RALLYING RAYS OPEN W/ WALK-OFF

NAIL BITER ENDS IN DRAMATIC FASION

If there was one thing missing from the Rays in 2009, it was the never-give-up attitude that produced walk-off wins and on-field celebrations during their run to the World Series the previous year. "We need to get back to that," left fielder Carl Crawford said one day early in spring training. It didn't take the Rays long to find that well-worn groove. Crawford touched off a celebration near second base Tuesday night with a one-out, two-run ninth-inning double that lifted the Rays to a 4-3 season-opening victory against the Orioles in front of 36,973 at Tropicana Field. "That definitely was like an '08 win," Crawford said. "We did that a lot that year, so it was nice to get that feeling back." The last time the Rays opened the season at home was in 2005. Crawford is the only Ray remaining from that squad. The All-Star left fielder owns the other Opening Day walk-off winning hit for the Rays, a three-run homer that beat the Red Sox in 2003 during Lou Piniella's debut as the Rays manager. "It's kind of weird how things happen," Crawford said. It wasn't weird how the Rays won Tuesday. In fact, it was a familiar formula. "Our guys were just waiting for something good to happen," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. Sort of like the way the Rays played in '08. The Orioles reached Rays starter James Shields for three solo home runs. The Rays defense, which included a running catch at the base of the wall in center field by B.J. Upton, kept the Rays close all game. With the Rays down 2-0 in the fifth inning, Pat Burrell ran through a stop sign by third base coach Tom Foley and scored from second on Jason Bartlett's roller to left field. The Orioles made it 3-1 in the top of the sixth on a home run by Matt Wieters. But Evan Longoria cut into that lead by hitting only the second home run ever to reach the Trop's party deck in left field — a 473-foot solo blast. He joined former Rays third baseman Vinny Castilla, who reached the deck with a 478-foot home run in 2001. Longoria's homer cut through the fog left over from the fire and smoke machines used during the pregame ceremonies that settled over the field the entire game. "It wasn't as bad as people think," Crawford said. "You could still see the ball at the plate. You could still see the ball in the outfield. It was just weird to see a lot of smoke in the stadium. The Rays bullpen picked up Shields, with Randy Choate, Lance Cormier and Rafael Soriano holding the Orioles scoreless over the final three innings. Soriano, the Rays' new closer, turned in a Troy Percival-like performance when he allowed the Orioles to load the bases but was able to pitch out of the jam. Sean Rodriguez started the winning rally in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out single to left off Mike Gonzalez. Pinch-hitter Kelly Shoppach doubled off the top of the left-field wall. Bartlett was walked intentionally, setting the stage of Crawford, who made the first game of 2010 feel a like a lot of games in 2008. "It never grows old," Maddon said. "You want to experience it on a regular basis."