Associated Press Tampa Bay’s Cliff Floyd hits the ground after avoiding an inside pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the fifth inning of Game 1 Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla. White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is at left.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays looked perfectly at home in the playoffs.
The rookie homered in his first two at-bats and the surprising AL East champions were a big hit in their postseason debut, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-4 Thursday in their AL playoff opener.
After 10 seasons as baseball’s doormat, Tampa Bay took the division with the best home record in the majors. And there were no October jitters as the young Rays kept winning at Tropicana Field behind James Shields’ effective start and Grant Balfour’s testy, bases-loaded escape.
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