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Rays clinch AL wild card with stunning rally

Sports Sep. 29, 2011 - 02:15PM JST ( 1 )

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lostrune2Sep. 29, 2011 - 03:45PM JST

OK, just to update ya guys on what happened this crazy night on the last day of the MLB season. Realize that the games were happening almost at the same times:

St. Louis (89-72), who started September 8.5 games behind Atlanta for the 4th-and-last NL playoff spot, won their last game easily over last-placed Houston.

Minutes after the St. Louis game, Atlanta (89-72) lead first-placed Philadelphia 3-2 going into the 9th-and-last inning, blew the lead, went into extra innings, and lost 3-4 in the 13th inning.

Thus, St. Louis (90-72) gets the 4th-and-last NL playoff team instead of Atlanta (89-73).

Tampa (90-71), who started September 9.0 games out of the 4th-and-last AL playoff spot, was losing 0-7 to first-placed NY Yankees going into the 8th inning. Then, Tampa scored a whopping 6 runs in the 8th, cutting their deficit 6-7 Yankees going into the 9th-and-final inning. Down to their last-out last-strike at the bottom of the 9th, Tampa tied the Yankees 7-7, sending yet another game into extra innings.

At the same time the Tampa comeback was happening, Boston was 1-out 1-strike away from winning 3-2 at the bottom of the 9th-and-final inning bases-empty when last-placed Baltimore tied the game 3-3 and then scored the game-ending winning-run 4-3. Boston not only blew the lead but also lost (their first loss after previously being undefeated 77-0 when leading after the 8th inning).

Three minutes after the Boston game ended, at the bottom of the 12th inning tied 7-7, Tampa scored the shortest game-ending homerun you'd ever see to win 8-7 over the Yankees.

Thus, Tampa (91-71) gets the 4th-and-last AL playoff team instead of Boston (90-72).

Two of the biggest September collapses ever in MLB history --Atlanta and Boston-- both blew 9th-and-final inning leads in their 162nd-and-final games of the season to miss the playoffs, after leading by so many games at the start of the month. What a way to lose!

p.s. Brett Gardner would had caught that game-winning hit towards Carl Crawford.