Cliff Lee Spins Complete Game As Rangers Beat Rays For First Playoff Series Win In Franchise History

When the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee from the Mariners in July, they didn't get him to pitch in the regular season. They got him to pitch in the playoffs.

In Game 5 of the ALDS between the Rangers and Rays, with each team a win away from advancing to the ALCS to face the Yankees, Lee came out and absolutely slammed the door on the Tampa Bay lineup. Lee allowed just six hits and one run while striking out 11 over all nine innings, and some wacky baserunning and an Ian Kinsler homer supplied more than enough run support as the Rangers completed their first playoff series win in franchise history.

Game 5 wasn't exactly a cakewalk for the Rangers, as they didn't take the lead for good until the fourth. They got their first run in the top of the first inning, thanks to some creative baserunning by Elvis Andrus. Andrus led off the game with a single against David Price, and later stole second base. Josh Hamilton then hit a groundball to first, and rather than advance and stop at third, Andrus rounded the bag and continued home, where he scored ahead of Price's throw to catcher Kelly Shoppach. The surprise run put the Rangers in an excellent early position.

But the Rays came back to knot things up in the third. With two on and one out, Ben Zobrist fisted an 0-2 single into center field. The hit scored Sean Rodriguez, and a wild throw by Josh Hamilton allowed the runners to move up to second and third. At that point, the Rays had a chance to do more damage. But Carl Crawford hit a tapper back to the mound for a fielder's choice, and Evan Longoria grounded out to end the threat.

The Rangers went on to pick up an insurance run in the sixth, when Vladimir Guerrero came around to score on a play very similar to Andrus' in the first. With Guerrero on second, Nelson Cruz on first, and one out, Ian Kinsler batted a grounder to first baseman Carlos Pena. Pena made a good flip to shortstop Jason Bartlett for one out, but Bartlett's relay to Price - who was covering first - was ruled late by umpire Mark DiMuro, and as Price momentarily paused in shock, Guerrero continued around third and scored just ahead of the throw and tag. Whether Kinsler was actually safe or out at first is a matter of controversy, but the call wasn't reversed, and the Rangers had a 3-1 lead.

And Lee wasn't giving the Rays many opportunities to battle back. Lee flipped a perfect sixth, and stranded B.J. Upton on second in a scoreless seventh. He then needed just 11 pitches to throw a perfect eighth, and with a pitch count of 111 at that point, one was free to wonder whether Ron Washington would send Lee back out for the ninth, or if he'd go to his bullpen.

Ian Kinsler answered that question with one mighty blast. Rays closer Rafael Soriano took over the 3-1 game in the ninth, and after allowing a leadoff single, Soriano put a slider down and in that Kinsler belted into the left field bleachers to double the Rangers' lead. Up four, Washington elected to stick with Lee, and if Lee was fatigued, he didn't show it. He struck out Longoria to start the ninth, and after getting Pena to ground out, he induced a pop-up off the bat of B.J. Upton that settled in the glove of Andrus at short. Lee had finished the complete game, and the Rangers celebrated their first-ever playoff advance.

The Rays' players will begin their offseason, with Carl Crawford set to enter free agency. The Rangers, meanwhile, will fly home and prepare for their ALDS against the Yankees, beginning Friday night. Lee is an option to pitch on short rest in Saturday's Game 2, but the more likely scenario is that Lee goes in Game 3 in New York on Monday, while C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis handle the first two in Arlington.