Game 163 seems to always deliver the goods of baseball. Who can forget Carlos Gomez finding a way to score giving Minnesota the AL Central title over Detroit? Or how about Scott Hairston hitting a home run for San Diego in the top of the 11th inning only to have Trevor Hoffman give up three runs in the bottom half of the inning? This one did not feature any of the late game dramatics, but Tampa Bay defeated Texas with relying on the cornerstones of their franchise.
David Price has a chance to go for a complete game every time he tows the rubber. He truly defines the
baseball term 'ace pitcher.' Price went for a complete game on Tuesday night giving up seven hits, two runs and only had two walks. He did have some men on base throughout the game, but Price found a way to wriggle out of the inning without any damage. The Rays had relievers Joel Peralta and Fernando Rodney ready to go in the game in case Price had his own Dave Bush inning, but it never happened. Price put the team on his back and really could use a YouTube video like Greg Jennings and Marshawn Lynch.
Price was not the only Tampa Bay cornerstone leading their team to victory. Once again, Evan Longoria came up with the clutch home run at the perfect time. As the Tampa Bay Rays Twitter account pointed out, Longoria had six home runs in the final game of the year, which is a weird statistic but given the Rays' success lately, it is an important stat. Longoria blasted a two-run homer in the third inning giving the Rays a 3-1 lead. Longoria passed Stan Musial's record of most home runs hit on the last day of the season in his sixth year of baseball. Longoria seems to have a feel for the moment. That is an important thing to have heading into the playoffs and the scary thing is it seems like Longoria is getting better as he ages. Longo as his friends call him will definitely need to carry that hitting magic over into Wednesday night.
Tampa Bay moves on to play Cleveland for the right to play Boston. They send one of their supposed future cornerstones to the mound in Alex Cobb. He will face off against Danny Salazar, one of Cleveland's best young pitchers. With two men playing in their first postseason game, this could be a blowout or a slugfest as it is expected one or both of the pitchers could truly struggle in this game. It is hard to know what their hooks will be as both teams are looking ahead to getting their pitching staff right for the ALDS Playoffs on Friday.
As for Texas, it has been real Ron Washington. Texas has now had two straight years where the bottom fell out from them in the month of September. Last year, they blew a massive AL West lead and ended up losing at home to Baltimore in Wild Card Game. This year, Texas did not even make it to the playoffs. Washington also pulled Martin Perez after only 74 pitches and he retired eight batters in a row prior to him putting a few runners on. Washington overthought himself in a big game for his future with the team. He knew damn well that a pink slip might be coming for him if he failed to win this game. I would be stunned if Washington is managing the Rangers in 2014.
Tampa Bay made the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. Oakland and Cleveland are in the playoffs as well. The small market gap is not as significant as it was in the early 2000's. These teams can compete with anyone and win themselves a World Series.
Charlie.
David Price has a chance to go for a complete game every time he tows the rubber. He truly defines the baseball term 'ace pitcher.' Price went for a complete game on Tuesday night giving up seven hits, two runs and only had two walks. He did have some men on base throughout the game, but Price found a way to wriggle out of the inning without any damage. The Rays had relievers Joel Peralta and Fernando Rodney ready to go in the game in case Price had his own Dave Bush inning, but it never happened. Price put the team on his back and really could use a YouTube video like Greg Jennings and Marshawn Lynch.
Price was not the only Tampa Bay cornerstone leading their team to victory. Once again, Evan Longoria came up with the clutch home run at the perfect time. As the Tampa Bay Rays Twitter account pointed out, Longoria had six home runs in the final game of the year, which is a weird statistic but given the Rays' success lately, it is an important stat. Longoria blasted a two-run homer in the third inning giving the Rays a 3-1 lead. Longoria passed Stan Musial's record of most home runs hit on the last day of the season in his sixth year of baseball. Longoria seems to have a feel for the moment. That is an important thing to have heading into the playoffs and the scary thing is it seems like Longoria is getting better as he ages. Longo as his friends call him will definitely need to carry that hitting magic over into Wednesday night.
Tampa Bay moves on to play Cleveland for the right to play Boston. They send one of their supposed future cornerstones to the mound in Alex Cobb. He will face off against Danny Salazar, one of Cleveland's best young pitchers. With two men playing in their first postseason game, this could be a blowout or a slugfest as it is expected one or both of the pitchers could truly struggle in this game. It is hard to know what their hooks will be as both teams are looking ahead to getting their pitching staff right for the ALDS Playoffs on Friday.
As for Texas, it has been real Ron Washington. Texas has now had two straight years where the bottom fell out from them in the month of September. Last year, they blew a massive AL West lead and ended up losing at home to Baltimore in Wild Card Game. This year, Texas did not even make it to the playoffs. Washington also pulled Martin Perez after only 74 pitches and he retired eight batters in a row prior to him putting a few runners on. Washington overthought himself in a big game for his future with the team. He knew damn well that a pink slip might be coming for him if he failed to win this game. I would be stunned if Washington is managing the Rangers in 2014.
Tampa Bay made the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. Oakland and Cleveland are in the playoffs as well. The small market gap is not as significant as it was in the early 2000's. These teams can compete with anyone and win themselves a World Series.
Charlie.
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