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The Tampa Bay Rays had just beaten the Baltimore Orioles, and all the televisions in the clubhouse were tuned to the game between Boston and Cleveland.
That’s right, the once-lowly Rays are in a pennant race. They’re scoreboard-watching, checking out the competition on TV and doing their part to make their first trip to the playoffs as AL East champions.
Jason Bartlett had two of Tampa Bay’s three hits, and the Rays inched closer to their first division title with a 4-2 victory Monday night.
After Boston lost 4-3, reducing Tampa Bay’s magic number to four, a roar resonated throughout the clubhouse.
“It was a nice, happy ending,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s exciting.”
Any combination of Tampa Bay wins and Red Sox losses totaling four would give the Rays their first AL East title. The Rays, already assured a place in the postseason, lead the Red Sox by 2 1/2 games.
Tampa Bay managed only two hits over the first eight innings, but both were huge. Akinori Iwamura singled in two runs in the fifth, and Bartlett doubled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh off Rocky Cherry (0-3) following an error by second baseman Brian Roberts and a walk to Eric Hinske.
Carlos Pena picked up his 100th RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh, when the Rays scored two unearned runs to take a 4-2 lead.
Tampa Bay’s David Price began his first big league start with four hitless innings, but the left-hander gave up two runs in the fifth and was lifted in the sixth. Price, the top overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft, allowed one earned run and four hits in 5 1-3 innings.
“I pounded the zone, challenged their hitters, worked out of a couple jams. So, not too bad,” the rookie said. “I left us in a position to win the game. As a starter, that’s what you want to do.”
Grant Balfour (6-2) pitched 1 2-3 innings, J.P. Powell got four outs and Dan Wheeler retired two batters for his 12th save.
The Rays (93-62) are one win shy of tying the 1991 Atlanta Braves for most victories by a team that had the worst record in the majors one year earlier.
It was the sixth straight loss for the Orioles, who fell to 3-12 against Tampa Bay this season.
Baltimore muffed a potential scoring opportunity in the sixth when Oscar Salazar was doubled up on a routine fly to center.
“To me, that’s a total mental breakdown on his part,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “To be honest with you, that’s embarrassing to me and the club and the people watching the game. I’m just saying, it’s not right.”
Orioles starter Brian Bass didn’t allow a hit but was pulled after walking three straight batters in the fifth inning. His pitching line was rather unique: 4 2-3 innings, two runs, no hits and four walks.
Asked if he had any reservations about pulling a pitcher throwing a no-hitter, Trembley said, “He was done. He was out of gas.”
Bass retired the first 11 batters before Pena drew a fourth-inning walk.
In the fifth, Bass walked Gabe Gross with two outs, then threw a wild pitch before issuing an intentional walk to Hinske. After Bass walked Bartlett on a 3-2 pitch, Trembley brought in Randor Bierd.
Iwamura followed with Tampa Bay’s first hit.
Baltimore tied it in the bottom half. Luke Scott reached on an error before Ramon Hernandez got Baltimore’s first hit, a single to center, and Lou Montanez singled to load the bases. Juan Castro then drew a walk to force in a run and Roberts hit a sacrifice fly.
Xtra, xtra: Pena is the third player to have two 100-RBI seasons with Tampa Bay. Aubrey Huff, who’s now with the Orioles, and Fred McGriff are the others. The Rays never before beat a team 12 times in one season (Associated Press - Sports).
Minnesota watched the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate clinching their first-ever playoff berth Saturday. One day later the Twins picked up some much-needed momentum heading into a key showdown with the Chicago White Sox.
Francisco Liriano allowed one run over seven innings to lead the Twins past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Sunday.
The Twins remained 2 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox. The White Sox beat Kansas City 3-0. After an off day Monday, the top two teams in the AL Central open a three-game series Tuesday in Minnesota.
“It’s our home,” Gardenhire said. “They’re the one with the lead and who we have to catch. It’s our ballpark and we normally play well there. We just have to prove it.”
Liriano is 6-0 in 10 starts since rejoining the team from Triple-A Rochester last month. Minnesota, which got a total of just 6 1-3 innings from its starters during the first three games of the series, split the four-game set with the AL East-leading Rays, who clinched at least a wild-card spot Saturday.
“He stepped up for us big time,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It was on his shoulders to get us deep in the ballgame and he did that.”
Liriano (6-3) rebounded from a rough start last Tuesday when the left-hander gave up eight runs over 2 2-3 innings in the Twins’ 12-9 loss to Cleveland. He scattered five hits helping Minnesota complete a long road trip with a 4-6 record.
“From my last start, I tried not to rush and just picked my spots,” said Liriano, who struck out seven and walked four. “When you throw the slider, they’re going to swing at pitches out of the zone. That’s what that pitch is for.”
Tampa Bay rested several starters, including shortstop Jason Bartlett, second baseman Akinori Iwamura and catcher Dioner Navarro. First baseman Carlos Pena was the designated hitter, while center fielder B.J. Upton started for the first time since straining his left quadriceps on Sept. 8.
The Rays had their AL East-lead over second-place Boston slip to 1 1/2 games. The Red Sox beat Toronto 3-0.
“That’s the story of the game, … Liriano beat us,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “I don’t think (we were) sluggish. I think the game was dictated by pitching on both sides.”
Tampa Bay closes out the regular season with an eight-game road trip, with four games each at Baltimore and Detroit.
“I think our guys will react well the whole week,” Maddon said. “It’s just one game at a time, like it’s been all year.”
Tampa Bay completed its home regular season with a 57-24 record. It’s the most home wins by any major league baseball team since the 1998 New York Yankees went 62-19 at Yankee Stadium.
Mike Redmond hit an RBI single, Adam Everett had a run-scoring infield single and Carlos Gomez drove in a run on a bunt single during a four-run fourth that put Minnesota ahead 4-1.
Jose Mijares pitched a perfect eighth and Joe Nathan got the final three outs for his 38th save in 44 opportunities.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead on Pena’s sacrifice fly in the third.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-8) failed for the sixth time to win his 14th game of the season, which would have tied the Tampa Bay record for single-season wins set by Rolando Arrojo in 1998. The right-hander, 0-2 over his last six starts, allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Xtra, xtra: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre was among those sending messages of congratulations to Maddon after Tampa Bay clinched it’s playoff spot. Rays LHP David Price, taken first overall in the 2007 amateur draft, will make his first major league start Monday at Baltimore. Tampa Bay will skip RHP Matt Garza’s next turn in the rotation. His last start came on short rest (Associated Press - Sports).
The playoffs beckoned, and just as they’ve handled other challenges this season, the Tampa Bay Rays took a leap forward.
The AL East leaders clinched the first postseason berth in franchise history Saturday, beating the Minnesota Twins 7-2 and making Scott Kazmir look like a genius for boldly proclaiming during spring training that the perennial last-place team was good enough to play in October.
