When a team wins a game after falling behind two or three games in their playoff series, people say that team made it a series again. After a win, that team can feed off from that and win couple of more games. Then, the series goes to elimination game.
The Red Sox are a good example. After falling behind 3-0 in the 2004 American League Championship Series, they won a game and won the next three in exterminating the Yankees for good.
Now, the Rays will get a chance to do the same thing. This became a series after they won Saturday afternoon. The hitters started to get into a groove, and they received a good performance out of Matt Garza, Randy Choate, Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano.
The Rays felt good about themselves. They knew if they win Game 3, they were going to win Game 4.
This is exactly what they did yesterday afternoon. The Rays’ hitters continue to hit the ball, and they got a sterling performance out of Wade Davis. It was good enough for them to earn a 5-2 victory over the Rangers, and it put them in a position to play Game 5 at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.
It’s one thing to lose at least one game to the Rays, but the Rangers had to do whatever it took to win yesterday’s game. The last thing the Rangers need is to go on the road and face a confident Rays team.
The Rangers did not want to go St. Petersburg to play an elimination game with the Rays. Sure they have Cliff Lee starting, but what is the guarantee he is going to pitch well? The Rays have hit Lee well this year, and it’s hard to think they will struggle against him again.
Even if the Rangers win, the Rangers will not have an opportunity to start Lee three times against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. They were better off having Lee start Game 1 instead. Sure, they will say C.J. Wilson is capable of doing well in Game 1, but the Yankees can hit Wilson well, which is something they can’t say about Lee.
When the Rays feel confident about themselves, there’s no stopping them. There’s no question the Rays face mediocre starters in Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter in their two wins, but what stands out is their hitters took good at-bats, which is something they did not do in their first two games.
When hitters know how to hit in October, they can hit anyone. The Rays finally got that going for them.
This is all coming together now. Everyone is playing well for the Rays. This team did not win 96 games for nothing. They have been resilient all season, and this weekend proved why.
A team has to be very good to be resilient. Players have to be special to rise through the occasion. The Rays have it, and that’s why this team was not going to give up even if they fell behind in this series.
If the Rays were going to lose elimination game, they were going to give everything they got. If they lost even if they played well, so be it. That hasn’t been the case for them fortunately.
The Twins only can admire the Rays from afar. They have to wonder how the Rays responded in elimination games by winning. When the Twins trail 2-0, they just quit rather than fight and it showed again Saturday night against the Yankees.
The Twins never were in the game. They served as a guest for the Yankees to celebrate in advancing to the American League Championship Series.
The Twins can go talk about the difference in opposition, but rest assured, the Rays would not quit against the Yankees if they were behind. The Phillies would not do it either.
Let people talk about how good Lee is. There’s no question he will pitch well, but if David Price can match Lee, the Rays will find a way to beat the Rangers ace late in the game.
All Price has to do is give the Rays a chance. Odds are he will. It’s hard to believe he is going to pitch bad for the second straight time. Normally, he pitches well after a lousy outing.
Price will push himself to do well. He is a self-starter, and no one is harder than himself after a bad game.
The one team that does not like this development is the Yankees. The Yankees will thumb their nose at whoever they are playing, but let’s make this clear. The Yankees want no part of the Rays. The Rays can beat their arrogant divisional rival anyplace anytime, and their 8-6 record against the Yankees speak for itself.
With the Rays having homefield advantage for the second round, it should increase their chances of beating the Yankees.
There’s no question the Yankees are rooting for the Rays to lose. The Yankees can go to the World Series by beating the Rangers, who offer no threat.
The Rangers have good hitters, but their hitters can be neutralized by Yankees’ pitching. The Rangers don’t have the depth the Yankees have in starting pitching. In fact, this would end in 4 if Texas is playing in the ALCS.
The Rays would make it exciting. This would be a 7-game series. There is no way both teams are going to have an easy time if they play each other.
The Yankees need to earn their way to the World Series and win it not have an easy ticket where they are going to win it all.
For that to happen, the Rays will have to figure out Lee. It won’t be easy, but it will be done.
The Rangers will rue their failed opportunity to finish off the Rays.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com