Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena Lead Rays To 5-2 Win Over Rangers To Force A Fifth Game

You can say this about the Rangers: they traded for Cliff Lee in July so they could ride a proven ace starter in the playoffs, and now they'll get to use him in their biggest game of the season.

Evan Longoria went deep, Carlos Pena doubled and tripled, and Wade Davis bent without breaking Sunday afternoon as the Rays defeated the Rangers 5-2 in Arlington, forcing a decisive Game 5 in Tampa Bay to be played Tuesday night.

After coming five outs from elimination on Saturday, the Rays were able to rally and carried their momentum over to Game 4, where they got off to a good start against Tommy Hunter. Carlos Pena drilled a one-out triple off the wall in center field in the second inning, and later scored when a backpedaling Ian Kinsler dropped a Matt Joyce pop-up in shallow right field.

That run gave the Rays a 1-0 lead, and they would add to it in the fourth with a trio of doubles, all hit to left. Evan Longoria came first, Carlos Pena came next, and B.J. Upton added the third with two outs.

Already on top by three, the Rays then blew the game open to some extent in the fifth, when Longoria stepped in against reliever Derek Holland and ripped a low-inside fastball into the left field seats for a two-run home run. Their lead extended to 5-0, the Rays found themselves in an excellent position, and only needed Davis and the bullpen to avoid a complete meltdown.

And Davis and the bullpen were able to hold. Davis allowed at least one baserunner in every inning he pitched, but he was able to avoid major damage, with his biggest pitch coming in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Davis faced Vladimir Guerrero and got the slugger to swing and miss on a breaking ball in the dirt to end the frame and preserve the 5-0 lead.

The Rangers would show some flashes of life in the sixth. Nelson Cruz led off with a solo home run, and Ian Kinsler followed with a single to chase Davis from the game. Grant Balfour then came in and allowed a bloop RBI double to Mitch Moreland to cut the score to 5-2.

But Moreland would be the Rangers' last baserunner of the game, as Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, and Rafael Soriano retired the next ten batters in order. The Rangers wouldn't mount another threat, and the game would end with the same score.

Tuesday night, the series will conclude with a Game 1 rematch. For the Rangers, there's nobody they'd rather be handing the ball to than Lee. For the Rays, though, they're thrilled to have David Price, and he'll be eager to get some revenge and help his team complete the comeback.