Rays Rough Up Zack Greinke, Astros to Avoid Elimination in Game 3 Win

Tampa Bay's bats woke up on Monday, just in time to save its season. 

Led by four home runs and a fantastic showing from starting pitcher Charlie Morton, the Rays beat the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series, 10-3. The Astros still lead the series 2-1, however, setting up another elimination game for the Rays on Tuesday. 

While Morton cruised through five innings, his counterpart Zack Greinke lasted just 3.1 innings, a surprisingly disappointing outing for the established veteran. For an Astros team that has looked borderline unstoppable for nearly a month, having won 14 of its past 16 games while holding opponents to five or fewer runs in all but one of those contests, it was a crash landing back to earth, at least temporarily.

Key Stats

• Charlie Morton (Tampa): One run and three hits allowed, nine strikeouts in five innings pitched.
• Zack Greinke (Houston): Six runs and five hits allowed, five strikeouts in 3.1 innings
• Kevin Kiermaier (Tampa): Three-run homer
• Ji-Man Choi (Tampa): Solo home run
• Brandon Lowe (Tampa): Two hits, solo homer
• Willy Adames (Tampa): Two hits, two runs, solo homer
• Jose Altuve (Houston): Two hits, solo homer
• Yuli Gurriel (Houston): Two hits, two-run homer

Morton Wins the Pitching Duel Over a Laboring Greinke

While Morton brought his A-game, Greinke struggled to hit his spots on Monday, getting tagged for three home runs in his short stint. It was surprising to see the talented veteran get knocked around.

It also put him in Houston's record books for all of the wrong reasons:

Morton, on the other hand, was absolutely dealing, settling down from a tough first inning that saw him throw 31 pitches and give up a home run to Altuve. From there, he was downright deadly.

And that put him in the Tampa record books for all the right reasons:

Tampa's bullpen took over from there, giving up just two runs in four innings to seal the win.

More importantly, Morton ended his day on 93 pitches, leaving open the possibility that he could potentially make an appearance in Game 5 if the Rays can win on Tuesday. As long as they have Morton on the mound, the Rays appear to have a chance to steal a win against the mighty Astros.

Huge Kevin Kiermaier Homer Jolts Tampa's Offense to Life

Morton may have been dealing, but it was Kiermaier who changed the trajectory of this series in the bottom of the third when he blasted a two-out, three-run homer to open the scoring for Tampa Bay. 

Kevin Kiermaier Home Run

00:40

To put into perspective how important that moment was, his three-run shot matched the three runs the team had scored in the first two games of this series. Suffice to say, that also sent a spark through Tropicana Field:

From there, the floodgates opened, with Choi, Lowe and Adames also blasting homers and Austin Meadows adding two RBI on a fourth-inning double.

Keeping those bats alive will be the key for Game 4. Houston's mighty offense isn't likely to be held in check for long, and Tampa will be hoping to force Houston into its bullpen early again in Game 4 after forcing the Astros to turn to its relievers for 5.2 innings on Monday.

Another early burst of offense could be the key to forcing a Game 5 and pulling off the shocking reverse sweep.  

What's Next?

The two teams will face off again in Game 4 on Tuesday in Tampa Bay at 4:15 p.m. ET.