CHAMPIONS!!
They did it! A season that was about five months of frustration and underachievement (10 games below their Pythagorean record), hovering around (and often below) the .500 mark, was capped by a strong September to get into the playoffs and then an even stronger October (and early November) to go all the way. And today's championship clincher was the season in microcosm as it looked for 8 innings that we'd be playing a Game 7 tomorrow as Atlanta held a 4-1 lead. But a furious rally off Dustin May in the 9th saw Zach DeLoach come through with a bases-clearing double and then series MVP Ozzie Albies singled home DeLoach to give the Rays a shocking 5-4 lead in the 9th. But it wouldn't be that easy, of course. Pete Fairbanks tried to close it out in the bottom of the inning but was greeted by Buddy Kennedy's second homer of the game to tie it, so onto extras we went. In the 12th Curtis Mead led off with a double but after a strikeout and a fly ball it looked like he'd be stranded there. Diego Cartaya had other ideas though and he blooped a single over the shortstop's head to score Mead with the winner, and Charlie Ruegger, who solidified the bullpen and put up a 12.1 5 0 0 5 16 combined line with 2 wins and 6 holds in the postseason, got Atlanta 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to start the celebrations:
The title is the Rays' second in three seasons and second in club history. Albies was named MVP of the series, having gone 10-26 with 3 HR and 8 RBI and he would have had the series-winning hit had Fairbanks not blown the save.