| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Boston's stretch run finally ran out
of gas.
|  | | Troy O'Leary, right, and Nomar Garciaparra, back, scored on a second-inning double, giving Boston a lead and scaring the Yankees before the D-Rays rallied to win. |
The Red Sox's improbable drive to catch faltering New York in
the AL East ended Friday night when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
rallied from a four-run deficit for an 8-6 victory that gave the
division title to the Yankees.
"It was a longshot, but that's what dreams are made of," designated hitter Dante Bichette said. "You never give up until the fat lady sings, and she sang tonight. It was a good effort."
Randy Winn's two-run double off Jeff Fassero snapped a
seventh-inning tie as the last-place Devil Rays won their sixth
straight game against teams battling for playoff spots. Boston had
won three straight to pull within 3 1-2 games of the Yankees, who
backed into their fourth division title in five years.
"We didn't win enough games. That's it," manager Jimy Williams
said. "I appreciate the work ethic, leaving it between the lines
regardless of how things ended up."
Down 8-4, the Red Sox rallied for two runs in the ninth, then
put two runners on base with two outs before closer Roberto
Hernandez struck out Trot Nixon to end it. Many Red Sox players found it difficult to speak afterward.
"I think it's a lot of guys just worn out. It's a long year,"
backup catcher Scott Hatteberg said. "There was a chance there for
a little while. All of us were watching the scoreboard, and we
wanted that game bad."
After winning three of four against Toronto last weekend, the
Devil Rays swept three games from New York to help the Red Sox stay
in the race.
"This is a nice way to end the season, playing solid ball,"
Hernandez said. "Hopefully, next year when the season starts we
know we can play well against them."
It looked like Boston would prolong the chase when the Yankees
allowed 10 second-inning runs at Baltimore, and the Red Sox built a
4-0 lead on Bichette's two-run double in the second and Troy
O'Leary's two-run homer off starter Travis Harper in the fifth.
But one-time Devil Rays pitcher Rolando Arrojo couldn't keep the Red Sox in front in his second appearance against his former team.
Tampa Bay scored four times off Arrojo in the fifth and missed
an opportunity to take the lead in the sixth when Steve Cox, trying
to score from second base on a single to shallow left, was thrown
out by O'Leary.
John Flaherty began the seventh with a single off Hector
Carrasco (5-4). Felix Martinez laid down a sacrifice bunt that the
Boston reliever misplayed for an error, and both runners scored
when Winn doubled into the left-field corner with one out.
The Devil Rays added two more runs in the eighth off Rod Beck on
Bobby Smith's RBI double and catcher Jason Varitek's throwing
error.
Esteban Yan (7-8) pitched two innings of two-hit relief to get
the win.
Hernandez got the last three outs for his 32nd save in 39
opportunities. He gave up Varitek's RBI grounder, and another run
scored on a passed ball.
Arrojo won his only previous start against his former team, 4-3
on Aug. 16 at Fenway Park. He limited the Devil Rays to Fred
McGriff's infield single until the fifth when he suddenly couldn't
get anybody out.
McGriff led off the inning with a double and scored on Ozzie
Timmons' single. Aubrey Huff hit a line drive that sailed over
center fielder Nixon's head for a double, and the fourth straight
hit off Arrojo -- Smith's single to left center -- drove in Timmons
and Huff to trim Boston's lead to 4-3.
The Devil Rays tied it one out later when Smith went to third on
a single by Martinez and scored on a wild pitch.
Arrojo allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out four in
five-plus innings. Harper, who got his first major league win last
week when he shut out Toronto on a two-hitter, allowed four runs on
seven hits, walked three and struck out four in six innings.
AL batting leader Nomar Garciaparra went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. He's batting .372.
Game notes
Boston 1B Brian Daubach, in the midst of a 1-for-32 slump,
did not start. He's hitting .150 (9-for-60) since hyperextending
his left elbow in the bench-clearing brawl the Red Sox had with the
Devil Rays on Aug. 29. ... Red Sox INF Lou Merloni wasn't in the
lineup because of a sore knee. ... Tampa Bay's club-record streak
of consecutive games with at least one homer ended at 10. ... The
Devil Rays have influenced the AL division and wild card races by
going 9-2 against the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays the past
month.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 13
NY Yankees 2
Cleveland 8
Toronto 4
Detroit 1
Minnesota 0
Tampa Bay 8
Boston 6
Chi. White Sox 6
Kansas City 4
Anaheim 9
Seattle 3
Oakland 7
Texas 5
Florida 7
Philadelphia 1
Pittsburgh 8
Chicago Cubs 4
NY Mets 11
Montreal 2
Colorado 4
Atlanta 2
Milwaukee 13
Houston 3
Cincinnati 8
St. Louis 1
San Francisco 4
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 3
San Diego 0
|
