G162: Yankees 14, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 100 000 100 -  2  8  0
Yankees - 032 022 50x - 14 15  0

A fitting end to a truly shitty season.

Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson each hit two home runs as the Yankees toyed with the Red Sox like a cat with a dazed and injured mouse.

Cano (4-for-4) reached base five times and drove in six runs. Granderson had 4 RBI. Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher each had two hits and two walks.

Kuroda (7-7-2-2-4, 94) had little trouble with the Boston bats. Jacoby Ellsbury began the game with a single and scored on Cody Ross's single. In the seventh, Pedro Ciriaco doubled with two out and scored on Jose Iglesias's single. Boston had base runners in every inning but the ninth, but mounted no serious threats.

Matsuzaka (2.1-6-5-1-2, 43) faced only 14 batters in what was most likely his final appearance in a Red Sox uniform. His 8.28 ERA is the highest ever by a Red Sox starter with at least 10 starts in a season.

Boston finished the season at 69-93 (.426), 26 games out of first place, failing to win at least 70 games for the first time since 1965. Only 15 other Red Sox teams have finished with a worse winning percentage.

Daisuke Matsuzaka / Hiroki Kuroda

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Nava, LF
Ross, RF
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Ciriaco, 3B
Iglesias, SS

If the Red Sox and Orioles win tonight, the AL East will end in a tie, forcing a one-game playoff on Thursday to see who wins the division and who then is forced to play a one-game playoff on Friday for the wild card spot.

A similar situation is going on in the AL West. Oakland and Texas are tied atop the division (93-68) and they play each other this afternoon at 3:30. The winner of today's game takes the West crown and the loser will play the AL East runner-up for the wild card spot.

It's the final day of the regular season and the only team that we know will be in the ALDS is Detroit!

G161: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 (12)

Red Sox - 200 000 001 000 - 3  8  1
Yankees - 010 000 002 001 - 4 16  0

Raul Ibanez tied the game with a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and he won it with a two-out single in the 12th.

Jon Lester / David Phelps

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Nava, LF
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Ciriaco, 3B
Iglesias, SS

Enter the "last batter" contest. The deadline is the end of tonight's game.

Although Dustin Pedroia suffered an avulsion fracture of his left ring finger during Sunday's game, he says he may try to play tonight.

Also: Orioles at Rays, 7 PM

G160: Yankees 10, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 000 100 100 -  2  4  0
Yankees - 090 000 01x - 10 13  0

Buchholz (1.2-6-8-2-2, 56) retired New York in order in the first, then faced 10 batters in the second before being pulled. The Yankees hit four home runs in the inning.

Boston's lineup featured six guys who began the season in AAA. The Red Sox are 1-10 in their last 11 games and 7-24 since August 28.

Thanks to the Rays' 5-3 win over the Orioles, the Yankees are 1 GA with two games remaining.

Clay Buchholz / CC Sabathia

Ciriaco, 2B
Nava, LF
Ross, RF
Gomez, 1B
Lavarnway, DH
Saltalamacchia, C
Valencia, 3B
Lin, CF
Iglesias, SS

Enter the year's final contest.

Also: Orioles at Rays, 7 PM

G159: Orioles 6, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 000 100 200 - 3  9  0
Orioles - 302 010 00x - 6  9  0

The Orioles scored early and often against Stewart (2.2-7-5-0-1, 48) and swept the three-game series. Baltimore remained tied for first place in the AL East with the Yankees, who rallied from a four-run deficit and beat the Blue Jays 9-6.

All of Boston's runs came via the long ball. Cody Ross hit a solo shot in the fourth and Daniel Nava whacked a two-run dong in the sixth. Ryan Lavarnway and Pedro Ciriaco each had two hits, including a double.

The Red Sox wrap up the regular season with three games in New York, beginning tomorrow night. The Orioles will be in Tampa Bay.

Zach Stewart / Joe Saunders

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Gomez, 1B
Valencia, 3B
Lavarnway, C
Nava, LF
Ciriaco, DH
Iglesias, SS

The Orioles and Yankees are tied (91-67) for first place in the AL East. Each team can clinch a playoff spot with a victory today.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Red Sox are one defeat away from their first 90-loss season since 1966.

