Ugh...
The Rays pulled off the most dramatic of comebacks in the 9th, but all it did was prolong their agony as they fell 6-5 to Memphis in 11 and now have to take Games 6 & 7 in St. Pete if they want to be champions.
Luis Berumen's longball in the 9th, his 7th of the postseason, cut Memphis' lead to 5-3 but looked like a mere consolation shot before
Danny Arroyave, who had earlier homered, doubled and Joe Stack came through in the clutch with another jack to tie the game. Eyes then turned to the beleaguered Tampa Bay bullpen, and although they did hold in the 9th and 10th the 11th was a bridge too far as
Jadon Smith in his second inning gave up a leadoff double and walked the bases loaded around two outs. A tiring Smith gave way to
Tony Alicea, who walked the first man he faced to force in the losing run and put the Rays on the brink. It'll be up to
Leo Gutierrez to hopefully repeat his brilliant Game 2 outing to keep the season alive in a couple of days.