Advantage Rays...
It's a bit unfair to be frustrated with any hitter over a 2 2/3-game span but when
Elly De La Cruz came to the plate in the 8th he was bearing the burden of being the reigning AL MVP with a chance to repeat who was underachieving when it mattered most and his team less than 2 innings away from facing an elimination game. So he did what any great player does and rose to the occasion, belting a 3-run homer than turned a potential 2-1 loss into a 4-2 win, giving the Rays a 2-1 advantage and a chance to advance behind
Garrett Lambert tomorrow. They did get an excellent start from the mercurial
Emiliano Teodo but thanks to a 2-run double from Dylan Crews (who's been a Rays-killer in this series) he found himself down 2-0 when he left after 6.
Zion Rose came up with another big homer to get them on the board in the 7th, and Elly took it from there.
The higher seed also won Game 3 on the road in the other ALDS:
