ARLINGTON, Texas — Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and the Rays are headed back to The Trop, one victory away from an improbable comeback.
Longoria snapped out of his postseason slump with a homer and two doubles, Pena scored twice with a pair of extra-base hits of his own and Tampa Bay escaped elimination again with a 5-2 victory Sunday over the Texas Rangers.
After losing the first two games of the AL division series at home, the Rays won both games in Texas to force a deciding Game 5 at Tropicana Field.
Rookie right-hander Wade Davis pitched into the sixth, getting out of a base-loaded jam in the fifth when he struck out Vladimir Guerrero. Rafael Soriano worked a perfect ninth for the save.
Tampa Bay, the AL’s best team in the regular season, is trying to become the only team other than 2001 New York Yankees to advance to a league championship series after losing the first two division series games at home.
To do that they’ll have to beat Rangers ace left-hander Cliff Lee, who matched a postseason best with 10 strikeouts in a 5-1 opening victory. The Rays send 19-game winner David Price to the mound on Tuesday night in Game 1 starter rematch.
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