The Tampa Bay Rays proved once again on Monday night that in the month of October they are much like Michael Myers, the antagonist in the "Halloween" movies; every time that you think they are dead they prove you wrong.
The Rays won their fourth elimination game in the last nine days on Monday night when light hitting backup catcher Jose Lobaton hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth against Boston's closer Koji Uehara to force a Game Four. Lobaton was only in the game after a series of bizarre moves made by manager Joe Maddon after moving designated hitter Matt Joyce into the field and forcing the pitcher to hit. Maddon made the kind of moves that get a manager called a genius when they work; and earn him a one way ticket out of town when they don't.
Despite dropping the game in heartbreaking fashion the Red Sox still only have to win one of the next two games and sound like they haven't lost any of their swagger.
"We're coming back hungry just like we did today," David Oritz told MLB.com. "We know this ain't over. We know we've got to come and play, make pitchers, score runs. We've got to do whatever it takes to win the game."
The Sox will turn to mid-season acquisition Jake Peavy to take the mound as they try to put away the pesky Rays. Peavy has only had two prior playoff starts in his career, both with San Diego, and he has yet to pick up his first postseason win, according to ESPN.
"I'm excited about this opportunity," Peavy told ESPN. "I tell you what I've learned - experience means way more than I ever thought it did. You say you need experience. You say you want experience. Until you have experience and understand what experience is, I don't think you can talk about it and appreciate it."
The Rays will have Jeremy Hellickson on the mound. Hellickson has had a very disappointing season after winning the Rookie of the Year in 2011 and following it with a great 2012 campaign. The 26-year-old finished with a 5.17 ERA and was especially vulnerable to the long ball; he gave up 24 on the season.
More troubling news for the Rays is that Hellickson finished the year in a slump going 1-7 with a 7.53 ERA in his last 10 starts, according to ESPN.
"I haven't really given them a good reason to send me back out there these last few months," Hellickson told the team's website. "It's really nice that they still have confidence in me to go out there."
Game Four starts at 8:37 p.m. ET on Tuesday. A live radio broadcast can be heard through ESPN Radio at this link. A live stream of the game can be seen through TBS at this link.
