ST. PETERSBURG – The first playoff game in Rays’ history turned into a Longoria ball competition.
The AL Rookie of the Year favorite arrived on the October stage yesterday with two clouts that effectively announced: “Don’t mess with Evan Longoria or the Rays.”
So much for first-game playoff jitters.
“It was a little different day for a rookie player, but I’m just happy we won,” Longoria said after his two homers sparked a 6-4 victory over the White Sox in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
Longoria was 3-for-3 with three RBIs on a day the Rays battered Chicago starter Javier Vazquez, energizing the 35,041 fans who packed Tropicana Field.
Longoria homered leading off the second and then hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the third, becoming just the second major league player to homer in his first two career postseason at-bats.
“Honestly, I wasn’t surprised,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “[Longoria] likes these moments in a non-cocky way. He’s just very confident.”
James Shields pitched 61/3 solid innings for the victory, but Tampa Bay’s bullpen, led by right-hander Grant Balfour, was just as important.
The White Sox’s last gasp came in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with one out against Shields. Balfour entered and doused the flames, striking out Jose Uribe and Orlando Cabrera in succession to end the threat.
Vazquez, who had been last seen in the postseason allowing a grand slam to Johnny Damon in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, lasted just 41/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. The right-hander was removed after Longoria’s third hit of the game, an RBI single that extended Tampa Bay’s lead to 5-3.
“They kept getting hits over and over and over, and it was just a tough game,” said Vazquez, who got pounded in his final three regular-season starts. “This is by far the roughest time in my career.”
The Rays scored three runs in the third, taking the lead on Longoria’s second homer of the game, a blast that hit the catwalk above the left-field grandstand. The only other player to homer in the first two postseason at-bats of his career was Gary Gaetti with the Twins in 1987.
Incidentally, Gaetti was Longoria’s hitting coach last year at Triple-A Durham.
“Today was an awesome day,” Longoria said. “But in my mind I’ve already moved away from it.”
Akinori Iwamura smashed an RBI triple to center for the first run of the inning and scored on Willie Aybar’s sacrifice fly.
An inning earlier, Longoria’s shot into the left-field seats gave the Rays a 1-0 lead. Chicago rebounded with Dewayne Wise’s three-run homer in the third.
The White Sox need improvement on all fronts tonight, when they send veteran Mark Buehrle to the mound against Rays’ stud left-hander Scott Kazmir.
“I’m not worried about my pitching [tonight],” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I’m worried about my offense.”