“I knew we had something here. I knew we had the depth. I knew we had the pitching,” Kazmir, drenched in champagne and beer, said. “I knew we had everything. We just had to put it together, and we did.”
Carlos Pena hit a two-run double and Kazmir rebounded from the worst start of his career to pitch six scoreless innings as the Rays, who never won more than 70 games in a season before this year, wrapped up at least a wild-card spot.
Cliff Floyd and Fernando Perez capped the biggest win in the club’s 11 seasons with solo home runs. The Rays also extended their lead in the division to 2 1/2 games over Boston, which lost 6-3 at Toronto.
“It’s so special how we’ve come together. The way we’ve changed things here so dramatically is remarkable,” third-year manager Joe Maddon said. “We went from being down to being the most unified team out there.”
The players, many sporting mohawk haircuts they say is a display of how close the club is, danced around the clubhouse, spraying each other with champagne and beer. At one point, they took the party out to the field, where thousands of fans were watching the celebration on a big television screen.
The Rays wore playoff T-shirts bearing the team’s mantra: “9=8” which essentially translates to nine players playing hard for nine innings every day equals one of eight postseason berths.
Tampa Bay, 66-96 a year ago, joined the 1991 Atlanta Braves as the only teams to advance to the postseason a year after having the worst record in the majors. It’s the second AL team—and 11th overall—to go from last place to the playoffs in successive years.
“This is pure emotion—a team, an organization that has been challenged, that has been questioned, and we’ve answered all the questions,” team president Matt Silverman said. “And now, it’s time to move on and see where else we go can go.”
The first order of business is trying to win the division. The Rays have the best home record in the majors (57-23), and still have a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The crowd of 36,048 that packed Tropicana Field stood for entire ninth inning, chanting “Let’s Go Rays” and clanging cowbells. The Twins delayed the celebration by scoring twice, but the party was on once third baseman Evan Longoria chased down Joe Mauer’s foul pop for the final out.
“I think every baseball player and every kid dreams of this day,” Longoria said. “It’s a reality now.”
The struggling Twins, who have lost six of seven, began the day 2 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, who were at Kansas City on Saturday night. They trail the Red Sox by 7 1/2 in the wild-card race.
“It was pretty much their day. It’s well-deserved,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They play the game the right way. They hustle. They have a lot of talented people on that squad.”
Tampa Bay could have clinched without winning if the White Sox and New York Yankees each lost once during the weekend.
But Maddon and his players had made it clear they preferred to take care of their own business.
“That’s been the motto all year,” Floyd said. “Take care of ourselves and you don’t have to worry about anything else.”
Pena’s double off Kevin Slowey (12-11) gave Kazmir a 2-0 lead in the third inning. The Rays added three more in the fifth on Longoria’s RBI double, Dioner Navarro’s run-scoring single and pinch-hitter Rocco Baldelli’s bases-loaded walk.
Perez homered off Dennys Reyes in the sixth and Floyd, one of the veterans brought in last winter to provide leadership in a young clubhouse, went deep in the seventh against Matt Guerrier.
In some ways it was fitting that Kazmir (12-7) started the game that assured the first playoff berth.
At 24, he’s a two-time All-Star and already the club’s career wins leader. And more than a few people snickered when he made his bold preseason declaration about the team’s talent level.
“It couldn’t have been a better setting,” Kazmir said. “But I’ll tell you what. I couldn’t do it without the bats that we had tonight. We just show a lot of heart, every day—day in, day out.”
Boston roughed up the Rays ace during a 13-5 win over Tampa Bay last Monday, but the left-hander was a different pitcher against the Twins, allowing just five hits.
Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth when Mauer singled, Justin Morneau doubled and Michael Cuddyer was hit by a pitch.
But Kazmir, who matched a career high by allowing nine runs in three-plus innings against Boston, escaped. He got some help from Morneau, who was caught off second after Delmon Young flied out to swallow center field for the first out.
The Rays lost their shutout in the ninth when Troy Percival surrendered an RBI single to Denard Span before being replaced by Trever Miller. Alexi Casilla’s run-scoring groundout made it 7-2 before Miller retired Mauer to start the celebration.
“It’s an incredible feeling. This is what you come to spring training for,” Longoria said. “We’re going to be one of eight teams in the playoffs. It’s awesome.”
Xtra, xtra: The sellout was the seventh at Tropicana Field this year. Sunday’s game is also sold out, giving the Rays full houses for consecutive games for the only the second time in club history. With 98 RBIs—51 since the All-Star break—Pena is two shy of joining Fred McGriff and Aubrey Huff as the only players to drive in 100 twice for Tampa Bay. Rays CF B.J. Upton, out since Sept. 8 with a strained left quadriceps, pinch hit in the fourth inning and remained in the game (Associated Press - Sports).
One more win and the Tampa Bay Rays are in.
The AL East leaders closed in on a playoff berth Friday night, beating the Minnesota Twins 11-1 behind Carlos Pena’s homer and four RBIs—with help from the first reversal produced by baseball’s instant replay system.
The Rays, who had never won more than 70 games in a season before this year, retained a 1 1/2 -game lead in the division over Boston and moved within a victory of clinching at least a wild-card spot.
They can earn the first postseason berth in their 11 seasons by winning one of two remaining games in this series against Minnesota, which fell 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Tampa Bay also can wrap up a spot if the White Sox and New York Yankees lose at least once this weekend.
“It’s very exciting to be in this position, and to move on to the postseason would be great. But that’s just one of the goals. It’s also to win the division and to get the best record in the league,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We want home court advantage throughout the playoffs. I don’t want anyone to be satisfied with where we’re at.”
Edwin Jackson (12-11) allowed one run and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings. Minnesota avoided a shutout with Joe Mauer’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
Pena’s drive to right field off Boof Bonser appeared to be touched by a fan before bouncing off the top of the fence. First base umpire Mike DiMuro signaled fan interference, and Pena stopped at second base for a two-run double.
The umpires huddled immediately and decided to look at the video for the third test of the system since Aug. 28, when baseball allowed umpires to begin using it to determine boundary calls.
The crowd of 28,306 broke into cheers when the umpires returned to the field after a delay of 4 minutes, 10 seconds, and crew chief Gerry Davis signaled home run, giving Pena a three-run shot that made it 9-0.
“I was glad they went and checked … and I think they got it right,” Pena said. “I always thought it was a home run.”
Twins right fielder Denard Span wasn’t sure what happened, but said he definitely heard the ball deflect off skin.
“The whole thing is getting it right,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They got it right. That’s all we care about.”
The first use of the replay system came at Tropicana Field on Sept. 3, when video confirmed a long home run by Alex Rodriguez against the Rays. An on-field call also was upheld on Sept. 9, when Hunter Pence’s drive off the top of the right-field wall was confirmed as a double during a game between Houston and Pittsburgh.
