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Rays to keep swinging in do-or-die World Series game

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-27 16:31

PHILADELPHIA - Tampa Bay Rays heavy hitters Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena are both hoping for a sudden turnaround in form in a bid to salvage the team's World Series dreams.

Pena and Longoria are a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies as the Rays go into Monday's Game Five 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series and needing to win all three remaining contests to complete a spectacular season.

"My plan has been to keep swinging and hopefully come out of this thing," third baseman Longoria told reporters in the locker room following Sunday's 10-2 thumping by the Phillies.

"Hopefully I get that one pitch to hit and hammer it into the gap and get rolling."

The Rays know only a victory on Monday will keep alive a breakthrough campaign that has seen them go from the worst record in Major League Baseball all the way to the Fall Classic in their first taste of postseason action in an 11-year existence.

"Continue to do our thing, come back out tomorrow, forget about this one," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said about his team's approach following Sunday's heavy defeat.

"We have to win obviously tomorrow (Monday). One game at a time. It's not about winning three, it's about winning tomorrow."

SHAKY OFFENSE

Contributions from Longoria and Pena could be key to Tampa Bay's hopes of a revival.

Longoria struck out three times on Sunday and Pena twice as Tampa Bay struggled in every department, with sure-fielding second baseman Akinori Iwamura making two errors that led to runs and Rays pitching yielding four homers.

"We haven't been playing our game," said left-fielder Carl Crawford, who homered for the Rays.

"The offense has been a little shaky. The pitching is a little shaky. Our fielding was shaky. We just have to get back to playing our normal game."

Maddon said one good at-bat could turn around his hitters.

"The same thing happened to (Ryan) Howard within this series, and then he got on the roll," Maddon said of the Phillies slugger, who belted two homers and drove in five runs in Game Four.

"He's looking pretty good right now."

Longoria said the Rays had already come through a do-or-die scenario in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series, where they eliminated 2007 World Series champions Boston.

"We've been in this situation before," Longoria said.

A Rays victory would send the teams back to Florida for Game Six on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

"We don't want to fly home for good tomorrow," Longoria said. "We want to play two more games at the Trop."