Rays win again in wild AL finish

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are focusing on their playoff push rather than the shocking slide of the Boston Red Sox.

B.J. Upton and Ben Zobrist homered in the first inning to back starter Wade Davis yesterday as the host Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2. When the Red Sox split a day-night doubleheader with the Yankees, it left Tampa Bay one game behind in the wild-card race with three to play.

"It's more about the ascension of the Rays right now," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Obviously, [the Red Sox] are struggling a bit, and that happens. But from our perspective, it's more important what we do. It's fortuitous that they've had a hard time, but I love the fact that we're taking care of business."

Evan Longoria and Kelly Shoppach also homered for the Rays, who have closed despite going just 14-10 in September. The Rays were nine games behind the Red Sox on Sept. 3.

"The more pressure you put on yourself, the tougher it is to play baseball, which is probably what the Red Sox are doing right now," Davis said. "There's probably a lot of pressure on them. They're playing tense and they're not playing their game. As long as we can stay relaxed and understand our position, we can just keep it going."

No major-league team has overcome a nine-game deficit in September to claim a postseason berth. The closest was the 1964 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by 81/2 games on Sept. 3.

Tampa Bay closes at home against the Yankees and the Red Sox play at Baltimore.

"I know we have a tough team coming in, and we really have to play well," Tampa Bay's Johnny Damon said. "It'll be a tough go, but I think we're feeling good about ourselves and fortunately for us, there's no off day."

Davis (11-10) allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings, and Joel Peralta finished for his sixth save in eight chances. The Rays have won 27 games in a row when scoring at least five runs.

Toronto's Jose Bautista, the major-league leader with 43 homers, bruised his left leg on Zobrist's inside-the-park homer, hitting the rightfield fence while attempting a catch. He was removed from the game. -- AP