Pena also drew a walk with the bases loaded in the second inning and finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Evan Longoria drove in three with a double in the first off Nick Blackburn (10-10), a sacrifice fly in the second and a fielder’s choice in the sixth.
Minnesota’s starting pitching continues to struggle. A night after Glen Perkins allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning in a game the Twins rallied to win 11-8, Blackburn gave up six runs and six hits in 1 1-3 innings.
During this stretch in which the Twins have lost five of six, only one starting pitcher has gone more than 4 2-3 innings. In a start last Sunday in Baltimore, Blackburn yielded six runs, including four homers, in four innings.
“It’s frustrating,” Blackburn said. “It’s obviously not a good time of the season to be doing what I’m doing right now … not giving the team a chance to win.”
Jackson, meanwhile, won for the first time since Aug. 28. He had been 0-3 with a 10.95 ERA in three September starts after going 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in August.
The right-hander limited the Twins to singles by Mauer, Justin Morneau and Delmon Young until the sixth, when Denard Span and Alexi Casilla singled ahead of Mauer’s sacrifice fly that made it 9-1.
“Jackson was throwing the living tar out of the ball,” Gardenhire said. “Normally we do OK on hitting fastballs. But he was pumping it in there pretty good.”
Xtra, xtra: Rays CF B.J. Upton, out since Sept. 8 with a strained left quadriceps, ran the bases before the game and could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday. LHP David Price and OF Fernando Perez were honored before the game as the Rays’ minor league pitcher and player of the year, respectively. Pena’s 31st homer was his 17th since the All-Star break (Associated Press - Sports).
On a night Evan Longoria hit three home runs for Tampa Bay, an unlikely source of power upstaged the Rays’ rookie slugger.
Alexi Casilla went deep during Minnesota’s five-run ninth inning Thursday night, helping the Twins rally for an 11-8 victory that stopped a four-game losing streak and pulled them within 1 1/2 games of the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox.
Casilla’s two-run drive off Dan Wheeler (5-6) tied it at 8. With two runners on, pinch-hitter Adam Everett squared to bunt, pulled his bat back and ripped an RBI double to break the tie.
Delmon Young followed with a run-scoring single and Matt Tolbert added a sacrifice fly as the AL East-leading Rays lost for just the second time in 79 games when trailing after eight innings.
Their lead in the division over Boston was trimmed to 1 1/2 games.
“It’s huge. There’s no question,” Everett said. “You’ve seen it from the beginning of September to now. We’ve had games snatched from us from the ninth inning on. For us to snatch a game away from a team like Tampa Bay and their pitching staff, that’s huge for us.”
Longoria, who returned to the lineup last Saturday after being sidelined with a broken wrist, hit a two-run homer in Tampa Bay’s five-run first against Glen Perkins. The All-Star third baseman added solo shots off Philip Humber in the fourth and Bobby Korecky in the seventh for an 8-6 lead.
Longoria joined Jonny Gomes as the only Rays to hit three home runs in a game in the club’s 11-season history. Gomes also did it as a rookie, hitting three against Kansas City on July 30, 2005.
“Obviously I’m pretty happy about my performance, but not the outcome,” Longoria said.
“I expect us to bounce back. We’ve been doing it all along. Win or loss, it’s pretty much 15 minutes of celebration or 15 minutes of having your head down and figuring out what you can do tomorrow to help the team.”
The Rays can clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth as early as Friday if they beat the Twins, and the White Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees all lose. They can also ensure their first postseason berth by winning two of the remaining three games in this series.
“I still like our position, absolutely,” Wheeler said. “It’s just a difficult one to swallow. That’s all you can say.”
The first-inning drive was Longoria’s first homer since Aug. 5, two days before he fractured his wrist in Seattle. He has 25 on the year.
Dioner Navarro and Carlos Pena also went deep as Minnesota allowed five home runs in a game for the second time in five days. The Twins have given up a major league-high 33 home runs in September, 18 over the past five games.
“We can’t seem to keep the ball in the ballpark, and we didn’t do a good job of it tonight,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “But our guys never quit. … There at the end, Alexi put one in the seats and the rest of the guys did their thing.”
Rays starter James Shields allowed six runs, five earned, and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer and Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the Twins. Mauer drove in the last two runs charged to Shields with a seventh-inning single off David Price that trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 7-6 before Longoria went deep in the bottom half.
Eddie Guardado (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory, and Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 37th save in 43 opportunities.
Xtra, xtra: Rays LF Carl Crawford, out since early August after undergoing surgery on his right middle finger, probably will not play again during the regular season. The club initially hoped he might be able to return for the final three games at Detroit. Rays CF B.J. Upton, who has missed the last nine games with a strained left quad, is improving and could return to lineup by the end of the weekend (Associated Press - Sports).
Baseball’s feel-good story of the year is on the verge of getting even better.
The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Wednesday night, moving closer to their first playoff berth with another “star-less” effort that’s become their signature.
“I wouldn’t expect too much else from this team,” rookie Fernando Perez said after he, Willy Aybar and Gabe Gross homered off Tim Wakefield to pace the rout before a sellout crowd of 36,048 at Tropicana Field.
“The way this team is put together, it isn’t put together like the Yankees. It isn’t a hoard of superstars that are expected to do well,” Perez added. “This team is built on solid pitching and unity. Nobody sticks out. To see us win a game, everybody comes in and does something. We don’t have the personalities that stand in the way of that.”
Matt Garza gave up two long home runs to David Ortiz, but the Rays otherwise held the Red Sox in check to win the season series against the defending World Series champions 10-8 and extend their division lead over them to two games.
Tampa Bay, which had never won more than 70 games in a season before this year, can clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth by beating Minnesota twice during a four-game series that begins here Thursday.
“They’re good,” Ortiz said. “They’re playing like they have nothing to lose, and that’s dangerous.”
The Rays (90-60) became the sixth time in major league history to win 90 games immediately following a stretch of at least 10 consecutive losing seasons. The others are the 1912 Washington Senators, 1914 Boston Braves, 1956 Cincinnati Reds, 1979 Montreal Expos and 2006 Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox, who lost four of six to Tampa Bay over the past 10 days, dropped a road series for the first time since being swept by the Los Angeles Angels on July 18-20. Their eight losses to the Rays at Tropicana Field are the most they’ve had in a season road series since they went 1-8 at Yankee Stadium in 2001.
“They’re not the team we’re used to playing. They’re very, very good,” Wakefield said. “They’re not a team to take for granted right now.”
Aybar, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, hit a two-run homer off Wakefield (9-11) in the first inning. Aybar drove in the last of the six runs charged to the knuckleballer with a third-inning single off Devern Hansack.
