ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ What exactly sparked the 10-3 win that revived the Rays in the division series against the Astros was not exactly clear Monday afternoon.
Maybe it was the business-as-usual approach by manager Kevin Cash, texting out the lineup and not making a speech or a big deal about the dire circumstances of being one game from elimination.
The energy from the rollicking Tropicana Field crowd of 32,251.
The way Charlie Morton battled through what became a 31-pitch first inning after allowing a homer to No. 2 hitter Jose Altuve to deliver a solid five.
How after singling in the second for their first hit, Avisail Garcia clapped demonstratively, pointed into the dugout and implored his teammates to get going.
But it was quite obvious when it officially began, as Kevin Kiermaier launched a three-run homer in the second inning, simultaneously allowing his teammates to take a deep breath and the fans to let out a roar.
The Rays had quite a blast, as Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe and Willy Adames also went deep, tying the team record with four homers in a postseason game. It also happened in last Wednesday's AL wild-card game and Game 3 of the 2008 ALCS.
The resuscitation of the offense, which was shut down and limited to three runs by Houston starters Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, was the biggest reason the Rays will get to play again on Tuesday in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.
Game time will be either 4:15 or 7:07, depending on the outcome of Monday night's Yankees-Twins game. If the Twins win, the Rays have the 4:15 slot. If the Yankees end the series, the Rays get the later start.
But the work of Morton and the bullpen was also impressive.
Morton wasn't getting much help from home plate umpire Mark Wegner. He found the zone as the game unfolded and ended up working five innings, allowing just the one run and three hits while striking out nine. The 93-pitch outing sent his season workload past 200 innings for the first time.
The lead was 8-1 by then, as Austin Meadows doubled in two runs and Tommy Pham another one after Lowe homered in the fourth.
But the Rays weren't taking any chances. They went to Chaz Roe, and when he gave up a couple, to Brendan McKay to end the sixth, then Oliver Drake for the seventh and eighth. Colin Poche worked the ninth.
That is all relevant because the Rays don't have a set starter Tuesday and are likely to cover it like a bullpen day with several pitchers working 1-2 innings each.
Of the 50 teams to lose the first two games of a best-of-five series on the road, only seven have come back to win a series, most recently the 2017 Yankees over Cleveland. Overall, 81 teams have lost the first two (home or road) and only 10 have won.
