AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: R Clayton ran for D Ortiz. SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, R CLAYTON ON FIRST, J ELLSBURY ON THIRD, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 8 TAMPA BAY 6 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M Lowell (.327, 2-FOR-3)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - BOSTON 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 3 8 13 0 TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 6 7 0 (BOT 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - ERIC GAGNE TAM - AL REYES DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: J WILSON (.256, 0-FOR-3) A IWAMURA (.282, 1-FOR-3, BB) J VELANDIA (.476, 0-FOR-3, BB)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">BOSTON (8) VS TAMPA BAY (6) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Ellsbury lf 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 .374 D Pedroia 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315 D Ortiz dh 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .321 R Clayton pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253 M Lowell 3b 4 2 2 0 1 1 2 .327 J Drew rf 4 2 2 3 0 0 1 .263 J Varitek c 3 1 3 2 1 0 0 .257 E Hinske 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 4 .211 C Crisp cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .268 J Lugo ss 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 .239 Totals 36 8 13 8 3 3 11 BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (48, A Sonnanstine); J Drew (28, A Sonnanstine); E Hinske (12, Al Reyes); J Ellsbury (6, Al Reyes). HR - J Drew (10, 6th inning off A Sonnanstine 1 on, 1 Out), J Varitek (15, 9th inning off Al Reyes 0 on, 0 Out), J Lugo (8, 9th inning off Al Reyes 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Lugo. RBI - J Ellsbury (15), J Drew 3 (56), J Varitek 2 (66), J Lugo 2 (73). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Lowell 1. GIDP - E Hinske. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: CS - J Varitek (2, 2nd base by A Sonnanstine/D Navarro), D Ortiz (1, 3rd base by A Sonnanstine/D Navarro). TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg A Iwamura 3b 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .282 J Velandia 2b 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 .476 C Pena 1b 3 2 2 4 1 1 1 .278 B Upton cf 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 .303 D Young rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .291 G Norton dh 4 0 3 2 0 1 0 .238 J Gomes lf 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .245 D Navarro c 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .226 J Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256 Totals 31 6 7 6 4 10 11 BATTING: HR - C Pena 2 (42, 4th inning off D Matsuzaka 0 on, 0 Out, 7th inning off J Lopez 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - C Pena 4 (116), G Norton 2 (22). 2-out RBI - G Norton, C Pena 3. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - D Young (9, 2nd base off D Matsuzaka/J Varitek), B Upton (20, 2nd base off D Matsuzaka/J Varitek). FIELDING: DP: 2 (A Iwamura-C Pena, D Navarro-J Wilson). ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON - 001 202 003 -- 8 TAMPA BAY - 000 201 30 -- 6 ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era D Matsuzaka 6 2/3 6 5 5 3 7 1 4.48 J Lopez 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3.20 M Timlin 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.63 E Gagne 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.01 TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era A Sonnanstine 5 1/3 8 5 5 2 1 1 5.80 J Switzer 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.04 S Dohmann 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.37 D Wheeler 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.00 Al Reyes 1 4 3 3 1 0 2 5.15 J Lopez pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP - A Sonnanstine, D Matsuzaka. IBB - D Ortiz (by Al Reyes). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 115-73; J Lopez 8-5; M Timlin 4-3; E Gagne 21-12; A Sonnanstine 101-57; J Switzer 16-11; S Dohmann 2-1; D Wheeler 10-8; Al Reyes 25-15. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 3-10; J Lopez 0-0; M Timlin 0-0; E Gagne 0-1; A Sonnanstine 6-7; J Switzer 2-2; S Dohmann 0-1; D Wheeler 0-1; Al Reyes 0-3. Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 29; J Lopez 1; M Timlin 1; E Gagne 4; A Sonnanstine 23; J Switzer 5; S Dohmann 1; D Wheeler 3; Al Reyes 8. UMPIRES: HP--John Hirschbeck. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Bill Welke. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - PITCHING CHANGE BOS: JONATHAN PAPELBON (1-3, 1.96) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6 DUE UP FOR TAMPABAY: J WILSON (.256, 0-FOR-3)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: J Papelbon relieved E Gagne. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 8 TAMPA BAY 6 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: J Wilson (.256, 0-FOR-3)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: R Casanova hit for J Wilson. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 8 TAMPA BAY 6 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: R Casanova (.234, 6 HR, 10 RBI)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - BOSTON 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 3 8 13 0 TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 6 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, JAVIER LOPEZ (7TH), MIKE TIMLIN (7TH), ERIC GAGNE (8TH), JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK TAM - ANDY SONNANSTINE, JON SWITZER (6TH), SCOTT DOHMANN (7TH), DAN WHEELER (8TH), AL REYES (9TH) AND DIONER NAVARRO HOME RUNS: BOS - J.D. DREW (10) OFF ANDY SONNANSTINE IN THE 6TH, 1 ON JASON VARITEK (15) OFF AL REYES IN THE 9TH, 0 ON JULIO LUGO (8) OFF AL REYES IN THE 9TH, 1 ON TAM - CARLOS PENA (41) OFF DAISUKE MATSUZAKA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON CARLOS PENA (42) OFF JAVIER LOPEZ IN THE 7TH, 2 ON</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - BOSTON 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 3 8 13 0 TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 6 7 0 (FINAL) BATTERIES: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA, JAVIER LOPEZ (7TH), MIKE TIMLIN (7TH), ERIC GAGNE (8TH), JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK TAM - ANDY SONNANSTINE, JON SWITZER (6TH), SCOTT DOHMANN (7TH), DAN WHEELER (8TH), AL REYES (9TH) AND DIONER NAVARRO WP - ERIC GAGNE (4-2) LP - AL REYES (2-4) SAVE - JONATHAN PAPELBON (36) HOME RUNS: BOS - J.D. DREW (10) OFF ANDY SONNANSTINE IN THE 6TH, 1 ON JASON VARITEK (15) OFF AL REYES IN THE 9TH, 0 ON JULIO LUGO (8) OFF AL REYES IN THE 9TH, 1 ON TAM - CARLOS PENA (41) OFF DAISUKE MATSUZAKA IN THE 4TH, 0 ON CARLOS PENA (42) OFF JAVIER LOPEZ IN THE 7TH, 2 ON TIME: 3:32 ATT: 34,626 PROBABLES: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD (16-11, 4.73) TAM - EDWIN JACKSON (4-15, 5.99)</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">BOSTON (8) VS TAMPA BAY (6) - FINAL BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Ellsbury lf 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 .374 D Pedroia 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 .315 D Ortiz dh 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .321 R Clayton pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253 M Lowell 3b 4 2 2 0 1 1 2 .327 J Drew rf 4 2 2 3 0 0 1 .263 J Varitek c 3 1 3 2 1 0 0 .257 E Hinske 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 4 .211 C Crisp cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .268 J Lugo ss 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 .239 Totals 36 8 13 8 3 3 11 BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (48, A Sonnanstine); J Drew (28, A Sonnanstine); E Hinske (12, Al Reyes); J Ellsbury (6, Al Reyes). HR - J Drew (10, 6th inning off A Sonnanstine 1 on, 1 Out), J Varitek (15, 9th inning off Al Reyes 0 on, 0 Out), J Lugo (8, 9th inning off Al Reyes 1 on, 1 Out). S - J Lugo. RBI - J Ellsbury (15), J Drew 3 (56), J Varitek 2 (66), J Lugo 2 (73). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Lowell 1. GIDP - E Hinske. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: CS - J Varitek (2, 2nd base by A Sonnanstine/D Navarro), D Ortiz (1, 3rd base by A Sonnanstine/D Navarro). TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg A Iwamura 3b 4 1 1 0 1 1 0 .282 J Velandia 2b 4 1 0 0 1 2 1 .455 C Pena 1b 3 2 2 4 1 1 1 .278 B Upton cf 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 .303 D Young rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .291 G Norton dh 4 0 3 2 0 1 0 .238 J Gomes lf 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .245 D Navarro c 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .226 J Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256 a-R Casanova ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 Totals 34 6 7 6 4 10 11 a-grounded to second for J Wilson in the 9th. BATTING: HR - C Pena 2 (42, 4th inning off D Matsuzaka 0 on, 0 Out, 7th inning off J Lopez 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - C Pena 4 (116), G Norton 2 (22). 