Gross and Perez homered two pitches apart in the second. Perez also had RBI single in the third, when the Rays built their lead to 8-2.
Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first and added his 21st of the season, a solo shot off that remained lodged in one of the catwalks that support the roof of the domed stadium, in the third.
And although the Red Sox still trailed 8-3, the homers turned out to be enough to keep Garza from getting the win.
Rays manager Joe Maddon lifted his starter with two on and two out in the fifth, with Ortiz strolling to the plate with a chance to get Boston back in the game. The slugger worked the count to 3-2 against Grant Balfour (5-2) before flying out near the warning track in center field.
Garza allowed three runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings. Wakefield, whose 19 career victories against Tampa Bay are tied with Mike Mussina for the most by a Rays opponent, gave up six runs and six hits in 2 1-3 innings.
Balfour pitched two scoreless innings for the win. J.P. Howell and Chad Bradford shut down the Red Sox over the last 2 1-3 innings.
Although the Rays could clinch a playoff spot as early as this weekend, Maddon doesn’t want his young team to be satisfied with that.
“Our focus has always been the to win the East. … Regardless of what happens over the next couple of days, I want our focus to be that,” Maddon said. “At the end of this regular season, it’s about moving forward with home-field advantage. You look at our record at home, and we want to play as many games as possible here.”
Xtra, xtra: Some unruly fans were removed from the stands in the eighth inning. Play stopped briefly at one point while players watched police and stadium security handcuff a fan behind the Rays dugout. Tampa Bay improved to a major league-best 55-22 at home and needs two more wins to finish with the most home victories by a team since the Yankees went 65-16 in 1998 (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays have been resilient all season, so manager Joe Maddon is not going to start doubting his team now.
A day after Boston closed within percentage points of first place in the AL East with an awesome display of power, the division-leading Rays shut down the Red Sox with superb pitching in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.
Andy Sonnanstine pitched six strong innings and Tampa Bay’s bullpen sparkled, too, to enable Tampa Bay to rebound from a 13-5 loss in which the Red Sox homered six times and beat All-Star left-hander Scott Kazmir.
“It’s all about starting pitching every night, not just tonight,” Maddon said. “We’ve played well this year because of that and defense.”
Dioner Navarro singled with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth to drive in the winning run for the second time in a week against the defending World Series champions, who have lost seven of eight games at Tropicana Field this season.
The Rays, who have led the division for the past 54 days, moved one game ahead of the Red Sox, who dropped two of three to the Rays at Fenway Park last week.
Dan Wheeler (5-5) struck out the only batter he faced to bail Tampa Bay out of a ninth-inning jam and get the victory.
“We’re finally getting to the point now where we’re starting to believe that we can beat these guys, and that’s very important,” Maddon said. “You’ve got to believe you can beat all the guys in the division if you’re going to win it.”
The Rays loaded the bases on Jason Bartlett’s bloop single, a walk and a hit batsmen. Navarro, whose ninth-inning double off Jonathan Papelbon gave Tampa Bay a 5-4 victory in Boston a week ago Tuesday, ended it against Justin Masterson (6-5) with his hit to center over a drawn-in outfield.
The Rays had tied it 1-all on Carlos Pena’s seventh-inning, opposite-field homer off Josh Beckett.
“It’s amazing how one pitch can change the complexion of the game,” Beckett said.
“I don’t think he hit that ball that good. Ninety-eight percent of the guys in the big leagues will fly out to left field on that. But he’s strong and you can’t leave a pitch up to him like that.”
Beckett and Sonnanstine were outstanding against each another for the second time in six days.
The Boston starter limited the Rays to Pena’s 29th homer and two singles in eight innings, and Sonnanstine held the Red Sox to three hits and an unearned run on Kevin Youkilis’ sacrifice fly.
Both also allowed one run in a game Tampa Bay eventually won 4-2 in 14 innings last Wednesday.
“Sonnanstine was spectacular. That’s two games in a row that I’ve seen him about as good as I can imagine him,” Maddon said.
Beckett retired 13 in a row before Cliff Floyd singled to right with one out in the fifth. He walked Navarro, but got out of the inning when he struck out Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross.
The Red Sox snapped a scoreless tie in the sixth.
Jacoby Ellsbury beat out an infield single and Dustin Pedroia followed with a sharp grounder that Rays third baseman Evan Longoria bobbled and then kicked for an error. David Ortiz grounded to first, moving the runners up, and Youkilis followed with his sacrifice fly.
Akinori Iwamura singled with one out in the sixth for the second hit off Beckett. Pena’s homer in the seventh was his 15th since the All-Star break and only the second Beckett has allowed in his last six starts.
“I was throwing strikes with most of my pitches when I needed to,” Beckett said. “Like I said, it was unfortunate that one pitch changed the game like that.”
Xtra, xtra: Several Rays players, including Longoria and B.J. Upton, have mohawk haircuts, and Rays manager Joe Maddon showed up Tuesday wearing one as well. “It’s a unity kind of thing,” Maddon said, although his barely resembled a mohawk because the sides of his head were not trimmed as low as the others. “I didn’t hold back, I promise,” the manager said, insisting he gave the barber permission to cut it low (Associated Press - Sports).
The Boston Red Sox flexed their muscles, nudging closer to first place in the AL East.
The defending World Series champions homered a season-high six times, overwhelming All-Star Scott Kazmir and division-leading Tampa Bay 13-5 Monday night to pull within percentage points (.002) of ending the Rays’ two-month stay atop the standings.
“These guys have been playing well all year long, and we haven’t been playing well here at all,” Boston reliever Mike Timlin said the Red Sox won for the first time in seven games at Tropicana Field this season.
“It was an amazing game offensively for us. We’ve been working hard to get (to first place) and the Rays have been working hard to keep us from here. It just shows the perseverance of this team.”
David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury homered for the Red Sox, who jumped on Kazmir for four runs in the first inning and never let up.
“That was just a good old-fashioned whippin’ tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said, adding that he doesn’t expect it to have an adverse effect on his young team the next two games of the series.
“Believe it or not, this is an easier loss to accept. When you lose 2-1 or 3-2 on one play … those are the ones you go home and kind of beat yourself up after.”
The Rays (88-60) went 21-7 in August and were a season-high 5 1/2 games up on Boston heading into September. They’re 4-9 this month, with six of the losses coming against the Red Sox and Yankees, who took two of three from Tampa Bay over the weekend.
The Red Sox (89-61), on the other hand, have won three straight and 10 of 14 in September to get as close to the lead as they’ve been since mid-July, when they erased a five-game deficit in a week to pull ahead by a half game at the All-Star break.
While both teams are in excellent position to make the playoffs, neither wants to settle for the wild card.
“We want to finish first,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “That’s what you set out to do.”
