Tampa Bay Rays draw level in Wild Card race – MLB News
The Tampa Bay Rays out-performed New York Yankees to defeat them 5-2 on Monday, September 26 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida to draw level in the Wild Card race with Boston Red Sox with two games still to play in the regular season.
Although the Yankees managed to compile a two-run lead over the home-side, a third inning outburst and James Shields’ subsequent domination from the mound made sure that the Rays are in contention with the Red Sox for the American League Wild Card berth.
Shields tossed 8.2 innings and allowed just two runs amid six hits to win his 12th game of the season. His performance helped his earned-run average plunge to 2.82 for the season, increasing his odds for a superior performance if the Rays make
it through to the post-season.
"It's been a nice little run. All the stars have been aligned for us and here we are," Shields said. "This is what baseball is all about."
This was the 57th time this season that a Rays’ pitcher conceded two or less runs in more than seven innings. Only Philadelphia Phillies have produced more starts of this nature during the year.
Manager Joe Maddon did not celebrate until he saw the Red Sox go down against lowly-ranked Baltimore Orioles rather cheaply. Maddon expressed his excitement about a possible post-season stint and stated that the team is positive about the odds of going deep
into the play-offs.
Maddon said, "It means something to be that far back at the beginning of this month and now we're tied with a couple of games to go. That's quite an accomplishment in and of itself. But when you get to this point, you really want to finish things off."
Talking to reporters after the game, Shields articulated that the Rays are now responsible for themselves from this point onwards. With both teams level in the standings and an equal number of games to play, the Rays do not have to worry about the Red Sox
losing yet again.
There was a talk about Yankees’ deliberately resting their regular players but Maddon shunned these talks and underlined the effort put in by the Rays to win.
With two games left, it will be interesting to see which team prevails under pressure.
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