David Price got off to a decent, if unspectacular start in the top of the first, needing eight pitches to put away leadoff hitter Elvis Andrus and then working around a pair of two-out singles by Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero. Nelson Cruz's tapper back to the mound capped off a 24-pitch scoreless half-inning.
Rays Vs. Rangers, ALDS Game 1: Cliff Lee, David Price Each Escape Jams In Scoreless First Inning
Cliff Lee then sprinted out to the mound to go to work in the bottom half, and things didn't go quite so well. Jason Bartlett led off with a bloop single to right. Two batters later, Carl Crawford grounded a single past the mound, and Evan Longoria grounded another single through the hole to load the bases. Lee, though, was able to escape, striking out Carlos Pena on a full count fastball and then whiffing Rocco Baldelli on three pitches. One scoreless inning is in the books, but it lasted 48 pitches, five baserunners, and half an hour.
Of note is that there was some controversy in the Pena at bat, as a 2-1 fastball came up and in and nearly clipped Pena in the hand. The pitch was ruled a foul tip, as Tim Welke concluded it nicked the bat ever so slightly, but replays were inconclusive and Joe Maddon came out to argue. It’s the first inning of the first game of the playoffs, and already the umpiring is being called into question.
See More:
