Yanks can't get Moore
RAYS MANAGER Joe Maddon heard a few cheers coming from the clubhouse and reached for the computer mouse. He knew what had just happened. He wanted to know how.
RAYS MANAGER Joe Maddon heard a few cheers coming from the clubhouse and reached for the computer mouse. He knew what had just happened. He wanted to know how.
"Niiiice," Maddon said after learning the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels in the 12th inning.
Indeed, it was a nice night for Tampa Bay.
Matt Moore struck out 11 in five innings of his first major league start and the Rays unloaded on the watered-down Yankees for a 15-8 win last night, a night after New York clinched the AL East title.
The Rays avoided a four-game sweep and pulled within two games of idle Boston in the AL wild-card race. Both teams have six games left. The Angels dropped three back of the Red Sox when Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion hit a walkoff homer.
"We kind of feel like we have to" win all their remaining games, Johnny Damon said.
B.J. Upton was a double shy of the cycle in four at-bats, Ben Zobrist homered among his three hits and Damon also connected for Tampa Bay. Facing a lineup of backups and rookies, the Rays roughed up Bartolo Colon (8-10) and led, 13-0, in the fifth inning. Seven players wearing No. 60 or higher played for New York.
Making a spot start in place of Jeff Niemann (back) in a key September game for the Rays, Moore (1-0) calmly buzzed through five innings on the big stage of Yankee Stadium. He allowed just four hits and established a team record for strikeouts in a first start. Wade Davis fanned nine Sept. 6, 2009.
"Obviously it wasn't all their lineup but there was a lot of good hitters in that lineup and he attacked them," Maddon said. "His composure, Yankee Stadium, throwing strikes, all those things speak to the make up of Matt Moore."
In other games
* At Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit a game-ending home run in the 12th inning and the Blue Jays beat Los Angeles, 4-3, dealing the Angels another blow in their chase for a playoff berth. Encarnacion led off the 12th with a drive down the leftfield line off Garrett Richards (0-2), his 17th homer of the season. The Blue Jays improved to 11-0 in extra-inning games at home. Toronto is the first team in recorded history to win 10 or more extra-inning home games without a defeat.
* At Detroit, J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones homered and the Baltimore Orioles beat Tigers, 6-5. The crowd of 28,847 was the smallest at Comerica Park since June 29.
* At Cleveland, Asdrubal Cabrera drove in five runs and Jeanmar Gomez (5-2) won his fifth straight start as the Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-2, to remain in second place in the AL Central.
* At Oakland, Coco Crisp hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Athletics beat first-place Texas, 4-3, to avoid a series sweep. The Rangers' magic number to clinch their second straight AL West title is two.
* At Minneapolis, Rene Tosoni hit an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins snapped their 11-game losing streak, beating the Seattle Mariners, 3-2.