Rays 15, Yankees 5 (Game #7) [4-3]

On a night they raised the first championship banners in franchise history, the Tampa Bay Rays also exhibited why they feel capable of getting back to the postseason.
Carlos Pena hit a grand slam and drove in six runs Monday night, helping Scott Kazmir beat Chien-Ming Wang and the New York Yankees 15-5 in the home opener for the AL champions.
“We showed everything,” Carl Crawford said after the young, confident Rays homered three times, amassed 17 hits, stole four bases, made some nice defensive plays and impressed manager Joe Maddon with how well they maintain focus on an emotional night.
It got so bad for the Yankees that first baseman Nick Swisher pitched a scoreless eighth inning, the first New York position player to take the mound since Wade Boggs used his knuckleball in 1997.
“It’s one of those days,” captain Derek Jeter said. “It was their day, an opportunity to celebrate what they did last season, and they had their way.”
The Rays toasted last year’s improbable worst-to-first turnaround by hanging two large blue and white division and league championship banners above the left-field stands during a festive pregame ceremony at sold-out Tropicana Field.
They spent the rest of the night pleasing the crowd of 36,973 by beating up on a division rival that shelled out more than $400 million in offseason acquisitions with hopes of regaining supremacy in the AL East.
Kazmir (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings, including Swisher’s solo homer in the fourth and Melky Cabrera’s RBI single in the fifth. The left-hander struck out six and walked none.
“Whatever could go wrong tonight went wrong,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “It started with starting pitcher. Chien-Ming never got it going. We know he’s much better than he’s pitched so far.”
Earlier in the day, New York’s Alex Rodriguez resumed drills on a baseball field five weeks after hip surgery and said following the workout in Tampa that he eventually hopes to return as “good as new.”
The Yankees could use some help with Jeter—1-for-his-last-20—struggling and Cody Ransom going 2-for-24 with two RBIs as A-Rod’s replacement at third base.
Swisher may have been New York’s most effective pitcher. After giving up a walk and Tampa Bay’s 17th hit, he struck out Gabe Kapler and got Pena and Pat Burrell to fly out.
“I had fun with it. When am I ever going to have a chance to do that again? Probably never,” said Swisher, who hadn’t pitched in a game since he was a freshman in high school. “We know we didn’t play very well. Got to find something to laugh about in that moment. I just happened to be the guy.”
Pena had a two-run double in the first off Wang (0-2), who continued to struggle in his comeback from foot surgery that sidelined him for more than three months last season. The slugger drove in three of the eight runs charged to Wang in one-plus innings with the sixth grand slam of his career off reliever Jonathan Albaladejo in the second.
Burrell and Jason Bartlett also homered for the Rays, who got two more RBIs from hot-hitting Evan Longoria.
Longoria, the 2008 AL rookie of the year, has hit safely in all seven of Tampa Bay’s games and has five homers and 12 RBIs.
“We have good young players coming off a very good season. My biggest concern is how we were going to react to success. And to this point, I’m pleased,” Maddon said. “Gratitude and humility, I really believe in that. And I think our guys have channeled all the success properly to this point.”
In two starts since foot surgery, Wang has allowed 15 runs on 15 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He failed to get through the fourth inning of a loss at Baltimore last week, and his earned run average ballooned from 17.18 to 28.93 after Monday night.
Tampa Bay got a boost from the return of B.J. Upton, who missed the opening week of the season to rehab his surgically repaired left shoulder. He was 1-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases, and the 24-year-old made a crowd-pleasing, over-the-head basket catch of Xavier Nady’s drive to the center-field wall in the second inning.
“That was about as good as it gets,” Maddon said.
Upton also looked comfortable in his new role as a leadoff hitter, drawing a walk in the first inning before stealing second base and taking third as part of a double steal with Carl Crawford.
Upton and Crawford scored on Pena’s double, and Wang also yielded a run-scoring double to Burrell and RBI single to Gabe Gross to fall behind 4-0.
Xtra, xtra: With the Yankees trailing 12-2, Jeter and left fielder Johnny Damon left the game for defensive replacements in the sixth inning. The Rays will receive their AL championship rings Tuesday night. Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira was out of the lineup for the third straight game because of tendinitis in his left wrist. Girardi expects him back in the lineup on Tuesday (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 11, Orioles 3 (Game #6) [3-3]

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon has been complaining lately about his team getting too many homers, too many strikeouts and not enough solid hits with runners in scoring position.
In an 11-3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, the Rays hit four home runs and went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position. As an added bonus, Tampa Bay got a fine pitching performance from James Shields.
But the Rays struck out 11 times. So, even after Tampa Bay compiled a season-high 17 hits, Maddon wasn’t satisfied.
“We have to do a little bit better job of situational hitting, driving runners in from third with less than two outs,” Maddon said. “That happens more through line drives and ground balls than fly balls.”
Despite Maddon’s nitpicking, the defending AL champions were content to end their first road trip with a 3-3 record, especially because Sunday’s win enabled Tampa Bay to avoid a three-game sweep. The Rays open the home portion of their schedule Monday night against the New York Yankees.
“I think everybody did a good job of rebounding from the last couple of days. We feel pretty comfortable,” said Ben Zobrist, who hit a three-run homer. “Going into our home opener it would have been tough to lose three straight here.”
Evan Longoria hit his major league-leading fifth home run, and Jason Bartlett and Carlos Pena also connected for the Rays. All four homers came off Brian Bass, who allowed seven runs in 3 1-3 innings of relief.
Longoria went 3-for-5 to up his batting average to .481. He has five straight multihit games and at least one RBI in five of his six starts.
Shields (1-1) allowed three hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked one. It was a solid bounce-back performance for the right-hander, who gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings in Tampa Bay’s season-opening 5-3 loss to Boston.
“I really didn’t do too much different today,” Shields said. “I got here a little bit earlier, that’s about it.”
Dan Wheeler allowed one hit in the eighth before Grant Balfour was tagged for three runs in the ninth.
Luke Scott and Felix Pie had the lone RBIs for the Orioles, who take to the road after going 4-2 against the Yankees and Rays. Baltimore’s two defeats are by a combined 22-5 score.
“I think you’ve got to just accept today for what it was and move on,” manager Dave Trembley said.
Added to the 25-man roster before the game, Adam Eaton (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits over four innings in his debut with Baltimore. Ten of the 21 batters he faced reached base, two on walks, and he ended up throwing 100 pitches.
“I wasn’t laboring. Laboring is when you’re kind of struggling with stuff,” he said. “For the most part, I had everything going.”
The current group of Rays were a collective 0-for-24 lifetime against Eaton coming in, but Akinori Iwamura gave an indication of things to come by opening the game with the first of his three hits. Tampa Bay got runners on second and third before Eaton escaped, but it took him 27 pitches.
“Obviously, I battled my way through a zero and thought, ‘Geez, we’ve got to get that pitch count down,”’ he said.
The right-hander was not as fortunate in the second inning. The Rays loaded the bases with one out before Eaton struck out Iwamura, but Carl Crawford followed with a triple and scored on a double by Longoria.
“Carl got a big hit. We need more of that,” Maddon said.
Eaton averted another jam in the fourth when Adam Jones threw out Gabe Gross at home after fielding a single to center by Crawford. Gross got a late start and couldn’t get around catcher Chad Moeller, who blocked the plate. Moeller initially missed the tag, but applied it to Gross before he could scramble back to home.
Tampa Bay pulled away with a four-run fifth against Bass, the key blow by Zobrist.
Bartlett homered in the seventh, his third hit of the game, and Longoria and Pena connected in succession in the eighth.
Xtra, xtra: Bass tied an Orioles single-game record for homers allowed by a reliever. Shields is 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA lifetime against Baltimore. Tampa Bay optioned outfielder Matt Joyce to Triple-A Durham to make room for CF B.J. Upton, who will come off the disabled list Monday (Associated Press - Sports).

