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ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: BJ Upton’s 11th-inning sacrifice fly
lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox
Saturday in a marathon Game 2 of the American League Championship
Series.
With the victory the Rays evened the best-of-7
series at one game apiece after dropping the opener at home to the
defending World Series champions on Friday. Game 3 is on Monday in
Boston.
Dioner Navarro drew a leadoff walk from Mike
Timlin in the 11th, and was replaced by pinch runner Fernando Perez.
Pinch hitter Ben Zobrist also walked, and the
runners advanced on a groundout by Jason Bartlett.
Akinori Iwamura was intentionally walked to set
the stage for Upton, who lifted a 0-2 offering to shallow right
field.
JD Drew caught the ball, but his throw
couldn’t beat Perez to the plate. Perez scored the game-winning
run after five hours and 27 minutes.
The teams combined to hit seven home runs, tying
a major league playoff record.
-- AFP
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