The Red Sox held the lead for the first half of Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays, but with one swing of the bat Evan Longoria undid all the good of the first 4.5 innings.
It's only because of an offensive burst in the top of the fifth that the Red Sox are tied rather than behind. Starting off the inning with a ground ball double off of James Loney's glove at first base, Jacoby Ellsbury nearly found himself thrown out at third base by Yunel Escobar on a Shane Victorino ground ball that left no thoughts of a play at first. Correctly or not, Ellsbury was called safe at third, allowing him to score on a wild pitch and errant throw to Cobb at the plate by catcher Yadier Molina. Shane Victorino advanced too, later scoring Boston's third run as David Ortiz hit a single into left field.
And then came the bottom of the inning and Tampa Bay fought back. There were no catwalk hijinks this time, just the Rays beating Buchholz. The rally didn't take long, with the Rays jumping early against Buchholz it took just 11 pitches for the Sox to find themselves in a two-on, two-out situation with Evan Longoria stepping up to the plate. The Rays had set up the situation they needed, with their best hitter at the plate as the tying run, and Longoria took care of business, blasting an 0-1 inside changeup just over the wall in left, and evening the score at three-all.
Buchholz would buy the Red Sox' another inning, pitching through the sixth while Alex Torres came out to do the job for the Rays, but now this game is in the hands of the bullpens in the bottom of the seventh.