2-out RBI - G Norton, C Pena 3. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - D Young (9, 2nd base off D Matsuzaka/J Varitek), B Upton (20, 2nd base off D Matsuzaka/J Varitek). FIELDING: DP: 2 (A Iwamura-C Pena, D Navarro-J Wilson). ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON - 001 202 003 -- 8 TAMPA BAY - 000 201 300 -- 6 ---------------------------------------------------- BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era D Matsuzaka 6 2/3 6 5 5 3 7 1 4.48 J Lopez (H, 16) 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3.20 M Timlin 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.63 E Gagne (W, 4-2) 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.01 J Papelbon (S, 36) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.93 TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era A Sonnanstine 5 1/3 8 5 5 2 1 1 5.80 J Switzer 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.04 S Dohmann 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.37 D Wheeler (H, 11) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.00 Al Reyes (L, 2-4; B, 4) 1 4 3 3 1 0 2 5.15 J Lopez pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP - A Sonnanstine, D Matsuzaka. IBB - D Ortiz (by Al Reyes). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 115-73; J Lopez 8-5; M Timlin 4-3; E Gagne 21-12; J Papelbon 12-8; A Sonnanstine 101-57; J Switzer 16-11; S Dohmann 2-1; D Wheeler 10-8; Al Reyes 25-15. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 3-10; J Lopez 0-0; M Timlin 0-0; E Gagne 0-1; J Papelbon 1-2; A Sonnanstine 6-7; J Switzer 2-2; S Dohmann 0-1; D Wheeler 0-1; Al Reyes 0-3. Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 29; J Lopez 1; M Timlin 1; E Gagne 4; J Papelbon 3; A Sonnanstine 23; J Switzer 5; S Dohmann 1; D Wheeler 3; Al Reyes 8. UMPIRES: HP--John Hirschbeck. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Bill Welke. T--3:32. Att--34,626. Weather: INDOORS</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON (8) AT TAMPA BAY (6) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON 3RD: C Crisp reached on bunt single to third. J Lugo sacrificed to first, C Crisp to second. J Ellsbury singled to center, C Crisp scored. D Pedroia flied out to right. D Ortiz grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 1, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 4TH: M Lowell walked. J Drew doubled to deep center, M Lowell scored. J Drew to third on wild pitch by A Sonnanstine. J Varitek singled to right, J Drew scored. E Hinske struck out swinging. J Varitek caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. C Crisp flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 4TH: C Pena homered to right. B Upton flied out to right. D Young singled to left. D Young stole second. G Norton singled to center, D Young scored. J Gomes struck out looking. D Navarro struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 2. BOSTON 6TH: D Ortiz flied out to left. M Lowell singled to right. J Drew homered to right, M Lowell scored. J Switzer relieved A Sonnanstine. J Varitek singled to left. E Hinske flied out to center. C Crisp flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 2. TAMPA BAY 6TH: C Pena walked. B Upton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Pena out at second. D Young struck out swinging, B Upton stole second. G Norton singled to center, B Upton scored. J Gomes flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 3. TAMPA BAY 7TH: D Navarro flied out to right. J Wilson flied out to right. A Iwamura walked. A Iwamura to second on wild pitch by D Matsuzaka. J Velandia walked. J Lopez relieved D Matsuzaka. C Pena homered to right, A Iwamura and J Velandia scored. M Timlin relieved J Lopez. B Upton struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 6. BOSTON 9TH: Al Reyes relieved D Wheeler. J Varitek homered to left. E Hinske doubled to right. C Crisp popped out to third. J Lugo homered to left, E Hinske scored. J Ellsbury doubled to right center. D Pedroia fouled out to first, J Ellsbury to third. D Ortiz intentionally walked. R Clayton ran for D Ortiz. M Lowell popped out to second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6.</div>
