Rays Vs. Rangers, ALDS Game 1: Neftali Feliz Slams Door, Rangers Take Comfortable Win

Neftali Feliz showed some jitters early on, as he walked Carlos Pena to lead off and then walked Dan Johnson as well. Ben Zobrist followed with a line drive to right, but it was flagged down by Jeff Francoeur, and as it turned out, that was the Rays' last gasp. Reid Brignac helped Feliz by striking out on a pitch well out of the strike zone, and Matt Joyce struck out on three pitches to seal the deal. The Rangers come away from Game 1 with a 1-0 series lead over the Rays.

This was a showdown between two top-tier pitchers, and while I won't argue that it was Cliff Lee's experienced that put him over the top, it was certainly his command. Lee is able to spot the ball where he wants. David Price isn't, at least not to such a degree. Both pitchers had some problems early on, and Lee had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the first, but while Lee was able to find his location on a consistent basis, Price wasn't, and the Rangers made him pay. Jeff Francoeur's RBI double only got things started. An RBI single, two solo homers, and an RBI double later, it was 5-0 Texas in the fifth inning, and the Rays looked down and out. You can't expect to rally from that kind of deficit against a pitcher like Lee and a bullpen like Texas'.

For Game 2, the teams will turn the balls over to C.J. Wilson and James Shields. Wilson is a reliever-turned-starter who's absolute murder on lefties, so we could see the Rays elect to put Carlos Pena on the bench after he struck out three times this afternoon and bobbled two throws at first for good measure. Shields, meanwhile, allowed a ton of home runs during the regular season, but he has a track record, and is probably the Rays' best remaining bet.