The Tampa Bay Rays’ playoff run ended Tuesday night after they lost to the Boston Red Sox 3-1. Game four of the American League Divisional Series was a frustrating end for the Rays who were outscored by their opponents 27-11 in the four games they played. Rays’ starter Jeremy Hellickson was yanked from the game in only the second inning after he allowed David Ortiz, Mike Napoli, and Daniel Nava to get on base, leaving the bases loaded. Jamey Wright was brought in to the game and got out of the jam without giving up a run. He was one of eight relievers the Rays used throughout the game.

“Very frustrating these last few months. I pride myself on giving us a chance to win and being consistent,” said Hellickson, who has been pulled from starts before the sixth inning in eight of his last eleven starts.

“I thought that in the first inning Hellickson looked fantastic, good fastball, good change-up. Second inning, he couldn’t find the plate so we had to do something about it,” said Rays’ manager Joe Maddon.

The Rays scored their lone run in the sixth inning on a single by left fielder David DeJesus, driving in shortstop Yunel Escobar. The Red Sox scored their go-ahead run in the seventh inning on a single by right fielder Shane Victorino which drove in center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Boston added an insurance run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by second basemen Dustin Pedroia which scored shortstop Xander Bogaerts. The Rays accumulated only six hit, and three of those belonged to shortstop Yunel Escobar.

“When you’re on a ride like this, you never see it ending,” said Rays’ pitcher Alex Cobb. “You only envision getting the prize at the end. When it doesn’t, it feels like the rug is pulled out from under you.”

Tampa Bay had a pretty solid regular season going 92-71, good enough for second place in the American League East division and a Wild Card spot.

“Anytime you win 90-plus games, its been a pretty good year, it really is, regardless of what anyone else might want to say,” said Maddon.

The Rays entered the playoffs in a three-way tie and fought their way through Cleveland and Texas for the right to move on further. Tuesday night marked the fifth time in the last ten days Tampa Bay played a win-or-go-home game, and this one proved to be too much to overcome.

“It was another magical moment in a season filled with them for these Rays. They’ve again done themselves proud. No matter how things played out,” said Richard Justice, an MLB.com columnist.

The Rays now endure a long offseason until the end of February when teams report back for Spring Training. Tropicana Field, on the other hand, will be without its Rays until March 31^st, Opening Day for the Rays. A little time off leaves the Rays with questions of what could’ve been, but as far as they’re concerned, they’ve shown the world that they can compete in the biggest stage in baseball, the MLB postseason.