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON (8) AT TAMPA BAY (6) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boston Starting Lineups -- J Ellsbury LF, D Pedroia 2B, D Ortiz DH, M Lowell 3B, J Drew RF, J Varitek C, E Hinske 1B, C Crisp CF, J Lugo SS, D Matsuzaka RHP. Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- A Iwamura 3B, J Velandia 2B, C Pena 1B, B Upton CF, D Young RF, G Norton DH, J Gomes LF, D Navarro C, J Wilson SS, A Sonnanstine RHP. Umpires -- John Hirschbeck (HP), Laz Diaz (1B), Mike Dimuro (2B), Bill Welke (3B). Gametime Weather: INDOORS. BOSTON 1ST: J Ellsbury flied out to left. D Pedroia lined out to shortstop. D Ortiz doubled to deep center. D Ortiz caught stealing third, catcher to third.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura singled to left. J Velandia flied out to right. C Pena struck out looking. B Upton lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 2ND: M Lowell singled to center. J Drew lined out to center. J Varitek walked, M Lowell to second. E Hinske grounded into double play, third to first, M Lowell out at third.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 2ND: D Young grounded out to shortstop. G Norton singled to left. J Gomes popped out to second. D Navarro grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 3RD: C Crisp reached on bunt single to third. J Lugo sacrificed to first, C Crisp to second. J Ellsbury singled to center, C Crisp scored. D Pedroia flied out to right. D Ortiz grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 1, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 3RD: J Wilson popped out to third. A Iwamura flied out to right. J Velandia struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 1, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 4TH: M Lowell walked. J Drew doubled to deep center, M Lowell scored. J Drew to third on wild pitch by A Sonnanstine. J Varitek singled to right, J Drew scored. E Hinske struck out swinging. J Varitek caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. C Crisp flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 4TH: C Pena homered to right. B Upton flied out to right. D Young singled to left. D Young stole second. G Norton singled to center, D Young scored. J Gomes struck out looking. D Navarro struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 2. BOSTON 5TH: J Lugo lined out to center. J Ellsbury grounded out to pitcher. D Pedroia grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 2. TAMPA BAY 5TH: J Wilson flied out to center. A Iwamura struck out swinging. J Velandia struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 2. BOSTON 6TH: D Ortiz flied out to left. M Lowell singled to right. J Drew homered to right, M Lowell scored. J Switzer relieved A Sonnanstine. J Varitek singled to left. E Hinske flied out to center. C Crisp flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 2. TAMPA BAY 6TH: C Pena walked. B Upton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Pena out at second. D Young struck out swinging, B Upton stole second. G Norton singled to center, B Upton scored. J Gomes flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 3. BOSTON 7TH: J Lugo grounded out to shortstop. J Ellsbury bunt grounded out to pitcher. S Dohmann relieved J Switzer. D Pedroia popped out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 3. TAMPA BAY 7TH: D Navarro flied out to right. J Wilson flied out to right. A Iwamura walked. A Iwamura to second on wild pitch by D Matsuzaka. J Velandia walked. J Lopez relieved D Matsuzaka. C Pena homered to right, A Iwamura and J Velandia scored. M Timlin relieved J Lopez. B Upton struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 6. BOSTON 8TH: D Wheeler relieved S Dohmann. D Ortiz struck out swinging. M Lowell struck out swinging. J Drew flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 6. TAMPA BAY 8TH: E Gagne relieved M Timlin. D Young popped out to second. G Norton struck out looking. J Gomes walked. D Navarro struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 6. BOSTON 9TH: Al Reyes relieved D Wheeler. J Varitek homered to left. E Hinske doubled to right. C Crisp popped out to third. J Lugo homered to left, E Hinske scored. J Ellsbury doubled to right center. D Pedroia fouled out to first, J Ellsbury to third. D Ortiz intentionally walked. R Clayton ran for D Ortiz. M Lowell popped out to second. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6. TAMPA BAY 9TH: J Papelbon relieved E Gagne. R Casanova hit for J Wilson. R Casanova grounded out to second. A Iwamura flied out to center. J Velandia flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6.</div>