Orioles 6, Rays 0 (Game #5) [2-3]

The Baltimore Orioles couldn’t even win a series from the Tampa Bay Rays last season.
Now that they’ve gotten that accomplishment out of the way, the Orioles want more.
Baltimore won its second straight over the defending AL champions Saturday night, using a grand slam by Melvin Mora and a fine pitching performance by Jeremy Guthrie to carve out a 6-0 victory. After ending a 12-game skid against Tampa Bay on Friday, the Orioles clinched their first series win over the Rays since Aug. 3-5, 2007.
“I’m happy, but I’ll be a lot more happy if we sweep,” catcher Gregg Zaun said. “We’ve got a second opportunity to sweep a ballclub in two tries. Hopefully we’ll show up (Sunday) and put the finishing touches on it.”
Baltimore, which opened the season by taking two of three from the New York Yankees, is 4-1 for the first time since 2000.
Guthrie (2-0) allowed five hits and walked none in six shutout innings, and Mora’s third career slam capped a five-run first against Tampa Bay rookie Jeff Niemann.
Nick Markakis had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who went 3-15 against the Rays last season.
Guthrie lowered his ERA to 2.25 and improved to 2-0 for the first time. His job was made easier by the five-run cushion he was given after retiring the side in order in the first inning.
“I expect the big hits from Melvin and everybody else,” Guthrie said. “He came through tonight and got us that big lead.”
Relievers Matt Albers, Jamie Walker and Chris Ray preserved Baltimore’s first shutout of the season.
Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 for the Rays to up his batting average to .455. But his run of four straight games with at least one RBI ended, and Tampa Bay went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
“We had some chances to get back into it, but we did not,” manager Joe Maddon said. “(Guthrie) made some good pitches when he had to. He pitched well. He had everything going on.”
The first six Orioles reached base against Niemann, the only rookie on the Rays’ roster. Brian Roberts led off with a double and Niemann (0-1) hit Adam Jones with a pitch before Markakis doubled in a run. After Aubrey Huff walked, Mora hit an 0-1 pitch over the center-field wall, his first grand slam since June 2005, at Detroit.
“You know how hard it is sometimes to drive in one run? You knock in four in one shot, it’s my week,” Mora said.
Ty Wigginton followed with a single before Niemann finally settled down.
“It was a rough start. I had to go out there and keep trying to get guys out and let the defense work for me,” Niemann said. “I battled back, but I put us in the hole from the get-go.”
Guthrie, in contrast, retired the first seven Rays before Gabe Gross singled and took third on a double by Jason Bartlett. Gross was thrown out at the plate on a grounder by Akinori Iwamura, and Carl Crawford popped out.
Longoria and Carlos Pena singled to open the fourth, but Guthrie made sure neither advanced.
“He had to bear down and make some big pitches to get out of some innings,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “He didn’t flinch.”
Baltimore went up 6-0 in the sixth. Niemann was pulled after giving up successive walks, and Roberts greeted Brian Shouse with an RBI single.
Niemann made his major league debut last year, going 2-2 in five games. Both wins came against the Orioles.
Xtra, xtra: The Orioles have scored 16 runs in Guthrie’s two starts. Tampa Bay free agent pickup Pat Burrell was hitless in four at-bats and is batting .125 (2-for-16). After the game, optioned Albers to Triple-A Norfolk to make room on the 25-man roster for RHP Adam Eaton, who will start Sunday against the Rays (Associated Press - Sports).

Orioles 5, Rays 4 (Game #4) [2-2]

The Baltimore Orioles lost so many times to Tampa Bay last year, they apparently tried to purge the memory.
So, after the Orioles beat the Rays 5-4 Friday night to end a 12-game skid against the defending AL champions, no one in the Baltimore clubhouse celebrated the occasion.
“It’s 2009, so you put 2008 to bed and you put that streak to bed,” manager Dave Trembley said. “I dare say that I didn’t even think about it.”
George Sherrill, who worked the ninth to earn his second save, said, “I didn’t know the numbers; that’s something we try to stay away from because it will sway you one way or the other. It was a good win and one that we needed.”
Melvin Mora drove in three runs, Mark Hendrickson won in his Baltimore debut and the Orioles ended a run of futility against the Rays thanks to an 11-hit attack.
Baltimore went 3-15 against Tampa Bay last year, 0-12 after April 29. But now the Orioles are 1-0 against their AL East rivals and 3-1 overall after opening the season by winning two of three from the New York Yankees.
“It was fun,” said Hendrickson, who allowed one run and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. “We’re playing all facets of the game well and it showed tonight.”
Evan Longoria hit two homers and drove in three runs for Tampa Bay. The 2008 AL Rookie of the Year has four home runs and at least one RBI in all four of the Rays’ games this season.
Dioner Navarro also homered for Tampa Bay, but that was the extent of the Rays’ offense.
“We’re still relying on the home run right now to score our points,” manager Joe Maddon said. “We’ve got to do a little bit better job of (using) the base hit.”
Signed as a free agent during the offseason, Hendrickson (1-0) struck out two and walked two.
“I told Dave when he came out that’s pretty much all I had for him tonight,” said the left-hander, who pitched for Tampa Bay from 2004-06. “It’s part of the process early in the year.”
Said Trembley: “He gave us everything he had and we’re real proud of him. He did a tremendous, tremendous job.”
Sherrill, the third Baltimore reliever, struck out the side in the ninth but gave up a solo homer to Navarro, who ended an 0-for-11 skid to start the season.
Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine (0-1) allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings. He is 2-3 with a 7.11 ERA in six career starts against Baltimore.
“I didn’t feel very sharp. I don’t know, it wasn’t there,” Sonnanstine said. “I just didn’t feel in sync with my body.”
The Orioles used a three-run fifth inning to go up 5-1. Sonnanstine retired the first two batters before Adam Jones doubled and scored on a soft single to center by Nick Markakis. After Aubrey Huff reached on an infield hit, Mora singled in a run and Huff came home on a wild pitch.
Sonnanstine then issued an intentional walk to Luke Scott before Lance Cormier, who played with Baltimore last year, struck out Ryan Freel.
After Hendrickson gave up a one-out single to Carlos Pena in the sixth, Danys Baez struck out the first four batters he faced in 1 2-3 innings of flawless relief.
Jim Johnson gave up a two-run shot to Longoria in the eighth, the first homer he’s allowed since July 29, 2006.
Longoria homered in the first inning after Carl Crawford was thrown out at third trying to stretch a double. In the bottom half, the Orioles loaded the bases with one out before Mora grounded a two-run single up the middle.
Hendrickson worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second by retiring Jason Bartlett on a comebacker.
Tampa Bay missed another scoring opportunity in the fourth on a baserunning error by Gabe Kapler, who overran third base and got caught in a rundown on a two-out infield hit by Ben Zobrist.
“I looked down and touched the base and assumed he was out at first,” Kapler said. “It’s unacceptable. It’s inexcusable and completely my responsibility.”
Xtra, xtra: The top three batters in Baltimore’s lineup—Brian Roberts, Jones and Markakis—are batting a collective .432 (19-for-44) with 10 RBIs and 15 runs. The Rays’ six-game winning streak in Baltimore ended. Orioles relievers have allowed five homers in four games (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 4, Red Sox 3 (Game #3) [2-1]

