The Rays took the second game of the short 2 game series on the back of 6 HRs! This game was filled with heartbreak and excitement.
Excitement = Jason Bartlett lead off HR! 1-0 Rays
Excitement = Carlos Pena 1st inning HR (MLB leading #13) 2-0 Rays
Excitement = Evan Longoria 3rd inning 2 run HR (MLB leading 38 RBIs), 4-0 Rays
Heartbreak = Yanks creep close by scoring 3 in the 4th 4-3 Rays
Heartbreak = Yanks tie score in the 5th 4-4 Rays
Excitement = Ben Zobrist gives the Rays the lead with Big Fly #5 in the 6th, 5-4 Rays
Excitement = Rays manufacture a run in the 7th, 6-4 Rays
Heartbreak = Dan Wheeler gives up game tying HR in the 8th, 6-6
EXCITEMENT = Back to Back jacks from Carl Crawford (MLB stolen base leader with 20)and Evan Longoria in the 9th off Mariano Rivera (something that has never been done before in his MLB career) to put the Rays out in front for good!
EXCITEMENT = RAYS WIN! RAYS WIN! RAYS WIN!
Wow, what a game! Jeff Niemann looked uncomfortable from the get go lasting only 3.1 innings. He was wild throwing 1 wild pitch and hitting a batter as well. This was not an impressive showing and to be honest he really hasn’t looked that good thus far into the season. Cormier and Wheeler had bad outing out of the pen but Howell, Shouse and Nelson all looked really good. This year’s pen is going to be one of a lot of ups and downs. No one seems to have the same “stuff” or location they possessed last year. These guys are going to do great 1 day and bad the next with no rhyme or reason to it so buy yourself some anti acid and hold on tight for the ride Ray fans!
It was great to see the Ray offense not intimidated at all by their surroundings. I think that shows the level of maturity from last year to this year. They now know and believe they can win anywhere and are doing just that.
See you in Boston!