Re: AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY Good win for Boston, they needed it. With this win, if they don't win the AL, they're guaranteed the wild card.
Red Sox get to Reyes again, punch ticket to October <h3>BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6</h3>By Ted Fleming PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox becamethe first team in the major leagues to clinch a postseason berthwith some unexpected ninth-inning power. Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo each homered in the ninth inning toerase a one-run deficit and lead the Red Sox to an 8-6 victoryover the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday night. J.D. Drew also homered and drove in three runs for Boston(92-63), which kept its advantage over the New York Yankees(89-65) in the American League East at 2 1/2 games with the win. With the Detroit Tigers (84-71) suffering a loss to the KansasCity Royals, the Red Sox clinched at least the wild card,assuring the team of making the playoffs for the fourth time infive years. The Devil Rays held a 6-5 lead going into the ninth inningbefore handing the ball to closer Al Reyes (2-4). Therighthander allowed a leadoff solo blast to Varitek to tie thegame at 6-6. Eric Hinske followed with a double before Reyes got Coco Crispto pop out. Lugo was up next, and he lined the first pitch hesaw into the seats in left field to give Boston an 8-6 lead. It was the fourth blown save of the season for Reyes, with threeof those coming against the Red Sox. He allowed a walk-offhomer to David Ortiz on September 12 at Fenway Park in his lastappearance against the division rival. Embattled reliever Eric Gagne (4-2) earned the win by tossing ascoreless eighth inning - his second straight scorelessappearance - and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth toearn his 36th save. The loss obscured another tremendous night by Tampa Bay sluggerCarlos Pena, who homered twice, including a three-run blast inthe seventh inning off lefthander Javier Lopez that gave histeam a 6-5 lead. Pena, who grew up outside of Boston and spent the final month oflast season with his hometown team, made the Tampa Bay rosterin spring training and has been one of the most prolific hittersin the AL this season. His two blasts on Saturday bring hisseason total to 42 - second in the league only to AlexRodriguez. Japanese righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka got the start for Bostonafter seven days of rest, and was clearly not his sharpest. Hewas charged with five runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings whilewalking three and striking out seven. The highly touted rookie has earned just one win in eight startssince August 10, and will finish the season 0-3 in four startsagainst the lowly Devil Rays. The Red Sox opened the scoring on Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI singleoff starter Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine in the third andadded two more the next frame with Drew and Varitek knocking ina run apiece. Pena got the Rays on the board in the fourth, belting his firsthomer of the night into the right field seats. Greg Nortonsingled in another run to make it 3-2. Drew's 10th homer of the season with Mike Lowell aboard landedabout 15 rows up in right and gave Matsuzaka some breathingroom. Norton, who had three hits, singled in B.J. Upton in the sixth.After Matsuzaka yielded a pair of two-out walks in the seventh,he was lifted in favor of the lefthander Lopez, who allowedPena's second homer.
