Recap: Tampa Bay vs. Boston
Sports Network | October 19, 2008
St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Perennial doormats in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays shed that label this year and are now headed to their first World Series, all while denying the Boston Red Sox a chance to repeat for the title.
Matt Garza was lifted in the eighth inning after throwing 118 pitches, and the Rays got out of a bases-loaded jam later in the frame when they used four relievers to beat Boston, 3-1, and capture the deciding seventh game of the AL Championship Series.
Willy Aybar scored the go-ahead run on Rocco Baldelli's single in the fifth inning, and then homered in the seventh. Evan Longoria doubled in Tampa Bay's other run, as the Rays moved into the World Series to face the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, starting Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.
Garza (2-1) allowed just two hits and a run, walked three and had nine strikeouts over seven-plus innings, as the Rays became just the third team to advance to the World Series immediately after 10 or more consecutive losing seasons. Prior to this year, the most wins for the Rays, who entered the majors in 1998, was 70.
Jon Lester (1-2) yielded six hits and three runs, while logging eight strikeouts over seven innings, and Dustin Pedroia homered in the first inning for the Red Sox, who were trying to complete yet another improbable series rally. They came back from a seven-run deficit in the seventh inning to win Game 5, 8-7, at Fenway Park, and then scored twice in the sixth for a 4-2 victory Saturday night.
Three times before Boston came back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven ALCS -- 1986 against the Angels, 2004 to the Yankees and 2007 versus the Indians, the last two times winning the World Series. But Sunday brought a different finish, as the Red Sox lost for the first time (9-1) in ALCS elimination games under manager Terry Francona.
David Price, the Rays' first-round draft pick in 2007, struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded to end the eighth. The 23-year-old lefty came out for the ninth and immediately walked Jason Bay. Mark Kotsay was caught looking at a called third strike. Price then fanned Jason Varitek and got pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie to ground into a force play with second baseman Akinori Iwamura stepping on the base for the final out.
The Rays then rushed the field and piled on top of Price, who had his first major league save, giving Tampa Bay its biggest win in franchise history.
New FanShot