It’s like the offseason never happened for Matt Garza and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Garza pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, and the Rays hit three homers off Daisuke Matsuzaka to beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Thursday and win their opening three-game series.
Evan Longoria had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Matt Joyce and Shawn Riggans also homered for the defending AL champions.
“We just wanted to establish ourselves early in the season, set the tone and let the people know it wasn’t a fluke,” said Garza (1-0), who allowed one run and three walks, striking out five to improve to 6-1 in his career against Boston. “We’re here to battle for a while.”
Matsuzaka (0-1) gave up four runs, nine hits and three walks in 5 1-3 innings. The Japanese star was MVP of the World Baseball Classic for the second straight time, but his season debut more closely resembled his performance in Game 5 of last year’s AL championship series, when he gave up three homers in four innings before the Red Sox rallied from a seven-run deficit to win 8-7 and force the series back to Tampa Bay.
“The mistakes really hurt him,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “They’re a good team. We’d like to think we are. It will be a long, interesting season.”
Kevin Youkilis was 3-for-4 with a walk for Boston, singling off Brian Shouse with one out in the eighth and scoring when Joe Nelson walked Jason Bay and gave up a double to Mike Lowell. But Nelson struck out Jed Lowrie on a full count to end the threat, and Troy Percival came on to pitch the ninth.
After giving up a leadoff homer to Jason Varitek, Percival got Jacoby Ellsbury on a flyout and Dustin Pedroia on a hard drive to third that Longoria stabbed on one hop. David Ortiz walked, but Youkilis flied out and Percival earned his first save.
“It doesn’t always have to be an oil painting to be successful,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s probably amped up, man, and I don’t blame him. It’s a Fenway moment.”
Boston had not lost an opening series since 1988, but the Red Sox have now lost consecutive regular-season series at Fenway Park to the Rays; Tampa Bay had not won a series in Boston in its previous 25 visits. In all, the Rays have won 13 of their last 19 games against the Red Sox, including the seven game AL championship series in which Garza beat Boston twice to earn MVP honors.
“He’s got dominant stuff when he settles in. You saw it last year,” Pedroia said. “He’s got some of the best stuff in the major leagues.”
Garza escaped a jam with two on in the first, getting J.D. Drew to line out and also put two on in the third before Drew flied out. Youkilis doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Bay’s one-out triple, but Garza retired Lowell and Lowrie.
Tampa Bay heads to Baltimore to play the Orioles, a team the Rays have beaten 12 straight times.
Xtra, xtra: The Red Sox observed a moment of silence for Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed in a car crash early Thursday. It’s the third time in Matsuzaka’s career he has allowed three homers in a game. The Rays committed their first two errors of the season. Pedroia was presented with his 2008 Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. Dwight Evans, who won both in 1981, took part in the ceremony. The other Red Sox players to win both awards in the same season were Ellis Burks (1990) and Jason Varitek (2005) (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 7, Red Sox 2 (Game #2) [1-1]

Scott Kazmir recalled being in the Rays clubhouse at Fenway Park last year, watching the plastic go up to protect the lockers from champagne. The AL championship was within reach.
The bubbly never flowed that October night when the Red Sox rallied from nowhere to win Game 5 of the ALCS.
The outcome was better on Wednesday night when Kazmir pitched six strong innings, reliever Grant Balfour escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Tampa Bay beat Boston 7-2.
“I remember sitting right there on that couch” in the middle of room, Kazmir said, recalling the night he left with a 5-0 lead that the bullpen turned into an 8-7 loss. “(I was) watching them putting things up and getting ready for a celebration and then watching them take it down.”
Winning the second game of the season certainly isn’t cause for celebration. But it was satisfying to Kazmir (1-0), who didn’t make his first start last year until May 4 because of a strained elbow. That also was at Fenway Park. And he lost.
“Is that right? I had no idea,” he said. “I like pitching here. The adrenaline gets going. It’s only fitting that I start out at Fenway.”
Kazmir allowed one run and five hits in his 11th start at Fenway since 2005, the most by any opponent. His 2.88 ERA at the park is the best by any opposing pitcher with a minimum of 50 innings there.
“I thought his last few outings in spring training were very good,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “I really thought he was going to carry it over, and he did.”
Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer after striking out in his first five at-bats this season and Evan Longoria hit a solo homer.
Jon Lester (0-1), who lost Game 7 of the ALCS to Tampa Bay, allowed five runs in five innings.
“The biggest thing for them is they make adjustments from at bat to at bat,” he said. “I didn’t make the right adjustments to follow.”
Tampa Bay bounced back after losing Tuesday’s opener 5-3 to Josh Beckett, who struck out 10 in seven sharp innings.
Lester’s 16-game regular-season unbeaten streak at home ended with his first loss since April 9 against Detroit. He also lost Game 3 of the ALCS at Fenway.
Tampa Bay scored four runs in the fifth when the first four batters reached base.
Gabe Kapler walked and took third on Akinori Iwamura’s hit-and-run single that went through the shortstop hole vacated by Jed Lowrie, who ran to cover second. Kapler scored on Jason Bartlett’s safety squeeze bunt down the first-base line just in front of home plate.
“That was probably the biggest play of the inning,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “Then Pena hits the home run. That’s the backbreaker.”
Carl Crawford singled, loading the bases, and Iwamura scored on Longoria’s double play. Pena then hit his first homer to straightaway center field.
Longoria homered in the eighth and Crawford singled in a run in the ninth.
Kazmir had an outstanding changeup and left with a 5-1 lead. Dan Wheeler relieved Kazmir and pitched a perfect seventh, but J.P. Howell put the Red Sox in position to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.
David Ortiz singled, took second on Kevin Youkilis’ single and scored on Jason Bay’s double. Howell then hit Mike Lowell with a pitch, bringing up Lowrie as the potential tying run.
Balfour came in and ended the threat on Lowrie’s swinging third strike and pitched the ninth for the save.
“This is not an easy place to pitch,” Balfour said, “but I was locked in and didn’t hear anything.”
The Rays went ahead 1-0 in the third after Iwamura led off with a double. He stayed at second on Bartlett’s infield single to shortstop then scored when Youkilis made a diving stop of Crawford’s grounder but threw wildly to second.
The Red Sox tied it in the bottom half. Dustin Pedroia doubled and scored on Youkilis’ single to center. In the first, though, they wasted two walks.
“I really felt good. Got myself in a little but of trouble in the first inning and worked out of it,” Kazmir said. “It feels good to get the first win out of the way.”
Xtra, xtra: Ortiz is 7-for-39 (.179) against Kazmir after going 0-for-2. Lester allowed five runs or more in only five of his 33 regular-season starts last year. Outfielders Kapler of Tampa Bay and Rocco Baldelli of Boston made their first starts of the season, both against their former teams. Through 1 1/2 innings, only three of the 13 batters put the ball in play. Seven struck out and three walked (Associated Press - Sports).

