Sunday, October 12, 2008

Longoria, Wheeler Lead Rays over Red Sox, Series Tied

Players of the Day from Saturday, October 11, 2008 American League Championship Series Tampa Bay 9 Boston 8, 11 innings Fernando Perez scampered home on B.J. Upton's 11th inning sacrifice fly to score the winning run in Tampa Bay's 9-8 win over the Red Sox, earning a split of the first two games of the ALCS. Evan Longoria (R) got the Rays on the board early with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. The game turned into a scoring and homer-fest as the two teams combined for 7 home runs and 14 runs over the first five innings. Longoria went 3-for-5, adding a pair of doubles. He drove in 3 runs and scored 3 times. The Red Sox battled back from the 8-6 deficit with single runs in the 6th and 8th innings, forcing the extra frames. Dan Wheeler, who came on with 2 on and no outs in the 8th, actually allowed the tying run on a wild pitch, but got out of the inning and pitched valiantly into the 11th, notching 3 1/3 innings of work, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, but no earned runs. He struck out 4 during his stint. Notes: The series shifts to Boston for the next three games, beginning on Monday at 4:37 pm EDT.

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