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Moriarty9 · 04-24-2008, 11:39 AM

AL East champs again
Boston takes division in win
September 16, 2009

BOSTON -- For the ninth straight year, and the 12th time in 15 years, the Boston Red Sox are the American League Eastern Division Champions.
The Red Sox celebrated the division win at Fenway Park tonight after staging a late inning comeback over the second place Tampa Bay Rays, winning the game 6-5.
Boston entered into the game with a magic number of two, meaning a Red Sox win over the visiting Rays would secure the division title. As fate would have it, former Red Sox pitcher Brett Myers took the mound for the Rays with former Sox catcher Jon Washington calling the signs behind the plate.
Myers pitched well, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings of work, outpitching former teammate Josh Johnson, who took the mound for Boston.
Johnson was hit for five runs in the third inning, making it seem unlikely that the Red Sox would be celebrating within a couple hours. In 6 1/3 innings, Johnson gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out five.
The Red Sox began their comeback bid in the last of the fourth with back-to-back solo home runs from Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez. Howard's bomb to right field was his 55th of the season and was estimated as traveling a monstrous 533 feet.
Boston tried to close the gap over the next few innings but with no success until the seventh inning. Leading off in the seventh, Dan Uggla took a 2-0 fastball from Myers over the Green Monster for a solo home run, putting the Red Sox within two runs of the Rays. After Myers walked David Murphy, reliever Matt Miller came in to snuff out the rally. Miller induced a double play out of Boston catcher Chris Iannetta. With two out and nobody on, Hanley Ramirez worked the count full before tripling down the right field line. Matt Kemp came to the plate and delivered with a 454-foot home run to left field, tying the game 5-5.
Boston took the lead in the eighth inning with a leadoff home run from Howard. It was Howard's second in the game, the fifth in the game for the Red Sox.
With closer Joe Nathan taking a day off for rest, Boston used three pitchers in the ninth inning to close out the game. Lefty Jon Lester, who had earned the win two scoreless innings of work, got Joey Votto on a groundout. Jonathan Papelbon struck out switch-hitter Bobby Kielty and lefty J.C. Romero struck out Ben Broussard to close out the game. Romero was credited with the save.
The team celebrated on the field in front of a sold out crowd at Fenway as the Rays packed up their belongings to head to New York for a four-game series with the Yankees. Tampa Bay currently holds a 1/2 game lead over the 79-67 Texas Rangers in the Wild Card race. Both the Red Sox and Rays have tomorrow off - something the Boston players just may need after tonight's celebrations.

04-24-2008, 11:39 AM	#55 (permalink)
Moriarty9 Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 399	Sox clinch AL East AL East champs again Boston takes division in win September 16, 2009 BOSTON -- For the ninth straight year, and the 12th time in 15 years, the Boston Red Sox are the American League Eastern Division Champions. The Red Sox celebrated the division win at Fenway Park tonight after staging a late inning comeback over the second place Tampa Bay Rays, winning the game 6-5. Boston entered into the game with a magic number of two, meaning a Red Sox win over the visiting Rays would secure the division title. As fate would have it, former Red Sox pitcher Brett Myers took the mound for the Rays with former Sox catcher Jon Washington calling the signs behind the plate. Myers pitched well, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings of work, outpitching former teammate Josh Johnson, who took the mound for Boston. Johnson was hit for five runs in the third inning, making it seem unlikely that the Red Sox would be celebrating within a couple hours. In 6 1/3 innings, Johnson gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out five. The Red Sox began their comeback bid in the last of the fourth with back-to-back solo home runs from Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez. Howard's bomb to right field was his 55th of the season and was estimated as traveling a monstrous 533 feet. Boston tried to close the gap over the next few innings but with no success until the seventh inning. Leading off in the seventh, Dan Uggla took a 2-0 fastball from Myers over the Green Monster for a solo home run, putting the Red Sox within two runs of the Rays. After Myers walked David Murphy, reliever Matt Miller came in to snuff out the rally. Miller induced a double play out of Boston catcher Chris Iannetta. With two out and nobody on, Hanley Ramirez worked the count full before tripling down the right field line. Matt Kemp came to the plate and delivered with a 454-foot home run to left field, tying the game 5-5. Boston took the lead in the eighth inning with a leadoff home run from Howard. It was Howard's second in the game, the fifth in the game for the Red Sox. With closer Joe Nathan taking a day off for rest, Boston used three pitchers in the ninth inning to close out the game. Lefty Jon Lester, who had earned the win two scoreless innings of work, got Joey Votto on a groundout. Jonathan Papelbon struck out switch-hitter Bobby Kielty and lefty J.C. Romero struck out Ben Broussard to close out the game. Romero was credited with the save. The team celebrated on the field in front of a sold out crowd at Fenway as the Rays packed up their belongings to head to New York for a four-game series with the Yankees. Tampa Bay currently holds a 1/2 game lead over the 79-67 Texas Rangers in the Wild Card race. Both the Red Sox and Rays have tomorrow off - something the Boston players just may need after tonight's celebrations.