Watch the live streaming action online as the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians hook up for the 2013 A.L. Wild Card Game as baseball's playoff picture will finally become clear. Tune it at 8 p.m. ET to the game and if you can't watch it live, check out the link available for those outside of the U.S. and Canada as MLB.TV brings you the Rays vs. Indian online.
Though pitching might be the highlight of this matchup, the Rays and Indians have fairly good hitters in their lineups.
When you think of the Rays, immediately, Evan Longoria, the face of the franchise, comes to mind. He's accompanied by Wil Myersm Ben Zobrist and James Loney at the top of the lineup. When you think of the Indians, Carlos Santana, Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and Asdrubal Cabrera come to mind.
The Rays and Indians aren't just packing good pitching that was able to get them into baseball's Top 10 remaining teams, they have productive lineups that finished 12th and 13th respectively in batting average. The Rays hit .257, while the Indians hit .255. The Indians finished right above the Rays with 171 home runs, good for 10th in baseball, while the Rays hit 165, 11th in MLB. The Indians drove in 711 runs, the sixth best in baseball, while the Rays drove in 670, 10th best in baseball.
Here are the team leaders for these categories.
Batting Average
James Loney- .299, Michael Brantley- .284
Home Runs
Evan Longoria- 32, Nick Swisher- 22
RBI
Longoria- 88, Jason Kipnis- 84
Late in the season, Longoria is the man for the Rays. He went 3-4 against the Texas Rangers, finishing a triple away from the cycle, scoring two runs, smacking a home run and driving in two. Now that's how you fill up a stat sheet. Over his last 10 games, Longoria is hitting .371 with eight runs scored, three home runs and 11 RBI.
The Indians do not possess a go-to guy on offense. They will have to pull together as a team, especially when facing a more playoff savvy team in the Rays. The last time the Indians played in the postseason, Joba Chamberlain was the most coveted player in the majors and was later attacked by nats while on the mound for the New York Yankees.
Will the Indians get nature to help once again? Will the Rays get another unlikely victory and play their way into the ALDS? It's only one game and it's a big one.
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