Ortiz, who finished with four RBIs, hit a three-run homer in the first inning after Kazmir (11-7) threw nine straight balls to begin the game. Two batters later, Lowell hit a solo shot for a 4-0 lead.
The Red Sox added seven more runs in the fourth, helping Daisuke Matsuzaka (17-2) become the first Japanese-born pitcher to win 17 games in a season. Hideo Nomo won 16 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers three times (1996, 2002, 2003).
Bay and Varitek homered in the fourth off Kazmir, who allowed nine runs and six hits in three-plus innings—his shortest outing of the season. The four homers he yielded were a career high.
Kazmir said he didn’t feel good warming up, and they only got worse as the night progressed.
“I’m really not going to get down on myself. I just didn’t feel like that was me out there,” the 24-year-old left hander said.
Youkilis hit his 26th homer, a two-run blast in the fourth, and added a RBI double in the sixth, both off Mitch Talbot. Ellsbury also homered off Talbot to give the Red Sox a 12-1 lead in the fifth.
The six homers were the most the Red Sox have hit in a game since Aug. 3, 2003, when they went deep six times against Baltimore.
Matsuzaka, who has won six consecutive decisions since last losing on July 28, allowed Akinori Iwamura’s solo homer and two singles in five innings. Justin Ruggiano and Dan Johnson hit two-run homers off Red Sox reliever Chris Smith.
Timlin pitched the eighth for Boston, making his 1,051st relief appearance— an all-time record for right-handed relievers. He had been tied with Kent Tekulve.
“Quite humbling,” Timlin said of the record. “It’s something I’d been eyeballing all season, and its been out there slowly coming. I was not trying to be excited about it, but I probably will be when the season is over.”
Xtra, xtra: Ortiz was 7-for-37 with one homer and five RBIs lifetime against Kazmir before his first-inning homer. Kazmir had not allowed a home run to a left-handed batter since Baltimore’s Aubrey Huff homered at Tropicana Field on Sept. 4, 2007. Rays CF B.J. Upton, who hasn’t played since Sept. 8 because of a strained left quad, could begin taking batting practice on Tuesday. Iwamura has hit four or his six home runs against Boston (Associated Press - Sports).
Derek Jeter didn’t waste any time after he homered in the fifth inning Sunday. He quickly traded a bat and a ball for a reminder of the day he tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s definitely special,” he said.
Jeter collected three hits for the third straight game, Alex Rodriguez belted a grand slam and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 to win the weekend series against the AL East leaders.
The Rays went 3-6 on their 10-day trip to Toronto, Boston and New York and will carry a one-game lead into their three-game series against the second-place Red Sox beginning Monday night in Florida.
“It’s never good to lose a series,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It was obviously a tough road trip … not easy at all. The Yankees are one team that we haven’t played well against this year.”
Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer for New York, still clinging to faint playoff hopes during its final homestand at its longtime ballpark.
Mariano Rivera entered with two on in the ninth and struck out Erick Aybar for his 35th save in 36 opportunities. The All-Star closer also moved into a tie with Lee Smith for second on the career list with 478 saves.
“I’d rather have the team, our team, tied for first place,” Rivera said.
Fernando Perez, who went to nearby Columbia University, hit a three-run drive for Tampa Bay, which started the trip with a 3 1/2 -game lead in the East.
Oft-injured Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano (3-1) allowed three earned runs and five hits before he was booed off the mound in the sixth inning following a visit by the trainer and manager Joe Girardi.
Pavano was pitching to Eric Hinske with one out and a runner on first when he got the mound visit. After a short discussion, the right-hander walked off as the sellout crowd, familiar with his injury history, showered him with boos.
“I’m at a spot right now where I’m starting to wake up muscles I haven’t used in a while,” said Pavano, who left with a stiff left hip and expected to be OK for his next start. “Every time I go out there, there’s more innings than the last time and more pitches than the last time so I mean these are things I’m going to have to work through.”
Pavano has started only 24 games for the Yankees since signing a four-year, $39.95 million contract before the 2005 season.
“He did not want to come out,” said Girardi, who opted for the safe route on a muggy day in the Bronx. “He told me he was fine.”
David Price, the top overall pick in the 2007 draft, made his major league debut for Tampa Bay and threw 5 1-3 impressive innings in relief of struggling starter Edwin Jackson. The 6-foot-6 left-hander allowed two runs and three hits, spending much of the outing in the upper 90s.
“It was fun,” he said. “This one here was obviously special. I settled down pretty good, started breathing better. That first inning was pretty rough.”
Price retired six straight before Jeter led off the fifth with his 11th homer, giving him 1,269 hits at the House that Ruth Built. The sellout crowd of 54,279 roared as the captain rounded the bases after his opposite-field drive to right, and cheered even louder when he came out of the dugout for a curtain call.
The fans continued to chant the shortstop’s name as Giambi batted against Price, who struck out four and walked none.
Jeter had a chance to break the record in the seventh but grounded into a double play. He’ll likely get another opportunity Monday night when New York opens a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox.
“They always say records are meant to be broken but this one, with the stadium closing here in a week, you know at least I know I tied for it,” he said.
The Yankees, almost certain to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993, are nine games behind wild card-leading Boston.
The Rays loaded the bases after Pavano departed, and Damaso Marte walked Akinori Iwamura to make it 7-4. Jason Bartlett followed with a sinking liner but Brett Gardner made a terrific tumbling catch to end the inning.
Gardner also made a diving catch to rob Gabe Gross of a hit in the eighth.
Jackson (11-11) never looked comfortable and dropped to 0-3 in his past three starts. He allowed New York’s first three batters to reach before Rodriguez hit a 3-1 pitch into the bleachers in right-center for his 17th career grand slam.
“I got some balls up,” Jackson said. “They took advantage of it. It just wasn’t my day.”
Rodriguez reached 100 RBIs for the 11th straight season with his 34th homer of the year. It also gave him at least 100 runs in 13 consecutive seasons.
Jeter reached on a perfectly placed bunt single and Giambi finished a 12-pitch at-bat with a walk to set up A-Rod’s first grand slam since Sept. 25, 2007, at Tampa Bay.
Xtra, xtra: RHP Matt Garza, who threw 83 pitches in Tampa Bay’s 6-5 loss Saturday night, will start Wednesday’s game against Boston on short rest. The Rays went 7-11 against the Yankees this year (Associated Press - Sports).
James Shields handed New York a lackluster loss in the opener of the final homestand at Yankee Stadium.
Shields tossed eight shutout innings, Evan Longoria celebrated his return to the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup with a bases-loaded single and the AL East leaders beat the Yankees 7-1 Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
The Rays took a three-game lead over second-place Boston, which lost 8-1 to Toronto in the opener of a day-night twinbill.
Shields (13-8) allowed five hits, walked none and struck out six to earn his first win against New York. He set a career best for wins and also became the first Tampa Bay pitcher with two seasons of more than 200 innings.
