Michael Young, C.J. Wilson Key Big Win For Rangers In Tampa Bay

Game 2 of the ALDS between the Rangers and the Rays went a lot like Game 1 - Texas built an early lead against a struggling starter, and Tampa Bay was unable to get anything going at the plate.

The game was scoreless into the third, when frustration began to set in for the Rays. James Shields suddenly lost his composure on the mound, hitting Matt Treanor with a pitch to lead off and later making an errant pickoff throw to first base that allowed Treanor to score.

The next inning, the Rangers were able to double their lead when Ian Kinsler yanked a 2-0 fastball into the left field seats. James Shields came in with a known home run problem, and though this was the only he'd surrender all afternoon, it was a big one.

Finally, the fifth inning did the Rays in. The Rangers put two on with one out, Elvis Andrus' single chasing Shields from the game after 4.1 innings. Chad Qualls came in out of the bullpen, and after a controversial check swing call on a 2-2 pitch to Michael Young, Qualls served up a home run on the very next pitch to put the Rangers in front by five. Joe Maddon came out of the dugout to argue with the umpires over their questionable call and shortly got ejected, but there was no momentum to be gained, as the Rangers were in front by a comfortable margin.

The Rangers would add one more in the inning on an RBI single by Kinsler. That extended their lead to 6-0, and though they wouldn't do anything at the plate the rest of the way, it didn't matter, because the Rays were unable to get the bats going against C.J. Wilson and the Ranger bullpen. They weren't able to mount a serious threat until the bottom of the seventh, by which point they were already down by six, and Jason Bartlett flew out with the bases loaded to keep the score intact.

Darren Oliver induced the Bartlett fly out, and closed out the eighth and the ninth innings with ease. Wilson wound up getting the win, having tossed 6.1 shutout innings, while Shields got the loss, with four runs allowed in 4.1.

Game 3 will be played in Texas on Saturday, with Colby Lewis going up against Matt Garza. If the Rays are to win this series, they'll have to beat Lewis and Tommy Hunter on the road before returning home to face Cliff Lee.