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The American League Wild Card race looks to be coming down to the wire, with the Boston Red Sox holding a slim two game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.Jarret Johnson Authentic Jersey . The Red Sox continue a four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles, while the Rays open a series against the East leading New York Yankees. Baltimore at Boston Erik Bedard makes his first start in more than two weeks this evening when the reeling Boston Red Sox continue a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. The Red Sox split a day/night doubleheader with the Os on Monday, dropping the first game 6-5, before exploding in the nightcap for an 18-9 win. "It was a well-needed win," said Boston catcher Jason Varitek. Boston held a nine-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays early in September, but has seen that advantage dwindled down to just two games, as the Red Sox have won just five of their 19 games played this month. "At this point, we just need wins," said infielder Jed Lowrie, who belted a three-run homer. "We dont need anything else. It was a big win and weve just got to use the momentum from tonight and carry it into tomorrow and the rest of the year." Boston, which dropped three of four over the weekend to the Rays, is also five games back of the New York Yankees in the American League East with a three- game set against its hated rivals on tap for this weekend. "Its a nice win and we control our own destiny at this point," said Jacoby Ellsbury, who hit an inside the park home run as part of seven-run seventh inning in Mondays game two. "So we know if we go out and play baseball like we can, well be in good shape." Bedard goes tonight in his first start since September 3. The oft-injured left-hander, who pitched for Baltimore from 2002-07, has been sidelined with a lat strain. He is 5-9 on the year with a 3.50 ERA, but hasnt lasted longer than six innings in any of his six starts since joining Boston in a seven-player deal with Seattle at the July 31 trade deadline. Bedards 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA with the Red Sox. Baltimore, meanwhile, will counter with Rick VandenHurk, who has given up four runs in six innings of work this season. This will also be his first-ever start against the Red Sox. Boston has handled the Orioles all season, going 9-4 against them, including a 6-1 mark in Beantown. Tampa Bay at New York The Tampa Bay Rays got themselves back into the American League wild card mix with a series win in Boston over the weekend. Now they turn their focus towards the division, as they start a four-game series with the American League East-leading New York Yankees. The Rays enter this set two games back of the Red Sox in the wild card race after being nine out as late as September 2. Tampa is also seven games back of the division-leading Yankees, but play seven of their final 10 games against them. The Rays, though, helped themselves immensely this weekend, taking three of four from the reeling Red Sox. "I thought we played good baseball," Tampa manager Joe Maddon said after his teams 8-5 win on Sunday. "We played well. We pitched well. We caught the ball. We ran the bases well. We had good at-bats when we needed them. There was a real strong sense of camaraderie among the group. All that stuff was there. So I thought we just played really good baseball in a great venue against a very good ballclub in a very meaningful time of the year. Im very proud of our guys." No team at least nine games out of a playoff spot through Sept. 2 has ever reached the postseason. It wont be easy for them tonight, as they go up against right-hander Ivan Nova, who hasnt lost since June 3 and is 11-0 with a 3.35 ERA in his last 14 starts. Nova did not get a decision on Wednesday in Seattle, as he allowed a run and five hits in 7 1/3 innings. Still, Nova, who is 15-4 on the season with a 3.81 ERA, is unbeaten in his last 11 decisions and should he win today he would become the first Yankees rookie since Atley Donald in 1939 to win 12 in a row. Nova beat the Rays the last time he squared off with them and is 1-0 in three starts against them with a 5.17 ERA. He will be opposed by righty Wade Davis, who is 10-9 with a 4.41 ERA. Davis was defeated by Baltimore on Wednesday, as he allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 frames. Davis has faced the Yankees five times and is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA against them. Davis will be facing a Yankees team that witnessed some history on Monday, as Mariano Rivera became the all-time saves leader in New Yorks 6-4 win over Minnesota. "It feels great. I wasnt expecting this but thank God it happened. Thank God its over too," said Rivera. "I cant describe that feeling. It was priceless. I didnt think it could feel like that." Rivera induced a Trevor Plouffe groundout, a Michael Cuddyer flyout and caught Chris Parmelee looking with a back-door cutter in the ninth to earn the 602nd save of his career, surpassing the mark set by Trevor Hoffman. "Its a number that I really dont think well see someone surpass in our lifetime," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said about the record. "Its hard to fathom, but people came to the stadium today and got a treat." Curtis Granderson belted his 41st home run in the win for the Yankees, who lead the AL East by five games over the Red Sox. The Yanks have won six of their 11 meetings with the Rays this season. Brandon Flowers Authentic Jersey . Hudson pitched into the eighth inning after having eight days between starts, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Saturday night. Eric Weddle Authentic Jersey . When a few shots broke through that defensive front, Jonathan Quick was there. The Kings won the Stanley Cup two years ago with that basic formula, and they can see it clicking again as they close in on another playoff run. