Randy Arozarena, Rays Take 2-1 Series Lead with Game 3 Win vs. Yankees

The Tampa Bay Rays took a 2-1 lead over the New York Yankees in their best-of-five American League Division Series with an 8-4 win in Game 3 on Wednesday at San Diego's Petco Park.

Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier and Michael Perez each hit home runs for the Rays, who smacked 13 hits and never trailed.

Kiermaier's fourth-inning homer put the Rays up 4-1. Arozarena's fifth-inning solo shot and Perez's two-run blast in the sixth gave Tampa Bay a 7-2 edge two innings later.

The Yanks only had two extra-base hits, but they made them count off an Aaron Hicks fifth-inning RBI double and a Giancarlo Stanton two-run homer in the eighth. It wasn't enough, however, as Tampa held on for the win.

The Rays fell to the Yanks 9-3 in Game 1 but took Game 2 by a 7-5 score. The Game 3 victory puts the Rays one win away from an AL Championship Series berth.

Notable Performances

Rays SP Charlie Morton (Win): 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Rays OF Randy Arozarena: 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR

Rays OF Kevin Kiermaier: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR

Rays 3B Joey Wendle: 3-for-5, 2 R

Rays C Michael Perez: 2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR

Yankees SP Masahiro Tanaka (Loss): 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K

Yankees OF Giancarlo Stanton: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR

Yankees OF Aaron Hicks: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, 2B

The Legend of Randy Arozarena Grows

No hitter in baseball is hotter than Arozarena, who entered this postseason with just 99 career plate appearances but has found himself hitting third for the American League's top team.

The 25-year-old, who was acquired via a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in January, has carried the Rays offense this postseason. MLB Stats and Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Info) provided some eye-popping statistics:

Arozarena is hitting .600 (12-for-20) with three home runs, eight runs and four RBI in his five postseason games. He's scored or driven in 12 of the Rays' 29 playoff runs.

The ex-Cardinal had three more hits Wednesday, including a no-doubt homer to lead off the fifth inning and give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead:

Arozarena has continued his scorching-hot September, when he hit seven home runs alongside a 1.055 OPS, into October. Needless to say, people are impressed.

That naturally goes for his teammates, too.

"I've never seen anything like this," Rays starting pitcher Charlie Morton said of Arozarena, per Scott Miller of Bleacher Report.

"This is something, I don't know, something I've never seen before. Honestly, there are no words to describe it. It's incredible. I'm sorry. I've got nothing for you."

Arozarena has carried a reputation as an electric player: Of note, he once flew to third base on an infield fly that landed just off the pitcher's mound when he played for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals:

He's carried that reputation with him to the bigs and now on the game's biggest stage for a Rays team that look primed to send the Yankees home Thursday.

Yankees Lose Game of Inches

One sequence that occurred over two half-innings completely changed the game in the Rays' favor.

Yankees first baseman Luke Voit, who smacked an MLB-high 22 home runs this season, strolled up to the plate with the bases loaded and the score tied at one in the bottom of the third. He worked the count off Morton to 3-0, putting the right-hander in a big bind.

Somehow, Morton wiggled out of it.

The pitcher got the benefit of the doubt on two borderline 95 mph pitches to make the count full before inducing a groundout to shortstop Willy Adames to end the frame.

From numerous accounts, Voit appeared to have drawn a walk. Kyle Glaser of Baseball America notably thought so:

Alas, a strike was called, and the inning ended. Sports radio and television host Adam Schein explained the ramifications of the home plate umpire's decision:

The Yanks would have been up 2-1 with Stanton, who has far and away been their best hitter this postseason, at the dish with two out. Instead, the inning ended, and the score was tied at one going into the fourth.

Once there, the Yanks ran into trouble when Rays third baseman Joey Wendle hit a leadoff single. Adames then worked the count full before Masahiro Tanaka threw an 87 mph slider right on the bottom of the strike zone over the heart of the plate.

Wendle took off on the pitch and was thrown out by Kyle Higashioka for what appeared to be a double play, but ball four was called.

Kiermaier then tattooed a pitch over the right-field fence for a backbreaking home run.

Baseball writer Andrew Mearns compared the Voit and Adames' pitches and noted the inconsistency between the calls:

WFAN Sports Radio host Evan Roberts noted how the Adames call completely changed the game:

On one hand, the Yankees clearly found themselves on the losing side of the game of inches, and that put them in a hole they couldn't crawl out of before the game's end.

That being written, this series would likely be over if not for Game 1 winner Gerrit Cole and Stanton, who has hit four home runs. They've carried a team that has largely been performing poorly at the plate and on the mound outside that duo.

Perhaps Stanton hits a grand slam if Voit gets the call. Maybe Tanaka finds a groove after the double play that never was and puts the Yanks in position to win in the late innings.

The bottom line is that great teams have a way of making their own luck and overcoming bad calls and adversity. The Yanks still have a chance to prove themselves in that regard with a do-or-die game Thursday, but right now, Tampa has clearly been the better team, even if it's been the luckier one too.

What's Next?

Game 4 is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday. If the Yankees win, then a series-deciding Game 5 will take place Friday at 7:10 p.m.

The series winner will play the victor of the Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics AL Division Series matchup. Houston leads that series two games to one.