At Skydome: Yankees (Hughes) at Blue Jays (Alvarez), 1 PM

G158: Orioles 4, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 000 021 000 - 3  5  1
Orioles - 010 200 10x - 4  7  1

The Orioles edged the Red Sox and moved into a tie for first place in the East.

The Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-2 this afternoon.

Felix Doubront / Steve Johnson

Ellsbury, CF
Podsednik, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Gomez, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Ciriaco, 3B
Aviles, SS

The Orioles are 1 GB the Yankees in the AL East - with five games remaining. Baltimore leads the wild card standings by one game.

At Skydome: Yankees (Pettitte) at Blue Jays (Romero), 1 PM

G157: Orioles 9, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 100 000 000 - 1  1  1
Orioles - 600 030 00x - 9 12  2

Boston's lone hit was a bunt single by Scott Posednik to begin the game. He scored an unearned run on Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly, giving the Red Sox an early lead which lasted only a few minutes.

Aaron Cook (1-5-6-3-0, 42) allowed a two-run homer to Chris Davis and a grand slam to Ryan Flaherty in the bottom of the first, and was pulled after walking the first two batters in the second.

The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 11-4, so New York stays 1 GA of Baltimore.

Aaron Cook / Chris Tillman

Podsednik, CF
Ciriaco, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, DH
Lavarnway, C
Nava, LF
Iglesias, SS

The Red Sox finish up their disappointing 2012 season on the road, with three games in Baltimore, followed by three in New York. How Boston plays over those six games will have a definite effect on who wins the AL East.

          W   L   GB
Yankees  90  66  ---
Orioles  89  67  1.0
  
           Yankees  Orioles
Fri 0928   at TOR   vs BOS
Sat 0929   at TOR   vs BOS
Sun 0930   at TOR   vs BOS
Mon 1001   vs BOS   at TBR
Tue 1002   vs BOS   at TBR
Wed 1003   vs BOS   at TBR

Obviously, the plan should be to lose three in a row, then win three in a row.

OtM: "Aaron Cook's Last Chance For Strikeout Immortality"

At Skydome: Yankees (Kuroda) at Blue Jays (Jenkins), 7 PM

G156: Rays 4, Red Sox 2

Rays    - 000 030 100 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 010 001 000 - 2  4  0

The Red Sox finished their 2012 home schedule with their worst record in 47 years.

The 1965 club also went 34-47 at Fenway.

Alex Cobb/ Jon Lester

Ciriaco, 3B
Podsednik, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Nava, LF
Iglesias, SS

G155: Rays 5, Red Sox 2

Rays    - 030 002 000 - 5 11  1
Red Sox - 011 000 000 - 2  7  1

Price (9-7-2-0-13, 112) threw a complete game and Jeff Keppinger hit a three-run homer in the second inning.

Danny Valencia singled home a run in the bottom of the second; Daniel Nava scored on a balk in the third. Dustin Pedroia had two hits.

David Price / Clay Buchholz

Ciriaco, DH
Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Gomez, 1B
Lavarnway, C
Valencia, 3B
Lin, CF
Iglesias, SS

G154: Red Sox 2, Orioles 1

Orioles - 000 010 000 - 1  6  1
Red Sox - 000 100 01x - 2  9  0

Chris Tillman / Felix Doubront

Podsednik, CF
Ciriaco, 2B
Pedroia, DH
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Valencia, 3B
Nava, LF
Iglesias, SS

Here's a crazy factoid from Peter Abraham: The Red Sox have trailed at some point in each of their last 32 games.

G153: Orioles 9, Red Sox 6 (12)

Orioles - 110 102 100 003 - 9 15  1
Red Sox - 100 200 210 000 - 6 13  1

A three-spot off Alfredo Aceves in the 12th inning gives Baltimore its 16th consecutive extra-inning victory.

Randy Wolf / Aaron Cook

Ciriaco, DH
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Lavarnway, C
Gomez, 1B
Aviles, SS
Valencia, 3B
Nava, LF
Podsednik, CF

Baltimore begins the day 1 GB the Yankees, who beat Oakland 2-1 in 10 innings last night. The Athletics and Yankees also play at 1 PM today.

