Nobody can say the Tampa Bay Rays backed into the AL East title Sunday. Knowing that New York's loss about an hour earlier had already assured them of the championship, the Rays rallied for a 3-2 victory over Kansas City in 12 innings, sending them into the postseason on a winning note. "Winning in extra innings on the road is a great measure of your team and the character of your group," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. "Under these circumstances that really demonstrates that." Tampa Bay will start the playoffs at home Wednesday against AL West champion Texas and have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. The Yankees are the wild card and open Wednesday at AL Central champion Minnesota. The Yankees and Tampa Bay began the day tied at 95-66, with both teams already assured of postseason spots. To win the division, New York needed to finish ahead of the Rays, who held the tiebreaker after winning the season series 10-8. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=301003107
