BOSTON -- Matt Garza was certainly dominant Monday, his six-inning, one-run, six-hit effort "the main reason why we won that game," according to Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon, after a 9-1 American League Championship Series victory over the Boston Red Sox.
But the most indelible images from the Rays' Game 3 mauling in Fenway Park, which gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, were three-run bombs from two players who overcame their share of adversity this season, some self-inflicted, some beyond their control.
B.J. Upton, who was benched twice in the same week in August for not hustling on ground balls, crushed a three-run home run against previously impenetrable left-hander Jon Lester to highlight a four-run third inning, giving the center fielder five playoff home runs after he hit only nine in the regular season.
And right fielder Rocco Baldelli, the Woonsocket, R.I., native whose career was sidetracked by four years of major injuries, and who was diagnosed in 2007 with a rare and debilitating muscle disorder, added a three-run shot in the eighth inning that sent the Fenway not-so-faithful scurrying for the exits.
"He's another example of what this team is all about," reliever J.P. Howell said of Baldelli. "You look at him, and you can't take anything for granted. He didn't, and we don't."
Baldelli, 27, sat out all of 2005 and about half of 2006 because of torn ligaments in a knee and elbow, and he played only 35 games last season because of a hamstring injury.
He was limited to 28 games this season, which was spent recovering from a disorder that slows muscle recovery and caused so much fatigue that Baldelli "had trouble even hitting in batting practice and going out there to jog and play catch."
All of which has made Baldelli's return all the more compelling.
"To be able to do this in front of all of my friends and family here was real special," said Baldelli, a first-round pick of the Rays in 2000. "You know, everything I've done this year is pretty special, coming from the condition I was in during spring training. . . . It's like getting an unexpected gift."
Upton's physical gifts seem endless -- the 24-year-old is blessed with a strong and lean 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, great speed, a great arm and good power, "and he's got a chance to get better, which is kind of scary," Boston Manager Terry Francona said.
But his tendency to slip into pro-glide mode has drawn criticism, and it got him in trouble with his manager in August.
