Final
Yankees eye home-field advantage, sweep of Rays
Sep 22, 2011 - 3:06 PMVideo
The Yankees clinched a playoff spot with a come-from-behind 4-2 win in game one of a doubleheader on Wednesday, then wrapped up the American League East with another thrilling 4-2 triumph in the nightcap.
Jorge Posada provided the heroics in the second game, as he came up with a pinch-hit, two-run single in the eighth inning, and that coupled with Boston's loss to Baltimore helped the Yankees to their 17th AL East crown and their 12th in the last 16 years.
"It's always satisfying, but like I always say, you can't sit down and figure out what's going to happen before a season starts," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "You have to go out there and you have to play the games. We know how good everyone is in our division and the other teams are in baseball, but we had confidence in our own team."
New York is five games ahead of both Detroit and Texas for the league's best record.
The wild card chase is still in full swing, though, as the Rays remain 2 1/2 games back of Boston, with the Angels tied with Tampa Bay.
"We were fortunate that the Orioles helped out once again," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "At the end of the day, the effort was great, but once again the inability to get the big hit at the right time is kicking out butt a little bit."
New York will hand the ball to righty Bartolo Colon this evening, as he tries for his first win since July 30. Colon is 0-3 in his last nine starts and received a no-decision his last time out on Saturday in Toronto, but was awful, as he allowed six runs and seven hits in just four innings of a 7-6 win.
Colon lost to the Rays the last time he faced them and is 9-4 with a 3.71 ERA in 20 games against them.
Getting the call for the Rays will be left-handed prospect Matt Moore, who will be making his first big league start. Moore has appeared in two games out of the bullpen for the Rays and has allowed three earned runs in 4 1/3 frames.
"I'm happy about it," Moore said. "It's the same opportunity that was presented to me when I got called up. It's exciting. I'm going to do my best [Thursday] to take my pregame as I always have. You know it's a mound and it's 60 feet away. As long as I can stay within myself I feel confident."
The Yanks have won nine of their 14 meetings with the Rays this season.
- TAMPA BAY: 15
NEW YORK: 8
Final
Sep 22 10:44 PM - Ramiro Pena reached first on Elliot Johnson's throwing error which scored Chris Dickerson and Eduardo Nunez. On the play, Austin Romine advances to second. Runners on first and second with one out and Andruw Jones due up.
Rays 15, Yankees 8 Bot 8, 1 OutSep 22 10:19 PM - Elliot Johnson walked. Bases loaded with two outs and Justin Ruggiano due up.
Rays 15, Yankees 6 Top 8, 2 OutsSep 22 10:02 PM - Matt Joyce's hit-by-pitch scored Dan Johnson. Bases loaded with one out and Russ Canzler due up.
Rays 14, Yankees 6 Top 8, 1 OutSep 22 10:00 PM - Jesus Montero doubled to left-center scoring Ramiro Pena and Andruw Jones. Runner on second with one out and Jorge Posada due up.
Rays 13, Yankees 6 Bot 7, 1 OutSep 22 9:46 PM - Andruw Jones singled to left scoring Austin Romine. On the play, Ramiro Pena advances to second. Runners on first and second with one out and Jesus Montero due up.
Rays 13, Yankees 4 Bot 7, 1 OutSep 22 9:42 PM - Ramiro Pena singled to right scoring Eduardo Nunez. On the play, Austin Romine advances to third. Runners on first and third with one out and Andruw Jones due up.
Rays 13, Yankees 3 Bot 7, 1 OutSep 22 9:40 PM - Andruw Jones one-out, two-run Home Run (12) to left-center scored Ramiro Pena. Jesus Montero is due up.
Rays 13, Yankees 2 Bot 6, 1 OutSep 22 9:11 PM - Casey Kotchman singled to right. On the play, Russ Canzler advances to second and Sean Rodriguez advances to third. Bases loaded with two outs and John Jaso due up.
Rays 13, Yankees 0 Top 5, 2 OutsSep 22 8:47 PM - Reid Brignac singled to center scoring Ben Zobrist. On the play, Casey Kotchman advances to second. Runners on first and second with two outs and Desmond Jennings due up.
Rays 12, Yankees 0 Top 4, 2 OutsSep 22 8:26 PM - Johnny Damon one-out, two-run Home Run (15) to right scored Evan Longoria. Ben Zobrist is due up.
Rays 11, Yankees 0 Top 4, 1 OutSep 22 8:20 PM - B.J. Upton none-out, two-run Home Run (22) to left-center scored Desmond Jennings. Evan Longoria is due up.
Rays 9, Yankees 0 Top 4, 0 OutsSep 22 8:16 PM - Ben Zobrist none-out, two-run Home Run (17) to right scored Johnny Damon. Casey Kotchman is due up.
Rays 7, Yankees 0 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 22 7:59 PM - Evan Longoria doubled to right-center scoring B.J. Upton. Runner on second with two outs and Matt Joyce due up.
Rays 5, Yankees 0 Top 2, 2 OutsSep 22 7:40 PM - B.J. Upton tripled to left-center scoring Desmond Jennings. Runner on third with two outs and Evan Longoria due up.
Rays 4, Yankees 0 Top 2, 2 OutsSep 22 7:40 PM - Johnny Damon sacrifice fly to left scored Evan Longoria. Runner on first with one out and Ben Zobrist due up.
Rays 3, Yankees 0 Top 1, 1 OutSep 22 7:19 PM - Matt Joyce singled to right scoring Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton. On the play, Evan Longoria advances to third on Nick Swisher's fielding error. Runners on first and third with none out and Johnny Damon due up.
Rays 2, Yankees 0 Top 1, 0 OutsSep 22 7:18 PM - TAMPA BAY: 0
NEW YORK: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Sep 22 7:09 PM
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