Rays take AL East title over Yankees
Last Updated: Sunday, October 3, 2010 | 9:28 PM ET
The Associated Press
New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez is displeased after getting rung up by umpire Brian Runge in Sunday's game in Boston. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)The New York Yankees missed a chance for their second straight AL East title and wound up with a wildcard playoff berth, completing a rare late-season fade with an 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
New York was 66-37 at the start of play Aug. 1 but went just 29-30 the rest of the way. It was just the third time the Yankees led through games of Labour Day and failed to finish first, according to STATS LLC. The others were in 1906 and 1944.
"It hasn't been our best baseball, but you can throw that all away," manager Joe Girardi said. "We won 95 games in an extremely tough division. … In our division, that gets you the wild card."
The Yankees are going to the post-season for the 49th time — the fourth as a wild-card team. It's their 15th playoff appearance in 16 years.
The Yankees needed a victory and a Tampa Bay loss at Kansas City on Sunday to win the division, because had they finished tied the Rays had the tiebreaker advantage by virtue of its 10-8 record against New York in the season series.
Jed Lowrie homered twice, J.D. Drew also homered and Boston had two double-steals in the sixth inning.
John Lackey (14-11) struck out 10 in 7 2/3 innings for the Red Sox, who will miss the playoffs for the second time in eight years. They dropped from second place at 95-67 last season to third place at 89-73.
Robinson Cano's RBI single in the eighth inning made him the first Yankees second baseman with back-to-back 200-hit seasons.
Dustin Moseley (4-4) gave up four runs, five hits and two walks, striking out three in five innings for the Yankees. Nick Swisher homered and Mark Teixeira scored his major league-leading 113th run for New York.
Drew hit a two-run homer in the first, but the Yankees tied it on Swisher's solo homer in the second and an RBI single by Alex Rodriguez in the third. Lowrie hit a two-run drive in the fifth and Boston broke it open in the sixth.
David Ortiz bunted the ball toward third base against shifted infield and then was lifted for a pinch-runner; he was 3-for-3. Ortiz, who could become a free agent if the team declines his $12.5-million US option, waved his helmet to the cheering fans on the way to the dugout and was brought back out for a curtain call.
After Bill Hall walked, Ryan Kalish singled in one run and the runners moved up on a double steal. Daniel Nava was intentionally walked to load the bases, then Hall scored on Lars Anderson's sacrifice fly. Kalish, who advanced to third on the sacrifice, stole home as part of a double steal with Nava.
Jason Varitek, the Red Sox captain who's also eligible for free agency, got a standing ovation before his eighth-inning at-bat, a 390-foot out to centre field. He was sent up to catch the ninth inning but pulled to a big cheer before the first pitch.
Rays 3, Royals 2
With the AL East championship already in hand, the Tampa Bay Rays outlasted the Royals in 12 innings Sunday to head into the playoffs on a winning note.
Manager Joe Maddon's team learned it had clinched the franchise's second division title in the ninth inning, the result of New York's loss. The players and coaches exchanged high-fives in the dugout.
"It took a little of the tension off," Maddon said. "We wanted to win this game. How 'bout that? Extra innings, on the road, didn't need to win. It tells you something about our ball club."
The Yankees and Tampa Bay began the day tied at 95-66.
Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-run double in the ninth for the Rays.
Pinch-hitter Rocco Baldelli singled with one out in the 12th off rookie Dusty Hughes (1-3) and stole second. Baldelli scored when Kelly Shoppach hit a grounder through the legs of third baseman Wilson Betemit, who was charged with an error.
When closer Rafael Soriano finished off the Royals for his AL-leading 45th save in 48 chances, the Rays streamed onto the field to celebrate.
"We wanted to take matters into our own hands," Pena said.
The Rays are not exactly barreling into post-season on a hot streak. Since clinching a post-season berth Tuesday with a 5-0 victory over Baltimore, the Rays are 2-5 and have scored only nine runs. In their last seven games, they were shut out three times.
As the Royals kept shutting down the offensively slumping Rays throughout the cool breezy afternoon, the Rays kept one eye on the scoreboard were heartened to see Boston slowly pulling away.
Alex Gordon's two-run homer off Wade Davis gave the Royals a 2-0 lead in the fourth and Joakim Soria came on for what would have been his 44th save in 46 opportunities.
But the All-Star closer gave up a leadoff single to Carl Crawford and a one-out single to Matt Joyce before Pena's double into the left-field corner. It was Soria's first blown save since May 6 and the first runs he had allowed in 24 straight innings.
Jeff Niemann (12-8) struck out all three batters he faced in the 11th to pick up the victory.
Davis went seven innings and was charged with two runs on three hits, while striking out six.
The Rays loaded the bases in the second, but failed to score as Sean O'Sullivan struck out Dioner Navarro to end the inning.
O'Sullivan held the Rays to two hits in six
