In spite of shutting out the Royals 4-0, the Rays needed help Saturday to move back into first place in the AL East and regain control of their own destiny, and they got it...even though it actually arrived early Sunday morning. When Eric Patterson drove in Bill Hall in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 7-6 win in the second game of a double header (the Yankees won the first game 6-5), it left the Yankees and Rays with identical 95-66 records. And since the Rays hold the tiebreaker over the Yankees, they're back in first place. So now with only one game left to play for both teams, talk of Magic Numbers is irreleveant (it's 1 for the Rays and 2 for the Yankees, if you must know). There are only three possible outcomes and two of them favor the Rays:
- Rays win = Rays win the division, regardless of what happens in the other game.
- Yankees lose = See #1.
- Rays lose, Yankees win = Yankees win the division.
Very simple. So here are your scoreboards to watch:
New York @ Boston 1:35 p.m.
Rays @ Kansas City 2:10 p.m.