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Rays wrap up first AL East title with Red Sox loss
2008-09-27
Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon struggled to come up with the right words. Carlos Pena hugged teammate B.J. Upton and yelled "I told you we could do it! I told you we could do it!" This was one sweet celebration for the Rays. Tampa Bay won its first AL East title when the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees late Friday night. The Rays fell 6-4 to the Detroit Tigers earlier and had to sit through the rain-delayed Boston loss before celebrating their championship. Maddon and a few of players remained in the clubhouse at Comerica Park to watch the Red Sox game. Others watched it at Detroit's MGM Grand and back at the team hotel. "It's one of those things where it's something you've fantasized about your whole life," Maddon said. "You can't believe it. You have to kind of wait and sit back. It just feels fantastic right now, wonderful." In other AL games, it was: Kansas City 8, Minnesota 1; Cleveland 11, Chicago White Sox 8; Texas 12, Los Angeles Angels 1; and Seattle 10, Oakland 8. Toronto also beat Baltimore 3-0 in a game cut short by rain. Tampa Bay, which had never won more than 70 games in a season, became the first team other than Boston and New York to win the division since Baltimore did it in 1997. "Unbelievable," Pena said. "It just feels unbelievable." The Rays also became the first AL team in the divisional era to finish with the worst record in its league then win its division the following year, according to Stats, LLC. Atlanta in 1991 and the Chicago Cubs in 2007 also accomplished the feat. Gary Sheffield hit two home runs, leaving him with 499 for his career, and Ramon Santiago also went deep in the Tigers' victory. Justin Verlander (11-17) got the win. Andy Sonnanstine (13-9) gave up five runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Rays. At Fenway Park, the Yankees waited out 2 hours, 9 minutes of rain delays to beat Boston 19-8. The Red Sox had already clinched a wild-card berth, and they will open the playoffs at the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. "The important thing is for us to get our house in order, be healthy, and try to get everybody at-bats," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "But not too many." The Red Sox scratched David Ortiz and Daisuke Matsuzaka during the 1 hour, 31 minute delay at the start of the game, then took Mike Lowell out when his balky back acted up after one at-bat. Cody Ransom pinch hit for Derek Jeter and went 3-for-3 with two homers, Robinson Cano tied a career high with five RBIs and Brett Gardner had a career-best four RBIs for the Yankees. David Robertson (4-0) got the win and David Pauley (0-1) was charged with the loss. Royals 8, Twins 1 A night after erasing a five-run deficit against the White Sox to reclaim first place in the AL Central, the Twins fell flat against the surging Royals. Kansas City hammered Francisco Liriano (6-4) for six runs and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings. Kyle Davies (9-7) allowed one run and four hits in six innings and tied a career high with eight strikeouts, helping the Royals win for the 12th time in 14 games. They've won seven straight on the road. Minnesota maintained its half-game lead over the White Sox, who lost 11-8 to Cleveland. Billy Butler and Mike Aviles homered for the visiting Royals. Indians 11, White Sox 8 Ryan Garko and Cleveland kept struggling Chicago in second place. Garko homered twice, including a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning, and had five RBIs to help the visiting Indians send the White Sox to their fourth straight loss. Scott Lewis (4-0) served up homers to Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski during five innings but got the victory. John Danks (11-9) allowed seven runs and seven hits in four innings for Chicago. Rangers 12, Angels 1 At Anaheim, Calif., Hank Blalock homered in his fifth straight game to trigger a seven-run second inning against Los Angeles' John Lackey. Despite their second-most lopsided defeat of the season, the Angels (99-61) clinched the best record in the majors for the first time in the franchise's 48-year history -- and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Vicente Padilla (14-8) allowed a run and four hits over six innings for Texas. Lackey (12-5) gave up 12 hits and a career-worst 10 runs over 2 2-3 innings in the shortest of his 206 big league starts. The right-hander is slated to start the division series opener at Angel Stadium against the Red Sox. Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0, 7 innings Scott Richmond pitched six innings of four-hit ball to earn his first major league victory, and visiting Toronto handed Baltimore its 10th straight loss, winning a game halted by rain in the seventh inning. Curtis Thigpen hit his first big league homer in the seventh, minutes before rain forced a stoppage in play. After a delay of 1 hour, 5 minutes, the game was called. Richmond (1-3) outpitched rookie Chris Waters (3-5), who allowed three runs and nine hits in six-plus innings. The 10-game skid is the Orioles' longest since they lost 12 in a row in August 2004. Mariners 10, Athletics 8 Jose Lopez ignited a pair of five-run innings for Seattle with two homers and Rob Johnson added his first career home run. Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki also added another milestone to his impressive resume as the Mariners won for just the second time in the last 16 games. Suzuki matched Lou Gehrig's major league record with his eighth season of at least 200 hits and 100 runs. Suzuki scored for the 100th time in the third inning on Raul Ibanez's single. Brandon Morrow (3-4) got the win in Seattle. Oakland starter Sean Gallagher (2-3) was tagged for 10 hits and eight runs in 4 2-3 innings.
Beckett, Red Sox look to finish the Angels off (2008-10-05)Drew's homer lifts Red Sox to 7-5 win over Angels (2008-10-04)Rays wrap up first AL East title with Red Sox loss (2008-09-27)Yankees down Red Sox to benefit of Rays (2008-09-27)Red Sox reach terms with Epstein: report (2008-09-16)
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