Red Sox get to Reyes again, punch ticket to October <h3>BOSTON 8, TAMPA BAY 6</h3>By Ted Fleming PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox became thefirst team in the major leagues to clinch a postseason berth withsome unexpected ninth-inning power. Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo each homered in the ninth inning toerase a one-run deficit and lead the Red Sox to an 8-6 victoryover the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday night. J.D. Drew also homered and drove in three runs for Boston(92-63), which kept its advantage over the New York Yankees(89-65) in the American League East at 2 1/2 games with the win. "Oh man, like you can't believe," Red Sox manager Terry Franconasaid when asked how satisfying this win was. "It was about asrollercoaster as it gets. I talked the other day aboutdepending on people and I mentioned Varitek's name. That's howyou win with guys like that. Heck, I was celebrating the game(not the clinching). "You can't script or fake how you feel after the way the gameended. It was very appropriate that we met. There's not aproblem with taking five minutes to reinforce what we haveaccomplished." With the Detroit Tigers (84-71) suffering a loss to the KansasCity Royals, the Red Sox clinched at least the wild card,assuring the team of making the playoffs for the fourth time infive years. The Devil Rays held a 6-5 lead going into the ninth inningbefore handing the ball to closer Al Reyes (2-4). Therighthander allowed a leadoff solo blast to Varitek to tie thegame at 6-6. Eric Hinske followed with a double before Reyes got Coco Crispto pop out. Lugo was up next, and he lined the first pitch hesaw into the seats in left field to give Boston an 8-6 lead. "We are where we want to be," said Lugo, downplaying hisplayoff-clinching homer. "I felt like David Ortiz floatingaround the bases. It's nice to be able to do something to win.It's a release for us. That's what you come here for. Whenyou have the good team, the good guys, now we just have to putit together to win it all." It was the fourth blown save of the season for Reyes, with threeof those coming against the Red Sox. He allowed a walk-offhomer to David Ortiz on September 12 at Fenway Park in his lastappearance against the division rival. "With Varitek I tried to stay away but I left the pitch up,"Reyes said. "Everything feels good. My arm feels good. I justmissed a couple of pitches. A team like that, they see amistake and they jump on it." Embattled reliever Eric Gagne (4-2) earned the win by tossing ascoreless eighth inning - his second straight scorelessappearance - and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth toearn his 36th save. The loss obscured another tremendous night by Tampa Bay sluggerCarlos Pena, who homered twice, including a three-run blast inthe seventh inning off lefthander Javier Lopez that gave histeam a 6-5 lead. Pena, who grew up outside of Boston and spent the final month oflast season with his hometown team, made the Tampa Bay rosterin spring training and has been one of the most prolific hittersin the AL this season. His two blasts on Saturday bring hisseason total to 42 - second in the league only to AlexRodriguez. "It's fun to watch," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said aboutPena's season. "It's been impressive to see him cap it offwithout any fall-off. It's good for us and him." Japanese righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka got the start for Bostonafter seven days of rest, and was clearly not his sharpest. Hewas charged with five runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings whilewalking three and striking out seven. The highly touted rookie has earned just one win in eight startssince August 10, and will finish the season 0-3 in four startsagainst the lowly Devil Rays. "Coming into the game I knew we had a chance to clinch,"Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. "It would have beennothing greater than to get the win and be the winning pitcher.Looking at the situation I'm pretty excited that we made theplayoffs." The Red Sox opened the scoring on Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI singleoff starter Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine in the third andadded two more the next frame with Drew and Varitek knocking ina run apiece. Pena got the Rays on the board in the fourth, belting his firsthomer of the night into the right field seats. Greg Nortonsingled in another run to make it 3-2. Drew's 10th homer of the season with Mike Lowell aboard landedabout 15 rows up in right and gave Matsuzaka some breathingroom. Norton, who had three hits, singled in B.J. Upton in the sixth.After Matsuzaka yielded a pair of two-out walks in the seventh,he was lifted in favor of the lefthander Lopez, who allowedPena's second homer. "We know we can still put together a rally and still make a gameout of it," Lowell said. "We should be happy. We're one offour teams that will play after September 30th. This is a funtime to scoreboard watch."