Red Sox 5, Rays 3 (Game #1) [0-1]

This was a different Josh Beckett than the one the Tampa Bay Rays knocked around in last year’s AL championship series.
The Red Sox right-hander struck out 10 in seven innings of two-hit ball to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday in a makeup of their rained-out opener.
For Beckett, who was recovering from a side strain when he faced the Rays in the playoffs last year, it was a chance to show the form that made him a 20-game winner and Cy Young Award contender in 2007.
“A healthy Beckett,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “We’ve got a long way to go. But watching the way he’s throwing is big. We want to lean on him.”
AL MVP Dustin Pedroia homered on the second pitch he saw this season, and Jason Varitek also homered to help Boston get off to a fast start against the team that edged it by two games for the AL East title last year. The Rays knocked the Red Sox out of the ALCS in seven games after pounding Beckett for eight runs in his first start, and hitting a pair of homers off him in Game 6 when he struggled to overcome reduced velocity.
“He did not make it easy for us,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “On an opening day, he looked like his old self.”
The Rays, who had finished last in the division nine times in their first 10 years in the majors, went on to reach the franchise’s first World Series before losing to Philadelphia in five games. As they opened their pennant defense, they were reminded that the AL East hasn’t gotten any easier.
“We’ve got to prove it again this year,” catcher Dioner Navarro said.
James Shields gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out two in 5 1-3 innings. Tampa Bay scored one run off Beckett and two in the eighth off Hideki Okajima before Justin Masterson pitched out of a jam and Jonathan Papelbon got three outs for the save.
Beckett allowed a third-inning single to Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford’s sixth-inning double to go with three walks. He struck out Gabe Gross on a 93 mph fastball to end the seventh and finish his second career opening-day start, and first with the Red Sox.
“It’s something you’re always striving for as a pitcher, to get to that point in your career,” Beckett said. “It’s awesome. This is a pretty cool place to be around on a home opener or opening day, period.”
Brisk weather replaced the steady downpour that forced the Red Sox to postpone Monday’s game four hours before the scheduled first pitch. The sky was overcast but dry for the makeup, with the wind blowing out toward center.
The Red Sox changed the traditional baseline introductions by having their players come out of the stands, high-fiving fans on the way to the field. The Boston Pops took over the national anthem from singer Seal, who had been scheduled for Monday but couldn’t stick around.
Newly elected Hall of Famer Jim Rice drove out in a golf cart with U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The Massachusetts Democrat walked to the mound, with Francona and the help of a cane, and bounced a short toss to Rice; (on the second try, he made it on a fly).
“That was an honor,” Francona said. “I’ve been pretty fortunate here to get to do some pretty neat things, and that was one of them.”
Beckett took care of the first three Rays before Pedroia came up with one out and homered over the Green Monster. Pedroia also walked to start the three-run third, scoring on J.D. Drew’s groundout before Jason Bay’s RBI single and Mike Lowell’s run-scoring double.
But even more welcome for last year’s AL wild-card winner was Varitek’s homer around the Pesky Pole in the sixth. The catcher, who turns 37 on Saturday, is coming off the worst season of his career and a drawn-out negotiation with the Red Sox before signing a cut-rate deal for $5 million with options for 2010 that could make it worth as much as $10 million.
Varitek made his ninth straight opening-day start, most for a Red Sox catcher. Left fielder Carl Yastrzemski holds the franchise lead with 15.
Shields fell to 0-4 with a 9.56 ERA in four career appearances at Fenway Park.
Xtra, xtra: Kennedy’s grandfather, John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, threw out the first pitch at the first major league game ever played at Fenway, on April 12, 1912. The makeup of Monday’s rainout started at 4:06 p.m. as a nod to Ted Williams’ batting average in 1941. Lowell has hit safely in all 10 of his opening-day appearances. Boston SS Julio Lugo, on the disabled list recovering from right knee surgery, was in the park for introductions. He’s scheduled to report to extended spring training on Thursday. Former Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler, now with the Rays, got a warm ovation when he was introduced. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-4, snapping an 18-game hitting streak (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays vs. Red Sox - Postponed!

Patiently waiting for the new season to start tomorrow!

Phillies 4, Rays 3 (World Series - Game #5) [Phillies win series 4-1]

From losingest team to longest game, the Philadelphia Phillies are World Series champions.
Strange as that sounds.
Strange as it was.
Brad Lidge and the Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint Wednesday night to win a suspended Game 5 nearly 50 hours after it started.
Left in limbo by a two-day rainstorm, the Phillies seesawed to their first championship since 1980. Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title Philly craved for so long.
“It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game but we did and it’s over and we’re very excited,” 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. “It has been a long wait, but it’s worth it.”
Bundled in parkas and blankets, fans returned in force to Citizens Bank Park and saw the city claim its first major sports championship in 25 years. No more references needed to those sad-sack Phillies teams in the past and their 10,000-plus losses.
“They could taste it just as much as we could,” Series MVP Cole Hamels said.
It was among the wackiest endings in baseball history, a best-of-seven series turned into a best-of-3 1/2 showdown when play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning tied at 2.
How bizarre? Hamels was a star in Game 5—and the ace never stepped on the mound Wednesday night; Two Rays relievers warmed up to start, and there was a pinch-hitter before a single pitch; “God Bless America” was sung rather than the national anthem, and it was quickly followed by the seventh-inning stretch.
All because the game was suspended Monday night after rain made the field into a quagmire, washing out the foul lines, creating a puddle at home plate and turning every ball an adventure. Commissioner Bud Selig eventually called it— he got booed when he presented the MVP trophy to Hamels.
For Philly, it was more than a World Series win. It was a bit of redemption for all the losses, the jokes, the slights.
Finally, something to celebrate.
How much did Philly fans want a champion to call its own?
Well, the sports hero they point to with the most pride isn’t even a real person—Rocky Balboa.
Yo, Adrian … the Phillies did it!
“It’s over,” shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. “It’s over, man.”
Lidge went 48-for-48 on save chances this year, including two this week. He retired two batters with a runner on second, striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to end it.
Lidge jumped in front of the mound, landing on his knees with arms outstretched. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to grab him, and teammates sprinted to the mound to join them as towel-waving fans let loose.
“At first, I couldn’t believe it. And then the gravity of what happened hit me,” Lidge said.
A generation ago, it was Tug McGraw who went wild when the Phillies won their first title. A few days after country singer Tim McGraw scattered his dad’s ashes on the mound, it was Lidge’s turn to throw the final pitch.
Despite low TV ratings and minus the majors’ most glamorous teams, fans will always remember how this one wrapped up. And for the first time in a long while, kids saw a World Series champion crowned before bedtime.
“I believe this firmly, our guys are not going to be satisfied without playing in October from now on,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “And that’s a good thing. And that’s all because of this group of people this year.”
Reliever J.C. Romero got the win, his second of the Series.
Hamels went 4-0 in five postseason starts, beating the Rays in Game 1 and pitching six sharp innings in the rain during Game 5. He was set to be the first batter when the game resumed, and was immediately pulled for a pinch-hitter.
While former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Rollins drive the Phillies, it was their less-heralded teammates who helped win it on this chilly night.
Tied at 3, Pat Burrell led off the seventh with a drive off the center-field wall against J.P. Howell. Chad Bradford relieved and one out later Feliz singled home pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett.
Rocco Baldelli’s solo home run off Ryan Madson made it 3-all in the top of the seventh. The Rays almost got more, but All-Star second baseman Chase Utley alertly bluffed a throw to first on a grounder over the bag and instead threw out Jason Bartlett at the plate.
Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins, the first batter Wednesday night, doubled and later scored on Jayson Werth’s bloop single.
In all, there were six new pitchers, three pinch-hitters and two pinch-runners when play restarted.
Manager Charlie Manuel, whose NL East champions clinched a playoff spot in the final week, guided the Phillies’ second overall championship in six World Series tries. The Phils helped themselves by going 7-0 at home this postseason, beating Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the NL playoffs and then defeating the Rays.
“I always thought we’d win the World Series. I knew we could beat anyone in the league,” Manuel said.
Once known as a city of champions, Philadelphia sports fell on hard times after Julius Erving and Moses Malone led the Sixers to that 1983 title.
Since then, the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers made it to the championship game or round—seven times, in total—and lost all of them.
The city became so starved for a crown that it was ready to throw a parade down Broad Street for a horse. But local colt Smarty Jones lost, too, in his bid for the Triple Crown.
“People enjoy being associated with winning and a world championship is the ultimate,” Mike Schmidt, MVP of the Phillies’ other championship, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press this week. “It unites a town behind one team.”
Cheesesteaks, on the house.
Tampa Bay did itself proud, too, until this final week. Baseball’s best success story this season, the worst-to-first Rays played like the downtrodden Devil Rays from the past decade.
Even so, the gap between the Phils and Rays wasn’t enormous. Had Evan Longoria’s late, long drive off Jamie Moyer in Game 3 not been blown back by the wind, the teams might still be playing.
Xtra, xtra: The World Series failed to make it to a Game 6 for the fifth straight year, the first time that’s happened. Burrell went 1-for-14 in the five games. Howell put down the first sacrifice bunt of his career (Associated Press - Sports).

