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Rays Unfazed By Crowd

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: October 6, 2008

CHICAGO - The first two games in Rays postseason history weren't exactly easy. Both were hard-fought affairs that were still very much in play in the final innings.

But the degree of difficulty clearly went up a few notches Sunday as the Rays encountered a truly hostile environment for the first time with so much at stake. A rain delay, chilly temperatures and a fired-up, black-clad, towel-brandishing crowd made it clear from the beginning the Rays were no longer in their comfort zone.

They seemed to enjoy it.

"It was pretty wild," said Evan Longoria. "I've never been a part of anything like that. And it definitely is a little bit tougher to focus your energy when you've got 35,000 fans or however many you have here 40,142 waving those towels."

"I love it," said Dioner Navarro. "It was a great atmosphere."

So, no, the Rays didn't seem intimidated or particularly apprehensive about what they'll face again today as they try to end the series in Game 4. Be it the unfriendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field or the first indication that the Rays won't have every break fall their way in October, nary an eyebrow was raised.

And the mere suggestion that that might be warranted was generally met with disdain.

"We've had plenty of tests like this," said Sunday's starter, Matt Garza. "It's nothing big."

Fair point, though the Rays' margin for error is much slimmer now than at any point before this. Still, they feel confident that they'll advance if they put everything together properly once in the next two games. With that knowledge, they were - outwardly, anyway - free to treat Sunday's loss as they would a random defeat in May or June.

"We don't have to bounce back," said Navarro. "We've got to come back today and play hard, that's all we've got to do. And we've been doing it through the whole year."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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