Injury stricken Evan Longoria aides the Rays in the Rangers’ annihilation (Part 2)
The Texas Rangers were hosting the 4th game of their playoff series against the Tampa Bay Rays and the fixture was being played in Arlington’s Rangers Ballpark. Both teams were up for a tooth and nail bout and it could have been seen that an aura of battle was felt across the stadium as stars from both ball clubs engaged in a heated exchange on the pitch. The home team was tasked by manager Ron Washington to register the final win on Sunday to push the team through to the next round in the post season to face the New York Yankees.
The visitors on the other hand, were looking for a game save and much of their hard work was put on stake as their opponents had a clear home advantage they scrapped in the first two games of the series.
The Rays put on Wade Davis on the mound and his consistent display as the main player to stomp down on any opponent offense was a feature that manager Joe Maddon was counting on in the game. His 4.07 Earning Runs Average (ERA) provided support of that thought and given the stakes, the move was thought of as important and critical to put the ball club in the bid for the World Series title.
The Rangers on the other hand had Tommy Hunter on the mound. His experience wasn’t up to Davis’ standing but his ERA of 3.73 was what the team roster required to put Tampa Bay down. The chances would come and the squad would push on but that was only thought off if the opposition batting line up wasn’t immensely pumped up to take down the hosts, easily.
The match began with the visitors facing the ball. Hunter was the man pitching and he made sure the Rays were quiet in the 1stinning. Compared to him, Wade Davis was not far behind as his role in the match up paralleled his adversary’s. The first fixture run came in the top of the 2nd and it was last game’s hero, Carlos Pena getting past the final defensive line.
The session began with Evan Longoria grounding out to the third. Pena came in a stunned the audience with a triple to the deep center. The move was good enough to get to the scoring position. Much to his advantage, Matt Joyce came on to the batting plate and took on the responsibility to see his side through for the 1strun. He made his way to the first and he made when second baseman, Ian Kinsler made an error on the ball. Unable to rectify the fault, Carlos didn’t need a further push as he went clear on to score.
With the Rangers down 0 – 1 it seemed like the game was opening up but that was just a false pretence under which both teams were looked to heading. For two following innings the sides remained scoreless. That was the case till the Rays came in to start the top 4th inning. Longoria who stayed quiet during the last three matches was up to his athletic self again. He managed to double to the deep center as the leading batter for the team.
Pena came in and smashed Hunter for a smashing double to the left to get Evan home for the 2nd run of the game. The score was now 2 – 0 and the match was still 1under way. Matt was up next and his strike out brought out Dan Johnson. He didn’t last long as he struck out swinging as well. With Carlos stranded on second base and two men out in the innings, B.J. Upton was in for the team. The hitter wasn’t wasting time and he proved his mettle when he boomed a double through the left side to get Pena through for the third run. The visitors were now leading the Rangers 3 – 0.
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