Phillies 10, Rays 2 (World Series - Game #4)

Ryan Howard could imagine the mayhem.
“It will be absolute bedlam,” he said. “It will be one of the craziest places on Earth. It’s kind of scary to imagine.”
First, though, the Phillies need one more win.
Their 10-2 romp over the Tampa Bay Rays gave Philadelphia a 3-1 World Series lead. Howard drove in five runs with two homers and Joe Blanton shut his eyes, swung and became the first pitcher in 34 years to homer in the Series.
Come Monday night, the team of 10,000 losses could give title-starved Philadelphia its first champion in any of the four big sports since the NBA’s 76ers in 1983. The Phillies’ only Series victory came in 1980.
“A championship is the only way to fully reverse that thought of how the Phillies are portrayed,” said Jimmy Rollins, who sparked them with three hits and three runs. “If we get that game, I believe we will be happy, the city will be happy, there will be a big parade.”
Blanton and four relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Jason Werth also homered.
In this campaign season, the Rays resemble a team from a swing—and miss— state. No. 3 hitter Carlos Pena and cleanup man Evan Longoria have combined to go an A-Rod-like 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts in the Series. Longoria has gone hitless in four straight games for the first time in his big league career.
“What bothers me is we lose a couple of games, and people talk like we’ve got the worst team ever,” Cliff Floyd said. “This team is just going through a tough period. … But we’ve been down before. We know we can come back.”
Cole Hamels will try to close out the Series title on Monday night against Scott Kazmir in a rematch of Game 1 starters. Hamels (4-0) is trying to become the first pitcher to win five postseason starts in one year.
Of the 42 teams to take 3-1 World Series leads, 36 have gone on to win the crown. After splitting the first two games in Florida, the Phillies improved to 6-0 at Citizens Bank Park this postseason. That includes a wacky, rain-delayed 5-4 win in Game 3 that ended at 1:47 a.m. Sunday.
“Cole looks for these moments. I call him Hollywood, because when the lights are on, that’s when he’s at his best,” Rollins said. “And tomorrow night, the lights will definitely be on.”
A day after hitting his first homer of the Series, Howard connected twice. The major league leader in home runs and RBIs hit a three-run drive off Andy Sonnanstine that made it 5-1 in the fourth and sent screams through a whooped-up crowd of 45,903. Howard added a long, two-run shot against Dan Wheeler in the eighth.
Blanton, with a Greg Luzinski body type that’s a throwback to an era of pudgy pitchers, gave up four hits—including solo homers to Carl Crawford and pinch-hitter Eric Hinske—struck out seven and walked two in six-plus innings.
Just 2-for-33 (.061) with one RBI in his career to that point, Blanton homered in the fifth off Edwin Jackson. It was just the 15th home run by a pitcher in the Series, and the first since Oakland’s Ken Holtzman in 1974. No NL pitcher had homered since the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson in 1968.
“I just close my eyes and swing hard in case I make contact,” said Blanton, who thought he hadn’t homered since high school. “Better to be lucky than good, I guess.”
Rays manager Joe Maddon came out in midgame to complain to plate umpire Tom Hallion about a spot on Blanton’s cap.
“It was rather dark,” Maddon said. “I was concerned about that early on.”
Blanton pleaded not guilty.
“They rub the balls up with whatever they rub them up with, and you rub it up and get it on your hand,” he said. “It’s nothing sticky. Anybody can go touch it. It’s just basically just dirt from the ball.”
Rollins made a great escape from a rundown in the first inning—perhaps with the help of an umpire’s blown call—energizing the Phillies and rattling the Rays.
Second baseman Akinori Iwamura made two errors that led to unearned runs, and a frustrated Longoria—again taunted by chants of “E-va! E-va!” in reference to the actress of the same last name—struck out three times and swiped a hand through the air when a call went against him at third base.
“We know what’s going on, we’re just not reacting very well yet, but there is time,” Maddon said. “We have to not give them four outs in an inning. We have to have better at-bats.”
Had the Phillies come up with more timely hits—a familiar story— Philadelphia could have blown open the game earlier. The Phillies were 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position and are 6-for-47 in the Series.
Sonnanstine struggled with his offspeed stuff and needed 89 pitches to get through four innings. He allowed five runs—three earned—six hits and three walks.
“It’s win or go home. It’s simple, and no one in here wants to go home and wonder what if,” Floyd said.
Xtra, xtra: If the Phillies win Monday, it would mark the first time the Series has gone five straight years without reaching a Game 6. The only other four-year stretch without a Game 6 was 1913-16. Lenny Dykstra (1993) is the only other Phillies player with a multihomer Series game. With 25 postseason homers, the Rays trail only San Francisco (27 in 2002) for most in one postseason (Associated Press - Sports).

Phillies 5, Rays 4 (World Series - Game #3)

