The Rays entered Monday afternoon with a 1-0 series lead over the Astros thanks to a 2-1 win on Sunday night to open the ALCS in San Diego, and it didn’t take long for Tampa Bay to jump out to an early lead in Game 2.
Manuel Margot put the Rays on the board with a three-run home run hit to straightaway center field in the first inning as they pounced on Houston with a 3-0 lead.
You don’t give the Rays four outs in an inning. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/QzZYGBNZBT
— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2020
Somehow, that wasn’t the best play Margot would make in the first two innings of the game as the Astros would get runners to second and third with two outs in the second inning and George Springer at the plate. Springer would foul a pitch off to right field where Margot tracked it to the fence running along the foul line and made a sensational catch, flipping over the fence while holding onto the ball for the out to get the Rays out of a jam.
Man, oh Manny! pic.twitter.com/rHeBmE4T0s
— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2020
It is one of the finest defensive plays you’ll see all postseason, as it kept Springer from getting another crack at tying the game or, at least, driving a pair in with a base hit. The concentration to haul in that fly ball while also holding on as you flip over and onto the ground is incredible, and for now Margot is the early MVP for the Rays in this ALCS.