First things first for the Yankees. Why worry about Cliff Lee when you can fret over the Texas Rangers' opening pitcher?
Cliff Lee pitched another postseason gem and the Texas Rangers won a playoff series for the first time, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 Tuesday night in a decisive Game 5 on the legs of some daring baserunning.
Rays manager Joe Maddon spoke matter-of-factly, assessing Tampa Bay's chances of completing an improbable comeback against the Texas Rangers in the opening round of the AL playoffs.
Evan Longoria snapped out of his postseason slump with a homer and two doubles, Carlos Pena had a pair of extra-base hits and the Tampa Bay Rays escaped elimination again with a 5-2 victory Sunday over the Texas Rangers.
Michael Young hit a three-run homer after a disputed check-swing, helping C.J. Wilson and the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 Thursday for a 2-0 lead in their AL division series.
The first-place Tampa Bay Rays gave away 20,000 tickets for Wednesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles, packing Tropicana Field for the team's regular-season home finale.
Kevin Millwood allowed two hits over seven innings, Felix Pie hit a two-run triple and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 before a capacity crowd of 36,973 on Wednesday night.
The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their second playoff berth in three years Tuesday night, beating the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 behind another strong pitching performance by 19-game winner David Price.