This was midnight madness, and then some, at the World Series.
“Freak things kind of happened there,” Eric Bruntlett said after scoring the winning run for the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:47 a.m.
Carlos Ruiz finished off a wacky ninth inning with an infield single with the bases loaded, and the Phillies outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 early Sunday in Game 3 for a 2-1 lead.
Ruiz, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard homered for the Phils, but it took three kooky plays to win it on a bases-loaded trickler with no outs.
“It might have took a little squib roller down the third-base line, but at the same time it’s better to be lucky sometimes than to be good,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
The end was almost as bizarre as the 10:06 p.m. start, the latest in Series history. Baseball waited out a rainstorm that chased most fans out of their seats and delayed Jamie Moyer’s first pitch for 91 minutes.
The matchup of Philadelphia’s power vs. Tampa Bay’s speed left it at 4-all going to the bottom of the ninth.
Then it all came down to this: Rays reliever J.P. Howell hit Bruntlett with a pitch to start the inning. Enter Grant Balfour, who threw a wild pitch that caromed off the backstop to catcher Dioner Navarro, whose throw trying to get Bruntlett skipped into center field.
With Bruntlett on third, the Rays issued two intentional walks and brought in right fielder Ben Zobrist for a five-man infield.
“It looked like they were about to blitz,” Howard said.
Ruiz followed with a nubber down the line and third baseman Evan Longoria charged. He dived for the ball, and rushed an underhanded flip home that sailed over Navarro’s head.
“You couldn’t place a ball better than that. Lucky swing, perfect bounce,” Zobrist said.
The single was just the Phils’ second hit in 33 chances with runners in scoring position this Series.
The Phillies rushed from the dugout to congratulate Bruntlett at the plate and Ruiz at first base. The giant Liberty Bell in center field clanged in celebration—no cowbells here at Citizens Bank Park.
“You know what, it’s crazy,” Howard said. “It’s a little nerve-racking but to come out with a victory like that, it’s great.”
Game 4 is Sunday night and the weather forecast is fine for the matchup between the Phils’ Joe Blanton and Andy Sonnanstine.
The Phillies built a 4-1 lead for Moyer on an early home run by Ruiz and consecutive shots by Utley and Howard in the sixth. But it was the little hit that was the biggest of all.
J.C. Romero wound up with the win.
Minus Moyer, the Rays sped back to tie as B.J. Upton became the first AL player to steal three bases in a Series game.
Upton beat out an infield single to open the eighth, swiped second and third on consecutive pitches, and dashed home on a wild throw by Ruiz to make it 4-all.
Tampa Bay’s rally dampened the moment Moyer waited for his whole life. The 45-year-old lefty finally got to pitch in the World Series and threw a game that defines his career, bedeviling the Rays with his slo-mo repertoire.
“I think it exceeded every expectation or thought or dream,” Moyer said.
Moyer, already a pro before Rays stars Longoria and Upton were born, demonstrated exactly how he’s earned 246 major league victories. He struck out both All-Stars with 74 mph changeups, and made the entire lineup look foolish with tentative swings.
Moyer became the second-oldest player in Series history—Jack Quinn was 47 when he pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1930—yet showed he was still spry. He belly-flopped along the first-base line to field Carl Crawford’s bunt, and flipped the ball with his glove.
And while millions of people may have switched the TV channel to watch “Saturday Night Live” open with one of their popular political skits, surely baseball fans all over were laughing at watching Moyer pitch a game for the aged.
Hit hard in two losses in the NL playoffs, Moyer left in the seventh with a 4-2 lead after an RBI grounder by Gabe Gross. He tipped his cap toward plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth and then to the crowd that gave him a rousing standing ovation.
Chad Durbin relieved and gave up Jason Bartlett’s RBI grounder that pulled the Rays within a run.
Steady rain and gusty wind threatened to postpone the first Series game at Citizens Bank Park. Fans huddled underneath the overhangs and crowded the concourses to watch No. 3 Penn State play No. 10 Ohio State.
Ruiz hit a solo home run in the second off Matt Garza that put the Phillies ahead 2-1.
Utley led off the sixth with his second home run of the Series and the slumping Howard followed with a drive into the right-field seats.
Garza, who beat Boston in Game 7 to win the MVP award of the ALCS, never seemed comfortable and kept fidgeting with the rubber.
Jimmy Rollins got his first hit of the Series, leading off the first with a single. He later scored on Utley’s groundout.
Crawford doubled off the sliding Pat Burrell’s glove in left field in the second and scored on Gross’ sacrifice fly.
Xtra, xtra: The previous latest starting time in the Series was 9:24 p.m. in 1993, also at Philadelphia, after a 72-minute rain delay. … Phillies Hall of Famer Steve Carlton threw out the ceremonial first ball. In Moyer’s major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1986, he beat Carlton (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 4, Phillies 2 (World Series - Game #2)

James Shields walked slowly off the mound and doffed his cap to a cheering crowd, looking a little surprised that he’d been taken out.
No sweat—rookie reliever David Price and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays were ready to finish the job. Big Game James had already lived up to his nickname.
Shields stymied the slumping Philadelphia Phillies and Price got the final seven outs, pitching the plucky Rays to a 4-2 victory Thursday night that tied the World Series at 1-all.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure,” Shields said. “The guys in the clubhouse were real relaxed before the game.”
After dropping the opener to ace Cole Hamels and the Phillies, the young Rays rebounded from a rare home loss and earned their first World Series win with help from a squeeze play and a checked swing.
Tampa Bay never really got a huge hit, but neither did the Phillies as Jimmy Rollins and crew fell to 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
“That might be one of our sloppiest games all year,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “I’m concerned about us hitting with guys on base, because it looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard. But we can fix that.”
The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Saturday night, though rain is in the forecast. ALCS MVP Matt Garza is scheduled to pitch for Tampa Bay against 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, making his World Series debut.
“We came in here knowing it’s going to be a tight series,” Rays outfielder B.J. Upton said. “Both clubs are a lot alike.”
Tampa Bay scored on Jason Bartlett’s safety squeeze and built another rally when Rocco Baldelli walked on a checked swing that seemed to confuse players and umpires alike.
Shields threw shutout ball into the sixth, outpitching Brett Myers and working out of trouble just as Hamels did for a 3-2 win Wednesday night.
So, how exactly did a pitcher with 32 major league wins come by that catchy monicker?
“It was kind of a joke at first,” Shields said. “I ended up pitching a couple of good games in the minor leagues and they say my whole organization is calling me ‘Big Game.’ They don’t call me by my first name anymore.”
The 23-year-old Price, called up in September after he was the top pick in last year’s draft, struck out slugger Ryan Howard with two on to end the seventh.

The hard-throwing lefty gave up a pinch-hit homer to Eric Bruntlett in the eighth, then stayed on to close it out against Philadelphia’s big boppers.
Carloz Ruiz led off the ninth with a double, and a pitch from Price appeared to graze Rollins’ jersey. But it was not called a hit batter, and a frustrated Rollins soon popped out.
Ruiz scored when third baseman Evan Longoria booted Jayson Werth’s grounder for an error, but Price fanned Chase Utley and got Howard on a game-ending grounder.
“I was nervous—very,” Price said. “I usually don’t even sweat out there and my hat looks like I went swimming with it.”
Tampa Bay is 5-3 at home in the postseason after going a major league-best 57-24 during the season.
Philadelphia’s lone hit with runners in scoring position was Shane Victorino’s infield single in the fourth, and that didn’t even produce a run.
“I don’t know if we’re pressing,” Victorino said. “Maybe it seems that way. We’re just not getting the job done. We came back, we had the tying run up. We needed to get one.”
Shields usually flourishes at home, where he was 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA during the season. All four of his postseason starts have come at Tropicana Field, including a win over the Chicago White Sox in Tampa Bay’s first playoff game and two tough losses to Boston in the ALCS.
“You feel pretty comfortable when he goes out there under those circumstances,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s kind of a misconception. We’re starting to play our first big games now, and he’s pitching the same now as when the big game was trying to prevent somebody else from getting to the playoffs.”
A 14-game winner during the season, Shields was pulled in the sixth after 104 pitches. Dan Wheeler retired Pedro Feliz on an inning-ending grounder with runners at the corners.
Back from two seasons derailed by injuries and mitochondrial disorder, a condition that slows muscle recovery and causes extreme fatigue, Baldelli was involved in a confusing call in the second that helped Tampa Bay make it 3-0.
He checked his swing on a full-count pitch and plate umpire Kerwin Danley immediately raised his right arm as if to call strike three. But then Danley pointed to first base for an appeal, and umpire Fieldin Culbreth signaled safe.
“It was his intention to go to first base for help on a half-swing that he had as ball four,” said Mike Port, Major League Baseball’s vice president for umpiring. “He just gave a confusing mechanic. But he had called it a ball, and it was ruled no half-swing anyway. So it was just that particular mechanic that caused confusion.”
Myers and several Phillies infielders were puzzled, along with Manuel, who took a few steps out of the dugout but didn’t argue long.
“I thought he called the guy out,” Manuel said.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Upton hit an RBI single to right. Werth made a strong throw to cut down Baldelli, who crashed into Ruiz but couldn’t dislodge the ball.
Before the next inning started, Baldelli rested on one knee in right field.
Demoted to the minors in July, Myers gave up two runs in the first after an error by Werth. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria had RBI groundouts.
Xtra, xtra: Philadelphia’s 0-for-19 skid with runners in scoring position was the second-longest drought to start a World Series since the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers finished 0-for-22 against Baltimore, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (Associated Press - Sports).

