ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Getting the green light can be a hitter’s dream or a nightmare. Just ask Carlos Pena or Evan Longoria.

At key moments of Game One of the ALCS, the two hitters who sit in the heart of the Tampa Bay Rays’ lineup were ahead in the count. Both times they swung away instead of working the count even more. Both times they made deflating outs.

“If I hit it over the fence, I’m a hero. But I didn’t,” said Longoria.

Longoria had several chances to impact the game but he left five runners on base and went hitless in four chances. His biggest moment came in the eighth inning off Justin Masterson. Two men were on base with one out in a game the Red Sox led, 2-0.

Masterson missed with his first two pitches to Longoria, putting the Tampa Bay rookie into a hitter’s count at 2-and-0.

“I looked in the dugout and I didn’t get a take sign,” he said. “I felt it was my best chance. I guessed fastball, I guessed right. I just didn’t get a good swing on it.”

Longoria grounded to short, where Jed Lowrie started a 6-4-3 double play that ended the Rays’ threat.

Earlier in the eighth inning, Pena came up with two men on base and no outs. Hideki Okajima came on to pitch and he promptly threw three consecutive balls. Pena lofted the next pitch to right that J.D. Drew ran down for a critical out.

“Joe [Maddon, the Rays’ manager] wanted me to take a swing and all you try to do is concentrate and forget about the count at that moment,” said Pena. “It didn’t work out. I got to it a little bit too quick and hit it off the end (of the bat).”

The Rays finished Game One 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They were 4-of-30 for the game after hitting .297 in the Division Series.

Defending their turf

There’s an old saying that believes offense wins games and defense wins championships.

At the professional level it’s actually pitching that wins championships, but defense isn’t too far behind.

In Game One of the ALCS Friday night at Tropicana Field, both the Red Sox and the Rays played solid defense that featured a few highlight-reel plays. Tampa is not a great offensive team, so it has had to rely on its defense and pitching this season. The Red Sox have proved they can also flash the leather, which has been evident in the postseason.

“I think we’re a good defensive team,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “Tampa is very good. Every team is a little different, but we are a good defensive team. We used to be geared more for a three-run homer. Those are certainly still acceptable, but there are other ways to win.”

The Red Sox finished the regular season as the second-best club in the majors with a .986 fielding percentage — behind the Astros’ .989 — while the Rays ranked 11th with a .985. Tampa committed 90 errors, while Boston made only 85 miscues.

Tampa “closes ground in the outfield as good as anybody,” said Francona. “Every position in the infield is Gold Glove caliber. That’s why they’ve won a lot of games.”

Young guns

The Rays team is young but their starting pitchers are very young. The group averages 24.6 years of age.

James Shields, the Game One starter, is the old man at 26 years old. Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson are all 24 years old. Andy Sonnanstine is 25.

The Rays own the youngest rotation to make the playoffs since the 1986 New York Mets. The Mets’ staff included Ron Darling (25), Dwight Gooden (21), Sid Fernandez (23), Bobby Ojeda (28) and Rick Aguilera (24).

kmcnamar@projo.com