Stat of the Day: The Orioles are 52-21 (.712) in games decided by one or two runs. The Sox are 30-41 (.423).

G152: Orioles 4, Red Sox 2

Orioles - 000 202 000 - 4 10  0
Red Sox - 001 010 000 - 2  8  0

Miguel Gonzalez / Jon Lester

Ciriaco, 3B
Podsednik, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Lavarnway, C
Saltalamacchia, DH
Loney, 1B
Nava, LF
Iglesias, SS

The Orioles (85-64) begin this three-game weekend series at Fenway Park 1 GB New York in the AL East. The Yankees (86-63) are hosting the Athletics.

G151: Rays 7, Red Sox 4

Red Sox - 000 002 011 - 4 10  1
Rays    - 000 000 016 - 7 10  1

Clay Buchholz / David Price

Ciriaco, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, DH
Lavarnway, C
Gomez, 1B
Aviles, 3B
Nava, RF
Podsednik, LF
Iglesias, SS

G150: Rays 13, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 102 000 000 -  3  5  2
Rays    - 011 307 01x - 13 15  0

Daisuke Matsuzaka / Chris Archer

AL East Watch: The Yankees (83-63) and Orioles (84-64) are tied for first place. New York plays a day-night doubleheader against the Blue Jays (1 PM & 7 PM), while Baltimore (who beat the Mariners in 18 innings last night) play in Seattle at 10 PM.

G149: Red Sox 7, Rays 5

Red Sox - 000 121 300 - 7  9  0
Rays    - 003 000 200 - 5  3  3

Felix Doubront / Jeremy Hellickson

Ciriaco, 3B
Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Podsednik, LF
Iglesias, SS

G148: Red Sox 5, Rays 2

Red Sox - 000 002 300 - 5  6  0
Rays    - 000 010 001 - 2  6  3

The Red Sox did not get their first hit of the night until there were two outs in the sixth inning.

Jose Iglesias was on base (thanks to a HBP) when Jacoby Ellsbury clubbed a two-run homer to right-center. LBJ's fourth dong of the season erased Cobb's no-hit and shutout bid, and wiped out the Rays' one-run lead.

Boston added to its lead in the seventh, as Mauro Gomez hit a two-run pinch-hit single. Ellsbury (3-for-5) singled home a run later in the inning.

Cook went six innings (6-5-1-1-1, 75), with Rich Hill, Junichi Tazawa, and Mark Melancon each tossing an inning of relief. ... Tazawa's last eight appearances: 7.2-1-0-1-14!

Boston had its streak of 17 consecutive stolen bases snapped when Ellsbury was thrown out trying to steal third in the ninth inning.

Aaron Cook / Alex Cobb

Ciriaco, 3B
Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, DH
Lavarnway, C
Podsednik, LF
Iglesias, SS

G147: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 0

Red Sox   - 000 000 000 - 0  7  2
Blue Jays - 000 000 32x - 5  7  0

Jon Lester / Brandon Morrow

Podsednik, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ellsbury, CF
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, DH
Lavarnway, C
Ciriaco, 3B
Iglesias, SS

G146: Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 2

Red Sox   - 010 100 001 - 3  6  2
Blue Jays - 100 010 000 - 2  5  0

For the second game in a row, a ninth-inning rally carried the Red Sox to victory.

Pedro Ciriaco's double to left with two outs in the top of the ninth scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia with the go-ahead run. Salty had led off the frame with a double and taken third on a fly ball.

Andrew Bailey was touched for a two-out single in the bottom half, but he fanned Rajai Davis on three pitches to nail down the win.

The Jays scored in the first, but right fielder Cody Ross gunned down a potential second run from scoring. Then Ross led off the Boston second with a home run to tie the game.

The Red Sox took the lead in the fourth Ross walked, went to third on James Loney's single, and scored on Salty's single.

Buchholz (7-4-2-5-5, 111) allowed only one earned run.

