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Rays Get No Time To Savor Huge Win

The Associated Press

Dan Johnson (24) is greeted by teammates at the dugout after his solo home run during the ninth inning of Tampa Bay's 5-4 win over the Red Sox.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

BOSTON - - We're about four hours away from the first pitch tonight at Fenway Park as I sit to write this, and in a way that's a shame. Tuesday night's 5-4 victory by the Rays over the Red Sox was one you'd like a day or two to savor, but it doesn't work that way in baseball so here we go again.

It's remarkable how much the ninth inning Tuesday changed the outlook for tonight's game though. Instead of entering it in second place for the first time in nearly two months, the Rays are assured of leaving town after tonight still atop the AL East no matter what happens in this game.

Even more important, though, was just getting that Boston beast to calm down a bit – perhaps even planting a small bit of doubt in the collective mind of Red Sox Nation. To see role players Dan Johnson and Fernando Perez come off the bench in the ninth inning and blast their way into the hearts of Rays fans forever.

Forever? Well, you can argue that was the most significant win in Rays' history to this point. To beat the defending world champs at Fenway Park, with first place on the line, with a ninth inning rally against one of the dominant closers of the era (Jonathan Papelbon) – you just savor games like that.

"I think it's pretty significant, particularly how we did it," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

They were 0-for-14 in this game with runners in scoring position. Johnson, promoted from Durham on Tuesday and arriving barely in time for the game, was 0-for-15 lifetime as a pinch-hitter before he was handed a bat in the ninth.

And to battle back after Jason Bay's two-run homer in the eighth gave Boston a 4-3 lead, well, that's what has made this Rays team special all year. It isn't just one or two guys having hot seasons. It has been the collective effort of guys like Johnson and Perez, of Gabe Gross and Erik Hinske, of Grant Balfour and Dioner Navarro, of Matt Garza.

To be contending this late in the season would be a magnificent achievement for the Rays in any division. To do it in the AL East though, against baseball's ruling class and big spenders, is almost unthinkable.

If you stayed all the way through Tuesday's game, you may be thinking you'll never see a better game in your life. Stay tuned, though. There is still tonight's game to play, followed by a weekend excursion to Yankee Stadium – the last trip the Rays will make to that place before it is replaced next year.

Then next week, you've got the Red Sox and Twins at the Trop. And then, yes, the playoffs.

Games like Tuesday are why September is special. Just when you think you've seen it all, something comes along to top it. That'll take some doing after Tuesday night, but no one should bet against it.

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