Phillies 3, Rays 2 (World Series - Game #1)

Ryan Howard reached into the stands, stuck his glove into a cluster of fans and caught a foul pop for a key out. Yes, Tropicana Field was filled with World Series rookies on and off the field.
The glamorous teams all eliminated, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays opened a most unexpected World Series on Wednesday night. Cole Hamels escaped trouble to win his fourth postseason start, Chase Utley hit a two-run homer in the first inning and the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2.
While the City of Brotherly Love celebrated, the worst-to-first Rays might as well have been plopped into the fish tank in right-center, flopping in their first game in baseball’s ultimate event. They managed just five hits—none after the fifth inning.
“If you want to take the wind out of the sails,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said, “you shut the cowbells up and get some home runs. That will do it — except in Citizens Bank Park. If you hit enough there, they ring a bell. They ring the Liberty Bell.”
Both teams have a history of losing—the Phillies long-term and the Rays in the short run. But while the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, etc., are gone, these teams filled with young, hungry players have made it to the top.
Philadelphia will try to make it two in a row at Tropicana Field when Brett Myers pitches against James Shields in Game 2 Thursday night. The team that won the opener has captured the Series 63 of 103 times, including 10 of the last 11. But the team with home-field advantage has taken 18 of the last 22 titles.
“It’s huge,” Phillies closer Brad Lidge said. “You try and downplay it, but obviously you’re coming into a place like this, you want to make sure you get the first game, especially because you got your ace on the mound. It’s really important to do that.”
It seems the rust vs. rest debate as been around almost since, well, the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Philadelphia had six days to reflect and relax after winning the National League pennant. The Rays had two days to recover after beating Boston in Game 7 for the AL title on Sunday night.
“I don’t think it threw off our timing too much,” Utley said of the layoff. “I think tomorrow we should definitely be more back on track.”
Hamels, MVP of the NL championship series, improved to 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA this postseason. He had only a pair of 1-2-3 innings, but the composed 24-year-old left-hander allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.
He made the extra rest sound as if it was a few extra days in bed.
“For a starter it’s almost better sometimes,” Hamels said, “just because it gives you more time to heal up.”
Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth. Lidge worked the ninth for his 47th save in 47 chances this year, silencing the Rays and their cowbell-clanging fans.
While Carl Crawford homered, playoff stars B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena went a combined 0-for-12, striking out five times and hitting into two double plays. Akinori Iwamura had three of his team’s five hits.
Scott Kazmir, selected two picks ahead of Hamels in the first round of the 2002 amateur draft, struggled with his control and gave up three runs, six hits and four walks in six innings.
“It wasn’t an easy night, and I felt like I had to battle every single inning,” Kazmir said.
Philadelphia could have romped but went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners. Their other run even scored on an out, an RBI grounder by Carlos Ruiz.
“It’s better to come up empty with a lot of guys in scoring position than not have any at all,” Utley said.
Seeking the city’s first major title since the NBA’s 76ers in 1983, Philadelphia had six days off after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL pennant, while the Rays didn’t finish off the Boston Red Sox until Game 7 on Sunday night.
Jayson Werth walked with one out in the first and Utley, after fouling off a bunt attempt, homered on a 2-2 pitch, sending the ball into the right-field seats and becoming the 34th player to homer in his first Series at-bat.
Only 13 of Utley’s 33 homers during the regular season were against lefties, and Kazmir allowed just one homer to a left-handed batter in 131 at-bats, with Boston’s David Ortiz connecting Sept. 15.
“Fastball, middle of the plate,” Utley said. “I was just trying to put the ball into play.”
Philadelphia had a chance to pad the lead in the second following two walks, but Upton made a nifty one-hop throw to the plate on Jimmy Rollins’ fly to short center, and catcher Dioner Navarro applied the tag on Shane Victorino for the inning-ending out.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the third on two singles around a walk. Then third baseman Pedro Feliz went to his left for an impressive pickup on Upton’s grounder and started an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
“Definitely the kind of momentum swing into our favor,” Hamels said. “If they can load the bases with less than two outs and not be able to score, then you definitely have the upper hand.”
Ruiz hit an RBI grounder in the fourth following Victorino’s leadoff single, but Crawford’s homer on a hanging breaking ball cut the lead to a 3-1 in the bottom half.
Iwamura had an opposite-field RBI double to left-center in the fifth, and Upton followed the foul pop that Howard came up with. Had this been at Fenway Park, the glove likely would have been at the Cask N Flagon by the final out.
“Ryan’s pretty big,” Rollins said. “Usually if you see him coming toward you, you get out of the way.”
Pena reached leading off the sixth when Howard allowed his grounder to pop off his glove and midsection for an error. But Hamels froze Pena with a pickoff throw and he was easily thrown out at second. Rays manager Joe Maddon screamed unsuccessfully for a balk call, maintaining Hamels’ foot landed too far toward the plate.
“I thought it was clearly a balk, and obviously you can’t argue a balk,” Maddon said. “You get kicked out arguing a balk. What I did was even inappropriate.”
Said Hamels: “Yeah, he was out. That’s all I can say. “
Xtra, xtra: It was the first Series game on artificial turf since 1993—the Phillies’ previous one. The only other pitchers with four wins in four postseason starts were Dave Stewart (1989), David Wells (1998) and Josh Beckett (2007) (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 3, Red Sox 1 (ALCS - Game #7) [Rays win series 4-3]

