BOSTON (AP) -B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays are bashing their way through their first trip to the playoffs.
Upton and Longoria homered off a suddenly shaky Jon Lester, and the power-packed Rays cleared the Green Monster four times to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 Monday for a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.
Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena also sent shots over Fenway Park’s famous left-wall as Tampa Bay tied the ALCS home run record. The Rays put the defending World Series champions in a postseason hole for the first time since they overcame a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland last year to win the pennant.
The Rays also hit hard on the basepaths. Carl Crawford bowled over Boston catcher Jason Varitek on a play at the plate – there was no immediate reprisal in a matchup between teams that have tangled in the past.
seventh.
Upton hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Longoria added a solo shot. Baldelli had a three-run drive in the eighth and Pena hit a solo homer in the ninth.
Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield faces Andy Sonnanstine in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday night.
Add A Comment