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Wilson rocked, Rays top Rangers in Game 1

ARLINGTON, Texas —C.J. Wilson wanted to lead the Texas Rangers the way Cliff Lee did last postseason.

It didn't work out, at least not in Game 1.

Wilson gave up eight runs in five innings and Texas' powerful lineup looked meek against one of the most inexperienced pitchers in playoff history, sending the Rangers to a 9-0 loss to Tampa Bay in the opener of the AL division series Friday.

Wilson was tagged for the most runs since he was a rookie in 2005, a horrible feat for a guy looking to boost his value going into free agency. Equally jarring for Texas was its hitters getting shut down by Matt Moore, a hard-throwing rookie left-hander who'd thrown only 9 1-3 innings in the big leagues. The Rangers had only two hits over seven innings off him, both by Josh Hamilton. Only a single runner got as far as third base.

The home team losing should be no surprise considering the visitors won all five postseason games when these teams met last year. Texas will try to reverse that trend in Game 2 on Saturday night, with Derek Holland facing Tampa Bay's James Shields.

"We have always bounced back, and we will bounce back," manager Ron Washington said. "We have a five-game series here. They got the first one. I don't think it matters if they won 1-0 or 9-0. We got beat. We can take that. We'll bounce back tomorrow."

In this round last year, Lee allowed only two runs over 16 innings in two starts against the Rays, carrying the Rangers to the first playoff series win in franchise history and putting them on their way to their first World Series. He left in free agency, but Texas won a franchise-best 96 games this season and Wilson led the way with 16 victories.

Still, Wilson took the mound Friday knowing he needed to be Lee-like this postseason to prove he's among the true aces in baseball, and to prove his worth to other owners and general managers. History was on his side considering the first shutout of his career came against the Rays just a few weeks ago, and he'd given up only five runs against them over three starts this season.

But the hits came early and kept on coming. Tampa Bay scored three runs in the second inning, three more in the third and two in fifth.

Johnny Damon got it started with a two-run homer — the first off the left-hander by a lefty batter since May 31 — then Kelly Shoppach drove in the next five runs with a pair of homers, each going more than 410 feet.

Shoppach's first drive cleared the wall in center field so quickly that he was approaching second base when the ball came rolling toward him, thrown back by the fan who'd caught it.

The second time Shoppach rounded the bases, Wilson shook his head, then swiped his red glove across the rubber before throwing his next pitch, as if he was hitting a reset button. Team president Nolan Ryan watched from the front row with a steely look, his arms crossed.

Wilson retired the next batter, then heard a smattering of boos as he headed to the dugout, perhaps for the last time as a member of the Rangers.

"You have to give Tampa Bay credit," Washington said. "They came out and they swung the bat."

Wilson gave up seven hits, walked one and hit a batter. Two of his runs were unearned because of a throwing error by Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre with two out and nobody on base in his final inning.

Pitching coach Mike Maddux visited the mound in the second inning, hoping to calm him down after a hard hit ball by No. 9 hitter Matt Joyce got through the right side of the infield and into right field with two out, making it 3-0. Wilson got the next out, but obviously didn't stay in a groove.

The meltdown continues a downward trend for Wilson in the postseason.

He threw 6 1-3 shutout innings in winning Game 2 against Tampa Bay last year, got a no-decision in Game 1 of the AL championship series against the Yankees (a game the Rangers ended up losing), then lost his next two starts. So this makes him a loser in three straight postseason starts, and Texas a loser in his last four.

Having some runs to work with might've helped Wilson, but the offense was awful.

The fourth through seventh hitters — Michael Young, Beltre, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz — went a combined 0 for 14. The biggest surprise was Napoli going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. He hit .383 after the All-Star break and .407 in seven games against the Rays this season.

NOTES: RHP Scott Feldman followed Wilson and allowed only two hits over three innings. He struck out four. ... LHP Matt Harrison, widely thought to be Texas' Game 4 starter, faced four batters in the ninth inning. He gave up a walk and a single, and was charged with the ninth run when Mike Gonzalez gave up an infield single to Damon. ... Seeing Tampa Bay cleanup hitter Ben Zobrist bunt for a hit in the third inning must have inspired Hamilton. Although he was 2 for 2 at the time, he dropped a bunt in the sixth inning, with Texas down 8-0 and a man on first. The official scorer call it a sacrifice, then changed it to an out. ... The crowd of 50,498 was the largest at Rangers Ballpark this season and 12th-best in stadium history.