And then there was one
Matt Joyce, right, helped the Rays to a win, keeping his team tied for the Wild Card lead. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
What happened Tuesday night between four teams fighting for their postseason lives epitomized just how unbelievable this September has been.
On September 1st, the Atlanta Braves led the St. Louis Cardinals by 8 1/2 games in the National League Wild Card Standings. On that same day, the Boston Red Sox led the division and the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games.
Entering the 27th of September, the Atlanta Braves, losers of 11 of their past 16 games, held a one-game lead over St. Louis, while over in the American League Wild Card race the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were deadlocked at 89-71. The falls and climbs have been incredible.
In the season’s penultimate game, the Braves quickly fell behind and struggled their way to a 7-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. That game was far from eventful. The other three, however, defined the term “thrilling”.
New York vs Tampa Bay, at Tropicana Field
Behind by one, Tampa Bay turned a bases-loaded jam in the sixth into a miraculous triple play, then torched an old friend facing the same deficit in the seventh. Rafael Soriano, their former closer, gave up a three-run homer to Matt Joyce, giving the Rays a 5-3 win to put all the pressure on Boston’s shoulders.
“I think that definitely tops any kind of big hit that I’ve ever had,” Joyce told The St. Petersburg Times. “To be in the situation we’re in, with two games left, we’re down a run and the season’s pretty much riding on the line, that was one of the most thrilling hits I’ve ever been a part of.”
It is hard to find any more quotes pertaining to this game. Everyone in the Rays clubhouse quickly turned their attention to Wednesday’s finale. Tuesday’s win is immaterial if another doesn’t follow.
As they looked ahead to their next game, following the end of the Red Sox battle with the Baltimore Orioles was on their to-do list. They were in for a frustrating conclusion.
Rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway helped Boston keep pace with the Rays, hitting his first two home-runs. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Boston v Baltimore, at Camden Yards
Boston fell behind in the first inning against Baltimore, which was the 22nd time in 27 September games they were forced to play catch-up. They managed to fight back, and took a healthy lead thanks to four home-runs, including the first two of third-string catcher Ryan Lavarnway’s career. The rookie picked a perfect time to properly welcome himself to the majors, collecting four rbi’s in his 16th career game.
Boston held a 8-4 lead in the eighth inning, but the advantage wasn’t a comfortable one. No lead has during this dreadful month of September.
They managed to hold onto it, but doing so sure wasn’t easy. Daniel Bard struggled in the eighth, giving up two runs, while Jonathan Papelbon pounded the strike-zone with his fastball to get out of a similarly stressful inning. Baltimore came up one run short. The hearts of Red Sox fans everywhere could stop fibrillating. At least until Wednesday’s game starts up.
“Everything we got, we needed,” manager Terry Francona told The Boston Globe. “We hung on for dear life.”
That was certainly the case, how they survived was incredibly difficult to go through.
As Papelbon took on the Orioles, my friend texted me and said he couldn’t bear to watch, desiring me to tell him if Boston had won or not as he covered his eyes and ears. I myself was just going by sound, putting my head down and listening to the call by MASN’s Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer. They would tell me what I did or didn’t want to know.
The good news that followed set the stage for such an appropriate finish. A finish that also awaits the Braves and Cardinals.
Ryan Theriot, center, helped the Cardinals take advantage of a Braves loss, hitting a crucial two-run triple. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
St. Louis vs Houston, at Minute Maid Park
The Astros had the Wild Card hopeful Cardinals on the ropes, but just as was the case with Boston and Tampa Bay, St. Louis wasn’t going to go down without a fight. They erased an early 5-0 deficit to not only take the lead but eventually win in a blowout.
That a 13-6 win would be the result was unthinkable as late as the seventh. Houston held a 6-5 lead, and the first two Cardinals were retired easily by reliever Enerio Del Rosario, but then the wheels fell off. Five straight reached and four runs were scored. Ryan Theriot delivered the biggest blow, legging out a two-run triple to give St. Louis a 9-6 advantage. Unlike their opponent’s, the Cardinals lead wasn’t about to vanish.
“You play all year for an opportunity to play in October,” Theriot told The Associated Press. “So it’s a good feeling to know that we put ourselves in a spot that we could possibly do that, to do what we’ve done this last month and keep playing.”
St. Louis, winners of 21 of their past 29 games, is a Wednesday win and a Braves loss from pulling off what was not long ago deemed improbable.
With the Rays and Red Sox in the same situation, there hasn’t been this much excitement this late in the season in a long time. The Minnesota Twins forced a 163rd game against the Chicago White Sox in 2009, but there is double the thrill this time around. What will be in store for these four? The answer will be revealed on what is to be a nerve-racking Wednesday.
