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Brignac homer fires Rays to East top
Source: Agencies |
September 15, 2010, Wednesday
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REID Brignac smashed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees on Monday and into top spot in the American League East.
The rookie infielder broke the deadlock by blasting a pitch over the right-field wall against relief pitcher Sergio Mitre to vault the Rays (87-56) a half a game ahead of the Yankees (87-57).
An unlikely game-winner, Brignac only came into the contest when Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford was ejected for arguing a strike call in the ninth.
"(It was) unbelievable. You just feel like you're floating on clouds," Brignac told reporters. "I had a couple of walk-offs in the minor leagues, but nothing compared to this."
The pitching duel between Cy Young Award candidates CC Sabathia and David Price finished all square with both left-handers tossed eight scoreless innings.
Yankees ace Sabathia (19-6) struck out nine batters and allowed just two hits while Price (17-6) surrendered three hits in the no-decision.
Tampa Bay reliever Grant Balfour was credited with the win after pitching the top of the 11th as the home team used three pitchers in the last three innings.
New York threatened to score in the 10th but pinch-runner Brett Gardner was thrown out while trying to steal third for the final out of the inning, sending the visitors to their fourth straight loss.
The surging Rays have won three of four and will face the Yankees six more times in 10 days during a stretch that could decide the division.
"We've got to bounce back," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
"We've had three tough losses on this road trip, really tough losses, but this is a team with a lot of character and we'll bounce back."
In Baltimore, Luke Scott singled in the winning run in the 11th inning as Baltimore ended a 12-game losing streak against Toronto with a 4-3 win. Brian Roberts homered for the Orioles, now 1-12 against Toronto this season.
Those 12 losses came before manager Buck Showalter arrived in Baltimore and rejuvenated a 32-73 team that has gone 24-15 since his debut on August 3.
Nick Markakis led off the 11th with a single off Brian Tallet (2-6).
After a groundout by Ty Wigginton advanced Markakis, Scott lined a single to center that easily brought home the decisive run.
Also, it was: Athletics 3, Royals 1; and Red Sox 5, Mariners 1.
In the National League, Carlos Ruiz matched a career high with four RBIs, Joe Blanton allowed one run in six innings and the Philadelphia Phillies extended their September surge by beating the Florida Marlins 11-4.
Ruiz, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Greg Dobbs all homered for the National League East leaders, who are 10-3 in September.
The Phillies remained a game ahead of Atlanta, which beat Washington.
Philadelphia's Ryan Howard reached the 100-RBI mark for the fifth straight season, while Werth and Utley each scored twice. Blanton (7-6) struck out eight and walked two, dropping his ERA to 5.00, the lowest it's been since May 8.
Elsewhere, it was: Braves 4, Nationals 0; Reds 7, Diamondbacks 2; Cubs 5, Cardinals 1; Astros 4, Brewers 2; Mets 1, Pirates 0, 10 innings; and Padres 6, Rockies 4.
The rookie infielder broke the deadlock by blasting a pitch over the right-field wall against relief pitcher Sergio Mitre to vault the Rays (87-56) a half a game ahead of the Yankees (87-57).
An unlikely game-winner, Brignac only came into the contest when Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford was ejected for arguing a strike call in the ninth.
"(It was) unbelievable. You just feel like you're floating on clouds," Brignac told reporters. "I had a couple of walk-offs in the minor leagues, but nothing compared to this."
The pitching duel between Cy Young Award candidates CC Sabathia and David Price finished all square with both left-handers tossed eight scoreless innings.
Yankees ace Sabathia (19-6) struck out nine batters and allowed just two hits while Price (17-6) surrendered three hits in the no-decision.
Tampa Bay reliever Grant Balfour was credited with the win after pitching the top of the 11th as the home team used three pitchers in the last three innings.
New York threatened to score in the 10th but pinch-runner Brett Gardner was thrown out while trying to steal third for the final out of the inning, sending the visitors to their fourth straight loss.
The surging Rays have won three of four and will face the Yankees six more times in 10 days during a stretch that could decide the division.
"We've got to bounce back," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
"We've had three tough losses on this road trip, really tough losses, but this is a team with a lot of character and we'll bounce back."
In Baltimore, Luke Scott singled in the winning run in the 11th inning as Baltimore ended a 12-game losing streak against Toronto with a 4-3 win. Brian Roberts homered for the Orioles, now 1-12 against Toronto this season.
Those 12 losses came before manager Buck Showalter arrived in Baltimore and rejuvenated a 32-73 team that has gone 24-15 since his debut on August 3.
Nick Markakis led off the 11th with a single off Brian Tallet (2-6).
After a groundout by Ty Wigginton advanced Markakis, Scott lined a single to center that easily brought home the decisive run.
Also, it was: Athletics 3, Royals 1; and Red Sox 5, Mariners 1.
In the National League, Carlos Ruiz matched a career high with four RBIs, Joe Blanton allowed one run in six innings and the Philadelphia Phillies extended their September surge by beating the Florida Marlins 11-4.
Ruiz, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Greg Dobbs all homered for the National League East leaders, who are 10-3 in September.
The Phillies remained a game ahead of Atlanta, which beat Washington.
Philadelphia's Ryan Howard reached the 100-RBI mark for the fifth straight season, while Werth and Utley each scored twice. Blanton (7-6) struck out eight and walked two, dropping his ERA to 5.00, the lowest it's been since May 8.
Elsewhere, it was: Braves 4, Nationals 0; Reds 7, Diamondbacks 2; Cubs 5, Cardinals 1; Astros 4, Brewers 2; Mets 1, Pirates 0, 10 innings; and Padres 6, Rockies 4.
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