"About six weeks ago, maybe two months, Rays manager Joe Maddon saw what he had been waiting for most of the season. Evan Longoria was finally swinging and running without pain. And for a runs-challenged lineup like the Rays, that meant just about everything.

"He was limping to first and couldn't move laterally. His defense was suffering. And the oblique, when he came back from that, his swing was all messed up. Everything he did changed. He couldn't get to that normal, comfortable spot," Maddon said.

"I'd say six weeks ago, maybe two months ago, they finally got him back to where he is supposed to be. He's got some unique hitting mechanics, so when they got him back he took off — I mean it, he took off."

The Rays took off with him."