Justin Ruggiano went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Rays won for the seventh time in eight games.
Bobby Abreu hit his 17th homer off Trever Miller and Derek Jeter had three hits for New York, which has lost four of five and is almost certain to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
Mike Mussina (17-9) threw five shaky innings and first baseman Jason Giambi committed an unseemly error that led to another run.
New York was fourth in the AL East and nine games back of wild card-leading Boston before Saturday's games.
The Yankees and Rays were rained out Friday night, leading to the split doubleheader on the first day of a 10-game stretch at the House that Ruth Built. Tampa Bay's Matt Garza and Sidney Ponson will get the ball in the makeup game Saturday night.
A sellout crowd of 54,088 was mostly silent as New York sputtered against Shields, who is 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his last four starts. There was an occasional smattering of boos but the fans seemed mostly resigned to their team's poor play.
Longoria went 2-for-5 in his first game since he was hit by J.J. Putz's pitch on Aug. 7, breaking his right wrist. His bases-loaded single off Mussina in the fifth inning gave Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead.
The Rays pushed across two more runs in the sixth. Ben Zobrist hit a sacrifice fly and Ruggiano scored when Giambi threw Carlos Pena's grounder over the head of reliever Dan Giese covering first.
Xtra, xtra: LHP David Price, the top overall pick in the 2007 draft, and OF Jonny Gomes joined Tampa Bay after Triple-A Durham lost in the International League playoffs Friday night. RHPs Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann also were promoted and will join the team on Monday in Florida (Associated Press - Sports).
Rained out! Doubleheader tomorrow!
Jason Hammel thought he’d do a little throwing in the bullpen to stay loose. He wound up being thrown into the tightest spot he could imagine.
Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer in the 14th inning, then Hammel escaped a major jam Wednesday night to give the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
After playing more than five hours, the Rays increased their division edge to 2 1/2 games over the Red Sox. Boston’s wild-card lead was cut to five games by Minnesota.
“I figured I’d just get some work in,” said Hammel, who entered when closer Troy Percival left after his back tightened up. “I hadn’t pitched in five days. I wanted to get up and keep the arm fresh. I figured Perc would close it out.”
After Pena’s homer, Boston loaded the bases with no outs in the 14th against Percival. Hammel took over with a 4-1 lead and retired three straight batters for his first save since he pitched at Class A Hudson Valley in 2002.
“You’ve got to give Jason Hammel a lot of credit—my God,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Coming in with the bases loaded at that point of the batting order … that was a truly tremendous performance.”
Kevin Youkilis’ sacrifice fly made it 4-2 before Jason Bay struck out and Alex Cora flied out.
“The adrenaline was obviously more than I’ve ever felt,” said Hammel, still showing the effect from a celebratory shaving cream pie to the face.
Percival, who said warming up a few times likely led to his back trouble, was excited by Hammel’s performance.
“When I’m the weakest link in the bullpen, its a pretty good bullpen,” Percival said. “I’ll get some treatment tomorrow and it’ll be OK. It’s nothing.”
Tampa Bay was only 1-for-35 with runners in scoring position in this series before Pena homered.
The Rays, who led the division by 5 1/2 games last week, won the final two matchups at Fenway Park. Tampa Bay had its lead sliced to one-half game with its 3-0 loss to Boston on Monday.
“This team is obviously energized because of the way we won it,” Pena said. “It’s been exciting both days.”
The teams meet again next week for three games at Tropicana Field, where the Rays are 6-0 against the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay had managed only one hit with runners in scoring position during this set—Dioner Navarro delivered a go-ahead double against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 5-4 comeback win—before Pena hit Mike Timlin’s pitch into the Green Monster seats.
“We didn’t want Pena to hit in that inning because of what he can do,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “He didn’t miss with that pitch. That was off the plate.”
Timlin (4-4) tied Kent Tekulve for the most appearances by a right-handed reliever with 1,050. Akinori Iwamura and Rocco Baldelli singled with two outs before Pena hit his 28th homer.
“I was extremely surprised,” Timlin said. “It was a good pitch. We pushed him off the plate and then went down and away.”
Trevor Miller (2-0) pitched one hitless inning.
The Red Sox had runners on first and second in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th, but did not scored.
Josh Beckett, making his second start after being sidelined for nearly three weeks with an inflamed right elbow, gave up one run and six hits in six innings.
In the 12th, Dustin Pedroia was hit by a pitch leading off and David Ortiz, trying to bunt for a hit against an overshifted infield, wound up with his first sacrifice since 2001.
Chad Bradford got Youkilis on a double-play grounder and Bay bounced to short in the 10th. Jacoby Ellsbury, hitless in six at-bats before a 14th inning double, flied out to end the 11th. He also ended the ninth, grounding out.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine allowed one unearned run, fanned seven and didn’t walk anyone in seven innings.
Willy Aybar’s RBI triple over the head of right fielder Mark Kotsay moved the Rays ahead 1-0 in the second after Cliff Floyd reached on bad-hop infield hit.
Boston tied it 1-all on Pedroia’s two-out RBI double in the third. Sonnanstine should have been out of the inning, but Iwamura dropped a throw to second on a play that would have been a forceout.
Xtra, xtra: Maddon said 3B Evan Longoria, out since Aug. 7 with a fractured right wrist, might get into a game over the weekend (Associated Press - Sports).
Dan Johnson woke up in Pennsylvania in Triple-A on Tuesday. He’ll go to bed in New York on Thursday as a member of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Johnson, scratched from Tampa Bay’s starting lineup because he didn’t get into town until just before the first pitch, hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning, and Dioner Navarro doubled in the go-ahead run to help the Rays beat Boston 5-4 Tuesday night and extend their division lead.
“Sometimes things work out just in your favor,” said Rays manager Joe Maddon, who credited the victory to the airline that flew Johnson to Boston. “It’s a pretty significant win, particularly here, what’s been going on (and) where we’re at in the race.”
The Rays had lost four straight and six of seven games—and the Red Sox had won six of seven, including a 3-0 victory in the series opener—to cut Tampa Bay’s division lead from 5 1/2 games to just a half-game.
With a victory Tuesday, the Red Sox could have moved into first place for the first time since June 28; instead, the Rays are 1 1/2 up and assured of leading the AL East when they begin a weekend series against the New York Yankees on Friday.
It was the first win for a road team in the season series between the Red Sox and Rays, who finish up the series on Wednesday and have Thursday off. Boston holds a six-game lead in the AL wild-card standings over Minnesota, which beat Kansas City.
“If it comes down to them winning the home field by one game, maybe we’ll look back at this game,” said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, who homered. “But we’ll see.”
Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the fourth and still led 3-2 with two outs in the eighth when Dan Wheeler (4-5) walked Kevin Youkilis and then Jason Bay barely cleared the Green Monster to give Boston the lead. Bay, acquired at the trade deadline, homered for the third straight game.