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have insisted during their extensive front office overhaul that the on-ice product doesnt need to change much for the franchise to return to the NHLs elite. Small tweaks, not big ones, are required. Mike Johnstons job is to figure out which ones to make and -- perhaps even more importantly -- how to make them work. The Penguins hired the well-travelled Johnston to replace Dan Bylsma on Wednesday, charging the hockey lifer with creating the right system for stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to thrive in both the regular season and beyond. Considering the talent at his disposal, the 57-year-old Johnston likes his chances. After spending the last six years with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League preaching an uptempo attack, Johnston welcomes the opportunity to work with one of the most explosive offences in the NHL. "The core group is exactly where I want it," Johnston said. Good, because theyre not going anywhere. Instead, its everything around Malkin and Crosby -- who earned his second Hart Trophy as the NHLs Most Valuable Player on Tuesday -- that is changing. Johnstons hiring ends a tumultuous six weeks in which the Penguins were bounced from the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Rangers after blowing a 3-1 lead, fired Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero, and brought in longtime Carolina Hurricanes executive Jim Rutherford to clean up the mess. Rutherford settled on Johnston after a lengthy interview process that included an ill-fated run at Willie Desjardins, who opted to take the vacant job in Vancouver. Regardless of the path taken, Rutherford is confident he ended up at the right destination. "I feel very strongly that weve got the right coach," Rutherford said. One whose success will depend on his ability to take Pittsburgh on extended playoff runs. Bylsma won more games than any coach in club history but was fired on June 6 after going just 4-5 in post-season series since leading the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup title. Johnston understands the onus to win on a given night, but stressed the focus will be on preparing Pittsburgh for the challenges of hockey in May and June, not October or November. "The bottom-line expectation for me is that, from training campp through the first part of the season, everything we do is setting the table for the playoffs," Johnston said. Mike Scifres Jersey. "The score is relevant but its not as relevant as the habits that we are going to have to make us successful in the playoffs." Pittsburgh is Johnstons first NHL head coaching job, though he spent two previous stints as an assistant with Vancouver and the Los Angeles Kings. He said he has a bit to learn about the challenges of an 82-game NHL season, which is one of the reasons the Penguins also brought in Rick Tocchet to serve as Johnstons top assistant. Tocchet played 18 years in the NHL, including two seasons in Pittsburgh, where the four-time All-Star helped the Penguins win their second Stanley Cup championship in 1992. The 50-year-old Tocchet also spent more than a season as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10. While Tocchet said that his old team has underachieved in recent springs, he doesnt see that as a stumbling block. "There are teams that wish they had (Pittsburghs) problems," Tocchet said. "The way Mike is going to coach this team, the way these guys play is high tempo. Its something guys are going to enjoy." Tocchet replaces Todd Reirden and Tony Granato, holdovers from Bylsmas staff who were let go on Wednesday. The Penguins retained goaltending coach Mike Bales and video co-ordinator Andy Saucier. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will also remain with the team in an undetermined capacity. Johnston is hardly a novice when it comes to dealing with pressure or highly skilled players. He was a part of Canadas coaching staff at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first Games in which NHL players were allowed to compete. It led to nearly a decade as an assistant with Vancouver (1999-2006) and the Kings (2006-08) before he landed in Portland, where he spent six years helping young players navigate the choppy waters of professional life. The seas will be only more tumultuous in one of the NHLs most high-profile jobs. Johnston is OK with the pressure. With the 26-year-old Crosby and the 27-year-old Malkin in the midst of their primes, there are worst places to start. "This group wants to win," he said. "Theyve won the Stanley Cup, and I believe they want to do it again." ' ' ' |
