Crawford defends his dash to third

In the play of the game last night, Carl Crawford was thrown out by Yankee rightfielder Greg Golson as Crawford tried to advance from second to third on a pop out by Matt Joyce.  It ended the game but Crawford thought he made the right play.

Sort of.

``I always make it on that play, that's why I went,''  Crawford told the ledger.com in St. Peterburgh. ``But [Golson] made a good play. I probably should have been more aware that he has a great arm, and I probably should have been more careful right there, but that's the way we play so I just tried it."

The night before, Brett Gardner got his head handed to him by manager Joe Girardi when he was thrown out trying to steal third. But Rays manager Joe Maddon found no fault with Crawford, saying, ``When you face [Mariano] Rivera you do take chances, so I was fine with the play.''