Tense but fun...
The Rays took to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field like it was their second home, taking a tight 3-1 win over the Cubs thanks primarily to Josh Carsello and Jimmy Leonard. We thought Carsello would fare better against the lefty-heavy Cubs lineup but we didn't expect 7 5 1 1 0 7 as he lowers his postseason ERA to 2.65 and looked more like the reigning AL Cy Young winner he is. Mike Wherry got into some trouble, putting the tying runs in scoring position with two out in the 8th, but Kikuo Kawase got the always tough Vlad Guerrero Jr to ground out, and then struck out the side in the 9th to nail down the win. Leonard meanwhile, overmatched badly against Steve Fairweather in Game 2, was the offense tonight as he drilled his first postseason homer to give the Rays a 1-0 lead and then doubled in the winning run in the 7th.
I have decided to roll the dice and go with Jose Mendoza tomorrow in Game 4, with Vinny Willard ready to come in for him early if needed.