ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Matt Garza’s fine first season with the Tampa Bay Rays just got a little sweeter.
Garza shut down the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS on Sunday night, leading Tampa Bay to its first pennant and earning the series MVP award.
He allowed one run and two hits over seven-plus innings in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 victory in the clinching game. He went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts in the series.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander was one of several Rays who could’ve walked away with the series MVP award. B.J. Upton hit four homers and drove in 11 runs, Evan Longoria set an ALCS record by homering in four straight games and Pena went deep three times.
The Rays acquired Garza in an offseason deal with the Minnesota Twins that also netted them slick-fielding shortstop Jason Bartlett. Both players played key roles as Tampa Bay won the AL East title.
Garza was shaky in his first postseason start, allowing five runs and seven hits over six innings against the Chicago White Sox in the division series. He got the decision in Tampa Bay’s only loss in the first round.
on, yielding just one run in six-plus innings in the Rays’ 9-1 victory in Game 3 at Fenway Park.
Garza, the Twins’ first-round draft pick in 2005 out of Fresno State, went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA this season for Tampa Bay. His 30 starts and 184 2-3 innings were more than he pitched in his first two years combined.
He had enough left for 118 pitches Sunday night. He struck out nine and walked three.
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