This was not in the script:
So once again in the postseason against Detroit the Rays find themselves on the brink of elimination. Back in the 2024 ALCS they fell behind 3-1 to the Tigers before winning the next three. This time they only have to win two straight, but even being in this situation is foreign to most of this group, who haven't lost consecutive postseason games since dropping the first two games of the ALCS in 2027 to the Angels, the last playoff series they've lost. In fact a loss in either of the next two games would represent their earliest elimination in nine years, when Toronto beat them in 5 in the 2022 ALDS. Today the story was the almost-complete ineffectiveness of Christian Little, who just didn't have anything tonight and whom I probably (no, definitely) left in too long. As you can see from the box above Little only had 2 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, an unheard-of amount for him. We were killed again by Levi Usher and Mike Harper at the bottom of the Detroit lineup as they went 7-for-7 combined and drove in all 6 Tiger runs. For a brief while it looked like the Rays might take this game, especially after Jasson Dominguez (a 474-ft shot to dead center) and Connor Kirkley took Tigers ace Kumar Rocker deep in the 4th. Even though Rocker wasn't at his best, Little was worse, and the Rays couldn't get anything off the Detroit bullpen as once again the offense was a no-show outside out of those homers, held to 6 hits or fewer for the third time in three games in this series. So it's up to Alec Sachais to save the season tomorrow or "the greatest regular season team ever" is going to end up a playoff flop.
In other games, the Rays can hopefully take inspiration from the Rangers and Nationals who both won tonight with their backs to the wall. Edwin Harty, who pitched a perfect game a couple of weeks ago, was almost as brilliant tonight going 8 1 0 0 2 10 in the Rangers' win, and the Nationals got a strong start from Seth Romero to force a deciding Game 5 in that series:
The news wasn't all good tonight for Texas, though, as Wander Franco tore his groin and is done for the playoffs.