But Jonathan Papelbon (5-4) blew a save opportunity for the fifth time this season.
“Jason’s home run gave us a good feeling and we have all the confidence in the world in Pap,” Lowell said. “But Pap’s a human being. He’s been so good for three years, it’s almost like he’s automatic.”
Johnson got a call at 9 a.m. telling him he was being called up from Triple-A Durham, which was set to open the International League’s championship series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Most of the planes out of Scranton were grounded due to the weather, but he found a seat on a much-delayed early morning flight to Philadelphia.
After buying a pair of shoes in the airport—he’d only packed a couple of T-shirts for Durham’s two-day road trip—he got on a plane scheduled to land in Boston at 4:30. It didn’t arrive until closer to 6:30, about 30 minutes before game time.
“It’s been real hectic, so there’s not really much time to reflect,” he said. “It went from not being able to hit in the cage, to not being able to loosen up my arm. I’m just cutting things off, saying, ‘Well, maybe I’ll be able to swing in on deck.”’
Johnson made it into the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth, hitting a drive over the Red Sox bullpen in right to tie it. One out later, Fernando Perez doubled and Navarro did the same to make it 5-4.
Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his 28th save. Wheeler earned the victory despite coughing up the lead, allowing two runs in the eighth inning.
The Rays stranded 12 in the first eight innings, going 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position before Navarro’s double in the ninth.
Xtra, xtra: Tampa Bay brought up Johnson and C Michael Hernandez from Durham and designated INF Joel Guzman for assignment (Associated Press - Sports).
The surging Red Sox are one win from passing Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.
A message from both teams: Don’t be deceived by the Rays’ recent slide.
“Obviously, they’re still in first place and everybody knows why,” Coco Crisp said after Boston’s 3-0 win Monday night, “because they have a good team.”
A good team that, for two straight games, hasn’t scored a single run. A team that has seen five games shaved from its AL East lead in eight days and is clinging to a meager half-game edge going into Tuesday night’s second game of the three-game series.
A team that looks more like the one that finished in last place in nine of its past 10 seasons than the one that has led its division since the All-Star break. And the Rays have just three weeks left in the regular season to hold off the more experienced Red Sox.
“We’ve just run into a little bit of a snag hitting-wise and when you don’t hit, all of a sudden everybody wants to magnify the negativity about it,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We’re playing well right now. We’re just not hitting.”
After losing to Toronto 1-0 on Sunday, the Rays ran into a strong pitching performance by Jon Lester (13-4).
The lefty pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the Red Sox won their sixth in seven games. The Rays have lost four straight and six of seven.
“Whether we’ve closed the gap or not, just the way we’ve been playing, trying to distance ourselves in the wild card and still ultimately win the East” is important, Bay said. “Once you get that ball rolling, you get that momentum, it’s a little bit easier to keep it rolling.”
Playing before their 456th straight regular-season home sellout crowd, a new major league record, the Red Sox improved to 7-0 at Fenway Park against the Rays. But they’re 0-6 at Tampa Bay, where the teams open a three-game series next Monday.
Lester matched his season high with nine strikeouts, accomplished in his no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19. He allowed six hits and three walks in 7 2-3 innings.
“It was a good atmosphere tonight in the ballpark. It almost felt like we were in the playoffs,” he said.
With two outs in the eighth, Lester gave up a single to Ben Zobrist and a ground-rule double to Carlos Pena, putting runners at second and third. Jonathan Papelbon came in and struck out Rocco Baldelli, who fanned in all four at-bats.
Papelbon finished up for his 36th save in 40 opportunities as the Red Sox completed their major league-best 14th shutout.
“We’ve had so many games where people have come through at the right time,” Baldelli said. “We just haven’t lately.”
Lester outpitched Edwin Jackson (11-10), who settled down after the three-run first and finished with six strikeouts while giving up eight hits and two walks in seven innings. Jackson had won six of seven decisions before his worst start of the season, a 9-3 loss to the New York Yankees last Wednesday in which he allowed six runs in 3 1-3 innings.
“I relaxed after the first inning,” Jackson said. “It was just a tough game. You just have to overcome it. Right now we can’t afford to get down or frustrated.”
Crisp went 3-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 21-for-37 in that stretch, improving his batting average from .256 to .291 with his sixth straight multihit game.
“We have outstanding intensity that’s pretty much unmatched when we play the Yankees,” he said, “but now you throw Tampa in the mix with how well they’ve been playing, it’s very similar to the type of intensity that we would share with the Yankees.”
Mark Kotsay, the first batter Jackson faced, walked and scored on a one-out double by David Ortiz. Ortiz scored on a single by Kevin Youkilis, who was thrown out in a rundown.
Bay followed with his sixth homer since being traded by Pittsburgh on July 31 and his 28th of the season.
“Home runs happen when you least expect them and that was the last thing on my mind,” Bay said. “With a guy that throws hard, I’m just trying to get a good swing on the ball.”
Before the game, Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner, president Larry Lucchino and players greeted some of the 37,662 fans who attended the record-breaking sellout. Since the streak began on May 15, 2003, the total attendance at the 456 games is 16,336,192.
The Cleveland Indians set the previous record from June 1995 to April 2001 at Jacobs Field.
Xtra, xtra: Maddon said 3B Evan Longoria, who came off the disabled list Saturday, might play this week (Associated Press - Sports).
Matt Garza and David Purcey locked up in another great pitching matchup, but this time it was Purcey who picked up the win.
The rookie left-hander pitched eight shutout innings, helping Toronto complete a three-game sweep with a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, and extending the Blue Jays’ winning streak to eight games.
Jesse Carlson closed it out in the ninth for his second save and Toronto matched its longest winning streak since Apr. 14-22, 1999.
AL East-leading Tampa Bay lost for the fifth time in six games heading into a three-game series with second-place Boston that starts Monday night. The Rays have lost eight straight at Fenway Park.
“I think we might be putting a little bit of pressure on ourselves right now,” outfielder B.J. Upton said. “We’ve just got to loosen up and go play our game, play the way we’ve been playing all year.”
Garza (11-9), who allowed one run and six hits in seven innings, isn’t troubled by the Rays’ stumbling start to September, even though the Red Sox were just 2 1/2 games back entering play Sunday.
“We know what we’ve got to do and we know what they’ve got to do,” Garza said. “Right now, we’re up top and they’re chasing us. If we can keep playing our ball, this thing will turn around. Right now we’re in a little bit of a rut. It’s nothing bad, we’ll turn it around.”
The Rays have never won a series in 25 tries at Fenway, losing 21 and splitting four.
“It’s going to be a big crowd, big series,” Upton said. “We just can’t let it get to us.”
