Back To Square One- Rays Force Game 5 With 5-2 Win

The Rays have forced a do-or-die game Tuesday night as the Rangers have negated what they accomplished in the first two games of the series with two straight demoralizing losses at home. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The Texas Rangers (2-2) ball club that showed up and spanked the Tampa Bay Rays (2-2) by a combined 12-1 in St. Petersburg over the first two games of the American League Divisional Series must have missed the flight back to Texas.

The Rangers' offense has been shut down and the team has been dominated 11-5 at the Ballpark in Arlington. Now all of the momentum is in the Rays' favor as the Rangers must beat Tampa at home for the third straight time.

"It's down to one game, we've got Cliff going and certainly feel good about that," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We have proved that we can win there."

Nearly nothing has gone right for the Rangers since the eighth inning of game four.
After scoring a combined five runs in the eighth and ninth inning in game three, the Rays jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the fifth inning Sunday and never looked back.

Rangers' starter Tommy Hunter lasted only 4 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits as Rays' hitters lit him up. Along with giving up big hits, Hunter was able to record a high number of strikeouts (7) and one inning in particular was indicative of how his outing went. The fourth and final inning for Hunter saw the righty strike out the side, but also allow a trio of triples that scored two Rays' runs in the inning.

Rays' third baseman Evan Longoria led the way offensively for the Rays, going 3 for 4 with a homer and two runs batted in. First baseman Carlos Pena also had a great day at the plate for the second straight game, going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. After going 0 for 3 with three K's in game one, Pena is 4 for 7 with four runs and four RBI over the last two games.

"I think all of us appreciate where we're at," Pena said. "It was extremely important for this team to turn the page."

On the other hand, Rays' starter Wade Davis gave up the same amount of hits as Hunter (7), and had three walks compared to none for the Rangers' starter, but allowed only two runs over five innings. The key to Davis' performance was how inept Texas was with runners in scoring position. The Rangers stranded eight runners on base and were a pathetic 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

The Rays' bullpen came in and didn't miss a beat, retiring nine straight Ranger batters to end the game. Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano shut the Rangers down over the final three innings as the Rays coasted to the victory.

The eighth inning especially showcased how overeager and overanxious Ranger hitters were. Nelson Cruz struck out to lead off the inning, swinging and missing at three straight pitches. Ian Kinsler and David Murphy followed, each swinging at the second pitch they saw and flying out back-to-back to end the inning.

Texas now must travel back to Tampa Bay and rely on starter Cliff Lee to secure the first postseason series win in franchise history. Unfortunately for the Rangers, Tampa has lost three straight games at home only once all season - and that was back in April. The Rays will also be putting 19-game winner David Price back on the mound, and it's unlikely he will have back-to-back poor starts.

"We've really battled to get back to even," Longoria said. "And I think we have a lot of confidence going home, and being able to finish the series in our home ballpark. ... I like our chances with Dave on the mound again."

News and Notes:

• Nelson Cruz belted another solo-homer in the sixth inning, his third of the series. Cruz is second all-time in Rangers' playoff home runs behind only Juan Gonzalez (6).
• Sunday's loss for Tommy Hunter was the first all season at the Ballpark in Arlington. Big Game was previously 7-0 in 11 starts at home during the regular season.
  
• If the Rangers want a chance at taking the series and avoiding the embarrassment of losing the A.L.D.S. after being up 2-0, key Rangers' hitters must get back on track. Team leaders Michael Young (.188 postseason batting average) and Josh Hamilton (.143) must show some semblance of how they hit during the regular season in game 5 or Texas will not be playing come Friday night.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)