The Tampa Bay Rays rallied from seven runs down against the New York Yankees to capture the AL wildcard berth with a win in extra innings. Tampa was 9 games out of the playoffs when September started, but capitalized on a historic Boston Red Sox collapse. What made this final night of the season even more amazing was the way the games played out.
Both teams were tied for the wildcard entering play Wednesday night with a playoff scheduled for tomorrow if both teams won. However, the Red Sox lost after giving up two runs after forcing the Baltimore Orioles down to their last strike. The 4-3 loss Wednesday night for the Sox was a microcosm of the month in general.
Tampa Bay benefited from a Yankees squad that was resting its starters as the game went on. New York had already clinched the AL East title and the Rays finally took advantage of that in the eighth inning. The Yankees put out 11 different pitchers and Scott Procter was the unlucky soul who took the loss.
Evan Longoria was huge for the Rays last night hitting two home runs, including the game winner in the 12th inning that put the game away. He also hit a three run homer in the 8th that put that finished off a six run inning.
Tampa Bay will begin the playoffs Friday afternoon in Texas against the Rangers. Starting pitchers have not yet been announced, but David Price will most likely not start game one as he was the starting pitcher for Wednesday night’s key game.
Leave a Reply