The Rays are trying to make it back to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and it doesn’t look good right now.
Then again, it looked even worse heading into the bottom of the ninth inning last night.
B.J. Upton hit a game-ending, three-run homer off Vicente Padilla, capping a six-run rally and lifting the Rays to a sorely needed 7-4 victory over the Red Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“That last inning we dug deep and … it says a lot,” Upton said. “We can definitely cash it in, but we’re not, and we’re going to finish this thing out strong.”
Tampa Bay salvaged a split of the four-game series and remained 5 1/2 games back of Oakland and Baltimore in the AL wild-card race. The Rays (80-70) have 12 games left on their schedule.
A’s 12, Tigers 4
In Detroit, the A’s avoided a three-game sweep, yet still came out on the losing end.
The wild-card co-leaders learned they would be minus top starter Brett Anderson (4-2, 2.57 ERA) for the remainder of the regular season because of a strained oblique muscle.
Seth Smith homered, doubled and drove in four runs for Oakland.
The Tigers remained two games behind the AL Central-leading White Sox, who lost 4-3 in Kansas City when Eric Hosmer hit a two-out single in the ninth inning.
Rangers 3, Angels 1
In Anaheim, Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off closer Ernesto Frieri in the ninth inning, and the Rangers dealt yet another blow to the Angels’ fading playoff hopes.
Yu Darvish (16-9) struck out nine in a scintillating eight-inning duel with Zack Greinke, who struck out eight. The Angels dropped 4 1/2 games behind in the wild-card standings.
National League
Nationals 4, Dodgers 1
In Washington, the Nationals brought postseason baseball back to the nation’s capital for the first time since 1933, earning a playoff spot with Ross Detwiler’s six strong innings and Ryan Zimmerman’s RBI double.
“Nats Clinch” flashed on the scoreboard, delighting the crowd of 30,359.
Reds 5, Cubs 3
In Chicago, manager Dusty Baker was missing when the Reds clinched a playoff spot, sidelined for a second straight game after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.
The Reds said Baker would remain in a Chicago hospital for an additional day so doctors could monitor his progress.
“We have him in our thoughts,” reliever Sean Marshall said.
Giants 9, Rockies 2
In San Francisco, switch-hitter Pablo Sandoval homered from both sides of the plate and the Giants reduced their magic number to clinch the NL West to three.
Buster Posey also connected for the Giants to back another strong start by Barry Zito (13-8) as San Francisco completed a four-game sweep.
Cardinals 5, Astros 4
In St. Louis, pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run double and Allen Craig hit a three-run homer, powering a St. Louis sweep. The Cardinals went 2 1/2 games up on the Brewers — who rallied for a 9-7 win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Rickie Weeks’ two-run triple and Aramis Ramirez’s go-ahead single — for the second NL wild card with 12 games remaining.