Rod Barajas drove in the only run with a second-inning sacrifice fly for Toronto, which pulled within 9 1/2 games of the Rays. The Blue Jays started the day eight games behind the Red Sox in the wild card race.
Garza, who walked one and struck out seven, came in 3-1 with an 0.29 ERA in four starts against Toronto this season, and hadn’t allowed a run in his past 24 1-3 innings against the Blue Jays. Two starts ago, on Aug. 27, he worked 7 2-3 shutout innings and Tampa Bay beat Purcey and the Blue Jays 1-0 on a solo homer by Carlos Pena.
“It’s a give and take game,” Garza said. “Last time I faced him I did the same thing.”
Purcey (3-5) ended his outing by getting out of a jam in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs but getting Rocco Baldelli on a fly ball to left to end the inning.
“The best thing you can do is go right after somebody instead of trying to nibble too much, so that’s what I tired to do,” said Purcey, who allowed six hits, walked three and struck out seven.
“He kept us from stringing hits together,” Upton said. “He did a great job of keeping us off the bases today.”
Rays third baseman Willy Aybar hit a one-out single in the second but was thrown out at first by catcher Rod Barajas on a ball that bounced in the dirt. Jason Bartlett followed with a double, but Fernando Perez flied out to end the inning.
Toronto broke through against Garza in the bottom half when Adam Lind doubled, went to third on Lyle Overbay’s grounder and scored on Barajas’ sacrifice fly.
Utilityman Ben Zobrist, who was playing the outfield for only the 10th time this season, caught the ball in medium left but his throw was wide of the plate, allowing Lind to slide home safely.
It was Toronto’s first run off Garza since May 7, when Marco Scutaro’s RBI single broke a scoreless tie and chased Garza in a game the Blue Jays won 6-2.
Upton hit a leadoff single in the fourth but became the second Ray to be thrown out on the basepaths when Purcey picked him off first for the final out of the inning.
Upton said he was trying to time Purcey’s move to the plate, but jumped a fraction too soon.
“We got to two outs and I was trying to make something happen, get into scoring position,” Upton said. “I think I might have taken off just a little early. If I wait maybe another split second, he goes to the plate and I’ve got him.”
Garza was left with seam marks on his arm after he was struck by Scutaro’s liner with runners at first and second in the fifth. Garza recovered to throw out Scutaro on the play, then stranded runners at second and third by getting Alex Rios on a fly out.
“It hit me right on the meat part of the forearm,” said Garza, who worked two more innings before coming out. “I was just thinking ‘Don’t tighten up, just get the out.”’
Xtra, xtra: Rays 3B Evan Longoria took 60 swings before the game, 30 at an empty tee and 30 with a ball on the tee. Longoria, who was activated off the 15-day DL Saturday, hopes to take batting practice within the next couple of days. Rays C Dioner Navarro got the day off, and was replaced by Shawn Riggans. Tampa Bay’s most recent win at Fenway Park was Sept. 10, 2007 (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays’ first meaningful September isn’t going so well. As for Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun, he’s just happy his miserable August is behind him.
Zaun hit a game-ending grand slam in the 13th inning and Toronto beat the Rays 7-4 on Saturday to extend their season-high winning streak to seven.
The Rays are 1-4 this month, allowing Boston to cut into their AL East lead, but manager Joe Maddon isn’t worried about his young team.
“You’re going to lose games like this,” Maddon said. “When you get into the playoffs, you’re going to lose some tough games and you’ve got to come back tomorrow. That’s why it’s 162, that’s why they call it a grind. Sometimes you get your heart broken for about 30 minutes but you’ve got to put it back together, come back tomorrow and play another game and that’s what we’ll do.”
The Rays won a franchise-record 21 games in August, but have stumbled since, dropping back-to-back series for the first time since a seven-game losing streak immediately before the All-Star break. Until they lost two of three to New York Yankees earlier this week, Tampa Bay hadn’t lost a series in the second half.
Despite the loss, Maddon’s optimism was echoed in the clubhouse.
“We were playing very well and we ran into the Yankees and they took two of three from us,” outfielder Rocco Baldelli said. “That happens. It’s such a small sample size the last four or five games, you can’t let five games symbolize the way the season is going. We feel like we’re going to come out tomorrow and win.”
Closer Troy Percival (2-1) served up Zaun’s slam, but said he expects the Rays to bounce back.
“We’ve been counted out all season, we were supposed to come in last place all season and we’ve been pretty defiant,” Percival said.
The Rays entered with a 2 1/2 -game advantage over the Red Sox, who carried a four-game winning streak into their matchup with Texas on Saturday night.
Lyle Overbay added two solo homers for Toronto, which matched its longest winning streak since Sept. 22-29, 2002.
Tampa Bay tied it with three runs in the ninth and Dioner Navarro’s RBI single off Brian Tallet (1-1) in the 13th inning gave the Rays a 4-3 lead. But Toronto rallied against Percival in the bottom half.
Vernon Wells and Brad Wilkerson got it started with consecutive one-out singles. Overbay grounded into a fielder’s choice and Scott Rolen walked before Zaun went deep for his sixth homer of the season and fourth career slam.
“I was trying to go with a fastball away right there and I pulled it across the plate,” Percival said. “Missed location, bad pitch.”
Zaun finished 3-for-5, picking up his first hit since July 30. He went 0-for-19 in eight August appearances.
“If I hit it anywhere else it’s a game-ending flyball,” Zaun said of his shot into the right-field bullpen. “I got it far enough down the line, it got over and they all count. It was a big moment. That was a lot of fun.”
Percival and Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan each picked up their fourth blown save. Baldelli connected for a pinch-hit, two-run homer off Ryan in the ninth and pinch-runner Fernando Perez scored on second baseman Joe Inglett’s error to tie it at 3.
Tampa Bay nearly won it in the 12th, loading the bases with two outs. Left-hander John Parrish came on and fell behind Carlos Pena 3-0, then got it back to 3-2 before Pena flied out to left.
Overbay hit a leadoff drive in the second and an opposite-field shot to left in the fourth for his 14th homer, helping Toronto build a 3-0 lead. It was his seventh career multihomer game and second this season.
Shaun Marcum was in line for his ninth win before Tampa Bay’s rally. He allowed four singles, walked three and struck out seven in seven innings.
James Shields allowed three runs and six hits in eight innings for the Rays.
Xtra, xtra: Rays 3B Evan Longoria (fractured wrist) was activated off the 15-day DL before the game. Longoria felt no pain after swinging a bat earlier Saturday and plans to resume batting practice Monday. The Blue Jays used nine pitchers, while the Rays used six. It was the first time in franchise history the Blue Jays hit a game-ending grand slam in extra innings (Associated Press - Sports).
The Tampa Bay Rays had just beaten the Baltimore Orioles, and all the televisions in the clubhouse were tuned to the game between Boston and Cleveland.
