Injury stricken Evan Longoria aides the Rays in the Rangers’ annihilation (Pt. 4 Final)
The match ended on a positive note and the Texas Rangers failed for the second time in the series to go to the second phase of the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays equalized the game sets to register their 2nd win in the Day 4 fixture. Sunday was
a day to decide the fate of the East side champs and on the brink of losing out 3 – 0 on Game 3, the ball club bounced back twice to get the tally to 2 – 2. The visitors were looking to build up on their performance in the last match and they had Carlos Pena
on the cover of the attack in the hitting faction. However, it was Evan Longoria who stole the show and he did so with great prowess.
The match was highlighted by a hard and powerful stride coming off the Rays’ batting line up. Pena was in good knock but Longoria was the injured mum star to break his shackles in the corner. The strong young player made a fitting example of the opposition
by hitting a home run and running two doubles. The man of the match was instrumental and that proved too much for Texas to take care of. The Floridians were always going to be the under dogs when they went in to the fixture. They were reeling with a 1 – 2
game set standing in the post season. A victory was the only chance to keep their hopes alive for the World title and they availed that opportunity.
The Texas side on the other hand, were always going to be the volatile ones on the field. Their first two games saw them succeed but their last two encounters have seen them crash down in an unfamiliar fashion. Suffice to say now that their luck seems short
on influence as the Rays have been recorded to win 3 consecutive matches when they go down. That finding was prevalent in the season and many analysts will be hoping for a blockbuster day when the teams collide in the Tropicana Field.
Manager of the Tampa Bay ball club, Joe Maddon relishes the thought of Game 5 in the playoffs. The side looks forward to a positive game in their home field as many will keep a close eye on both teams as the New York Yankees will be sitting in the next round.
Maddon shared a few words about the upcoming encounter, "I still want to believe there is a home-field advantage and hopefully that's going to show up. The extra game at home, I have been talking about it all along."
Winning both their games in the Tropicana Field has instilled spirit in the Rangers and the feeling will be understandable when pitcher Cliff Lee heads the pitching duties in the coming match. Manager Ron Washington will be boasted by his presence on the
mound and with the post-season heading into the next round, there is much to expect from all of the ball clubs looking to go forward.
Ron shared a few words on the next game during the post match interview when he said, “It's down to one game, we've got Cliff going and certainly feel good about that. We have proved that we can win there."
Tommy Hunter was relatively weak in his performance on Monday and the Texas ace man faced a disappointing defeat, courtesy Evan Longoria and the other hard hitters in Tampa Bay. The 24-year-old was knocked around the park and his Earning Runs Average went
up to 4.50 in the game. He pitched in just 4 innings and conceded 3 runs off 6 hits.
Compared to the Texan, Wade Davis of the Rays was a bigger player to make a difference in the encounter. He averaged 3.60 in the game and he featured in 5 innings. In addition he struck out 7 players. In the meanwhile, he was smashed around the field on
7 occasions. He allowed just 2 runs in conclusion.
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