Down to their last chance, the Tampa Bay Rays left no doubt they were World Series-worthy, after all.
Believe it: Baseball’s doormats have arrived.
Going from worst to first, the young Rays completed a stunning run to their first pennant, holding off the defending champion Boston Red Sox 3-1 Sunday night behind Matt Garza’s masterful pitching in Game 7 of the AL championship series.
“It’s unbelievable,” center fielder B.J. Upton said. “We battled a lot of adversity this year. We stuck together as a team.”
And, they showed a bit of Boston-like resolve when they needed it.
The Rays nearly let the series slip away when they blew a seven-run lead late in Game 5 and lost meekly Saturday night. But when rookie David Price struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning, the Rays were on their way.
Price, who didn’t make his major league debut until late September, also worked the ninth, walking Jason Bay and striking out Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek before getting pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie ground into a game-ending force play.
Tampa Bay’s worst to first saga was the feel-good story of this season, and it probably was fitting that Price—the least experienced of the young Rays— was on the mound at the most critical point of the ALCS.
“Minimal experience, but I was not hesitant,” manager Joe Maddon said.
When it was over, players and coaches streamed out of the dugout and mobbed Price, eventually falling to the ground in a cluster that continued to grow when others began leaping on the pile.
Music blared and the crowd of 40,473 stood and cheered.
The party moved inside briefly before players returned to the field raced up and down the right field stands spraying fans with champagne before settling down for the presentation of AL championship trophy.
“It’s not what we expected to happen,” Boston slugger David Ortiz said. “You have to give them credit. They pitched well. They’ve got good hitters.”
The Rays were a 200-1 shot to win the World Series before the season started. Now, they’ll host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 Wednesday night.
Garza beat Boston twice in a week and was picked as the MVP.
“As a kid I think everybody pictures this night,” he said. “Usually it’s Game 7 of the World Series but I’ll take Game 7 of the ALCS.”
Willy Aybar homered and Evan Longoria and Rocco Baldelli also drove in runs to support Garza. Acquired in an offseason trade with Minnesota, Garza limited the Red Sox to Dustin Pedroia’s first-inning home run.
Four more wins and Maddon’s bunch will become the first team to go from worst in the majors to World Series champion in just one season.
The Red Sox were hoping to win their third crown in five years.
“We didn’t get as far as we wanted,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “We came out to win and go to the World Series and we didn’t accomplish that.”
Longoria’s fourth-inning double off Jon Lester tied it at 1-all. Baldelli’s RBI single put the Rays ahead in the fifth after Aybar doubled and Dioner Navarro reached on an infield single.
Garza took the mound for the biggest game of his life with something, perhaps cotton balls, stuffed in his ears to help drown out the noise at sold-out Tropicana Field.
The 24-year-old right-hander struck out nine before shortstop Jason Bartlett booted Alex Cora’s ground ball for an error, leading off a tense eighth.
Boston went on to load the bases when Kevin Youkilis drew a two-out walk. Price, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, became the fifth Tampa Bay pitcher of the inning—quite a spot for someone who started the year in Class A.
Drew, who capped the Game 5 rally with a ninth-inning single, struck out with a check-swing on a 97 mph fastball to end the threat. Price worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth and when pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie grounded out, the celebration began.
“I wanted the ball,” Price said. “I think everybody down there in the ‘pen wanted the ball tonight.”
The Rays dropped the “Devil” from their name before the season and came out with a new identity: Gone were the laughable losers who finished last in the AL East in nine of their first 10 seasons, the snowbird specials whose quirky Tropicana Field filled with transplanted Bostonians whenever the Red Sox visited.
After splitting the first two games of the series at home, though, it was Tampa Bay that made itself at home in an opponent’s ballpark, with the Rays sending shot after shot sailing over the Green Monster. In all, the Rays outscored the Red Sox 29-13 in the three games at Fenway Park, hitting 10 home runs.
But the young Rays’ postseason inexperience showed in Game 5, when a normally reliable bullpen blew a 7-0 lead over the last three innings, allowing Boston to save its season with an 8-7 victory.
The Red Sox were the eighth team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to force Game 7 of an LCS, and they’re the only club to do it more than once. The Red Sox also battled back in 1986, 2004 and 2007, and went on to win the World Series the last two times.
With the tarps covering nearly 5,800 seats in the upper deck removed for the second straight night, more than 40,000 fans packed the domed stadium for a rematch of the starting pitchers from Game 3, won by Tampa Bay 9-1 at Fenway Park.
Many fans wore Red Sox gear and were even more noticeable when they stood and cheered as Pedroia circled the bases after lining a pitch into the left-field stands. But there would be little for the Boston faithful to cheer the rest of the night.
No team has repeated as World Series champion since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. That mark is safe for another year.
“We played as hard as we could. Just kind of ran out of magic,” Pedroia said. “I’m proud of everybody, but it’s obviously a tough loss.”
Xtra, xtra: Rays senior adviser Don Zimmer, a former Red Sox manager who has six World Series rings, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Ortiz said after the game that he’s not planning to have surgery on his left wrist during the offseason (Associated Press - Sports).

Red Sox 4, Rays 2 (ALCS - Game #6)

Now look who’s one win from the World Series.
All but eliminated until their stunning turnaround, the Boston Red Sox played like World Series champs from the start and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 Saturday night to force a Game 7 in the AL championship series.
“It’s probably pretty appropriate. We come down to the last game, and whoever plays better gets to move on,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “We have a lot of respect for how good they’ve played, but we also really like our ballclub.”
Slumping Jason Varitek hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning as Boston evened the ALCS at 3-all. No late drama needed by the Red Sox this time— they rallied from seven runs down with only seven outs left to win Game 5.
Now Jon Lester starts for the Red Sox on Sunday night against Matt Garza in a rematch of Game 3, won by the Rays 9-1 at Fenway Park. Last year, the Red Sox trailed Cleveland 3-1 before winning three in a row, then sweeping Colorado for their second Series title in four seasons.
“It’s great to get to Game 7, to battle like this,” said Kevin Youkilis, who homered and drove in two runs. “We went out there and played like it was our last game. It was awesome.”
The young Rays, who never won more than 70 games in a season before this year, believe they’re up for the challenge.
“We’ve just got to stay positive,” pitcher James Shields said. “We’ve got one more game, and now it’s do or die, so we’re going to find out what we’re all about.”
The pennant winner hosts the World Series opener Wednesday night against the well-rested Philadelphia Phillies, who won the NL pennant over the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
“It’s all about how we react to the moment, and it’s a seventh game,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a great learning experience. For us to win that game would be something special for us, also. So it’s not about looking into the past. It’s about looking into the future right now.”
Red Sox ace Josh Beckett, who struggled in his first two starts of the playoffs, allowed two runs and four hits in five innings despite reduced velocity, and Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon combined for hitless relief.
“The guy fights back,” Boston slugger David Ortiz said of Beckett, who improved to 7-2 in 13 postseason games. “He’s hurting, and everyone knows that, but what he brings is something special.”
B.J. Upton tied an AL record in the first inning with his seventh home run of the postseason. After Boston went ahead 2-1, Tampa Bay tied it on Jason Bartlett’s fifth-inning homer. But the Rays didn’t get another hit, and the Red Sox improved to 9-0 in ALCS elimination games under Francona.
Varitek, the Red Sox captain, had been 0-for-14 in the series before his homer in the sixth off Shields, who allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.
“He wears a `C’ on that jersey for a lot of different reasons, but none more important than how much respect everybody in that clubhouse, including players, coaches, upper management, has for him,” Beckett said.
The Red Sox, trying to become the first repeat champions since the 1998-00 Yankees, were jubilant.
“We’ll take runs any way we can get it,” Francona said. “But the way it happened, and as hard as he’s worked, it meant a lot to everybody. “
Ortiz drove in the last run charged to Shields with an RBI single off J.P. Howell to pad the lead.
Boston bounced back from a 3-1 ALCS deficit in 1986 against the Angels, then in 2004 became the first major league team to win a best-of-seven postseason series when trailing 3-0, beating the Yankees for the pennant before sweeping St. Louis in the World Series. Then came last year’s comeback.
“We know what it takes to win games,” Ortiz said. “It’s not easy. It’s not like we like to be in those situations, but I guess it’s the way destiny has us the past years that we’ve won the World Series.”
It was a strange night in different ways. The first 20 minutes of the game weren’t shown on television because TBS had an equipment failure.
And plate umpire Derryl Cousins left with a bruised collarbone after three innings, causing a 15-minute stoppage. Cousins was struck by a foul ball hit by Varitek in the second, but remained in the game until the delay. He was replaced by crew chief Tim McClelland, who had been working first base.
“The delay didn’t really bug me that much. I had just come out,” Beckett said. “I think James Shields probably had the worst end of that deal.”
Upton, who only hit nine homers in 531 regular-season at-bats, drove the ball off one of the catwalks at Tropicana Field when he homered off Beckett. Upton tied Troy Glaus (2002) with his seventh homer in a single postseason, one behind record-holders Barry Bonds (2002) and Carlos Beltran (2004).
Right after that, the television broadcast began.
Youkilis led off the second inning with his drive into the left center-field seats off Shields, then gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the third when he grounded out after Dustin Pedroia walked and took third on Ortiz’s double down the right-field line.
Bartlett’s homer tied it in the fifth.
Okajima pitched two scoreless innings, and Masterson got out of a potential tight situation in the eighth. He hit Bartlett with a pitch leading off and went to a 2-0 count on Akinori Iwamura when pitching coach John Farrell visited the mound.
Papelbon struck out Iwamura, got two straight outs, and then Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, extending his major league-record career postseason scoreless streak to 25 innings over 16 appearances.
“The important thing is we found a way to win this game,” Varitek said. “It was a big win for us.”
Xtra, xtra: Youkilis has hit safely in 12 of 13 career ALCS games. Upton has seven homers in 42 postseason at-bats after hitting nine in 531 at-bats during the regular season. Bartlett hit one homer during the regular season. Papelbon earned his third save of this postseason (Associated Press - Sports).