Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat...
It was a day like today that we had in mind when making the blockbuster deal last winter for one of the best players in baseball in
Jeremy Begley and the future Hall-of-Famer came through when it mattered most, capping a 4-hit day with a 3-run homer to give the Rays a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Minnesota to win the pivotal third game of the series and put Tampa Bay within one win of the ALCS. It looked like a day of frustration for the Rays as they banged out several hits but couldn't get the big one, and trailed after
Leo Gutierrez gave up a 2-run homer in the first. They did claw their way back in the 6th to tie it at 3, but some bad bullpen work from
Stan LeVea and
Jamie Arnold saw them behind 6-3. The Rays then answered back as
Billy Doughty's 2-out RBI double kept the 8th inning alive and set the stage for Begley's blow. We'll have our erstwhile ace
Joe Marlette on the mound for Game 4 tomorrow to try and clinch it, hopefully he can turn back the clock 4 months and give us a great start.
Elsewhere Houston's clinching party was put on hold:
