Longoria Is Told to Stick With The Plan

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 11 -- Evan Longoria, the Tampa Bay Rays' third baseman and the presumptive American League rookie of the year, found himself at the receiving end of a mild lecture from Manager Joe Maddon about maintaining the same concept of the strike zone that he had in the regular season, rather than expanding it under the pressure of the postseason.

Entering Saturday night's Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, Longoria was in a 10-for-57 (.175) slump dating from the final two weeks of the regular season, including a 1-for-16 skid since going 3 for 3 with two homers in Game 1 of the division series. In the Rays' Game 1 loss Friday night, he appeared lost at the plate, striking out twice, grounding into a crucial double play and flying out on a 3-0 pitch in his four at-bats.

"He just expanded his strike zone a bit. He's gotten out of his game plan," Maddon said. "I'm just trying to get him to . . . do what he's done all year, and that's use a little bit more selectivity."

Maddon's words appeared to have an immediate impact, as Longoria hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat on Saturday night in a game that ended too late for this edition.

Speaking generally about his players, Maddon added: "I just want them to be the same [in the playoffs as in the regular season]. Sometimes you take for granted that [they] will be. But we're going through uncharted territory right now."

Maddon's comments came a day after Boston's David Ortiz suggested the Rays were buckling under the playoff pressure -- a notion Maddon did not immediately dismiss.

"I agree" with Ortiz, Maddon said. "And I did see it. . . . It primarily manifested itself in the pitches we swung at. However, [the Red Sox] had kind of the same look themselves."

Lineup Change

The Red Sox' Game 2 lineup had a new wrinkle, with Coco Crisp in center field, Jacoby Ellsbury shifting to right and J.D. Drew on the bench. Drew was drilled in the shoulder by a Grant Balfour fastball on Friday night, but Manager Terry Francona said Drew was fine, and that the benching was a result of wanting to get Crisp in the lineup against Rays lefty Scott Kazmir, against whom Crisp is 9 for 30 (.300) all-time.

Crisp had made only one other start this postseason, in Game 3 of the division series, but he was a central figure in the brawl between the teams in June, when he charged the mound after being hit on the hip by a James Shields fastball.

Unusual Setup

Francona declined to elaborate on how he perceives the right-handed setup options in his bullpen, a situation that appears muddled, with rookie Justin Masterson getting the ball in a critical spot in the eighth inning of Game 1 -- he responded by getting Longoria to hit into the double play -- instead of the more experienced Manny Delcarmen.

"I don't think there's any reason today to clarify what he's going to do down the road," Francona said when asked if Masterson is now the unquestioned right-handed setup man. "There were some reasons he was put in this situation."