the end of the contest. "That's about as fun a night as you can have in a ballgame."
"I just think it highlights how well we play in games 162," Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said in a post game interview. "It was a very dramatic game, the way it all unfolded. I just like the idea that we played the last game of the season with that kind of effort
and intensity."
Rays may not have made it to the playoffs as they have given their fans a lot to cheer about. Their impressive 90-72 record clearly suggests that they were one of the most consistent teams in the American League. It will be interesting to see if Maddon and
his men can gain confidence from their performances to lift the American League East title in the next season.
Starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson produced a match winning performance for the Rays as he gave up just a hit in five plus scoreless innings to set up an easy win for his teams. Relief pitchers Jake McGee, Wade Davis, Joel Peralta and Fernando Rodney kept
pressure on Baltimore’s batting line-up, tossing up three plus scoreless innings.
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