ST. PETERSBURG -- Evan Longoria hadn't done much of anything at the plate when he stepped in for the fourth time on Tuesday night. He'd struck out twice, lunging at balls well outside the zone. He'd flown out to right.
But on the first pitch of his final at-bat in the seventh inning, he erased a three-run deficit -- one that Tampa Bay had been climbing back from all night -- and tied a game that the Rays would eventually win, 8-7, over the Mariners.
"Longo's homer," manager Kevin Cash said, before taking a pause, "was probably the biggest hit of the day.