Clay Buchholz / Carlos Villanueva

Ellsbury, CF
Nava, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Ross, RF
Loney, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Lavarnway, DH
Aviles, SS
Ciriaco, 3B

G145: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 5

Red Sox   - 000 320 003 - 8 10  0
Blue Jays - 003 001 010 - 5  7  1

Mauro Gomez's two-run triple in the ninth inning snapped a 5-5 tie. Gomez scored three runs, and Ryan Lavarnway had four RBI.

Toronto scored three times in the third off Matsuzaka (5.1-3-4-3-5, 98) without a base hit. The ugliness: HBP, BB, K, BB, wild pitch (run), BB/wild pitch (run), 463 (run), K. Matsuzaka threw 37 pitches in the inning and the Jays hit exactly one fair ball.

The Red Sox came right back as Cody Ross walked, Gomez singled, and Ryan Lavarnway homered to left. Daniel Nava's bases-loaded single scored Mike Aviles and Gomez to put the Sox on top 5-3 in the fifth.

The Blue Jays rallied. Adam Lind tripled and scored on Yunel Escobar single in the sixth and Brett Lawrie doubled home Cody Rasmus in the eighth.

In the top of the ninth, Jacoby Ellsbury singled off Darren Oliver. The Jays called on Casey Janssen, and he failed the test. Mike Aviles flied to right, but Ross singled. Both baserunners scored on Gomez's three-bagger. Lavarnway followed with a sac fly to make it 8-5.

In the home half of the ninth, Andrew Bailey allowed a two-out single, but nailed down his third save of the season.

Elsewhere: The Rays beat the Yankees 6-4 and the Orioles lost to the Athletics 3-2.

Daisuke Matsuzaka / Aaron Laffey

Ciriaco, 3B
Ellsbury, CF
Aviles, 2B
Ross, RF
Gomez, DH
Lavarnway, C
Nava, LF
Loney, 1B
Iglesias, SS

The Red Sox - 2-13 since August 28 - begin a seven-game road trip in Toronto (WEEI preview). After three games against the Blue Jays, it's down to Tampa Bay for four games against the Rays. Then it's back to Fenway Park for the season's final homestand.

Fun Stat Of The Day: Boston is 21-37 since the All-Star break - the franchise's worst post-ASG record (since 1933).

The Pawtucket Red Sox won the International League championship for the first time since 1984, sweeping the Charlotte Knights (Cleveland) 7-2, 2-0, and 4-1. They will play the Pacific Coast League champion next Tuesday in the AAA Championship Game.

Division Race: Rays at Yankees; Orioles at Athletics. Boston's AL East elimination number is 2 (a Red Sox loss coupled with wins from both the Orioles and Yankees = no AL East title this season!).

G144: Yankees 2, Red Sox 0

Yankees - 000 100 100 - 2  5  0
Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  6  2

Phil Hughes / Felix Doubront

Ellsbury, CF
Podsednik, DH
Loney, 1B
Ross, RF
Nava, LF
Saltalamacchia, C
Aviles, SS
Ciriaco, 3B
De Jesus, 2B

Well, there's an infield that, back in the spring, you never would have expected to see for a mid-September game against the Yankees.

G143: Yankees 5, Red Sox 4

Yankees - 000 300 200 - 5 11  1
Red Sox - 000 100 201 - 4 10  3

There was no walk-off magic for a second consecutive night.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered to start the bottom of the ninth and, with two outs, Mike Aviles reached on an error. Jacoby Ellsbury - who was the hero last night - grounded back to the mound for the final out.

Salty doubled, tripled, homered, and walked in four trips to the plate. He also scored two runs. James Loney and Dustin Pedroia both singled and doubled.

Curtis Granderson hit two home runs for the Yankees, and drove in three runs. The other two runs came on a dong by Robinson Cano.

Fourteen of the 21 hits in the game were for extra bases (nine doubles, one triple, four home runs).

David Phelps / Aaron Cook

Ellsbury, CF
Ciriaco, 3B
Pedroia, 2B
Loney, 1B
Ross, RF
Saltalamacchia, C
Nava, LF
Podsednik, DH
Iglesias, SS

Ryan Lavarnway:

Nothing would be more awesome than knocking these guys out of the playoffs.

         On July 19     Since     Today
Yankees  57-34  ---     22-28     79-62 ---
Orioles  47-44 10.0     32-18     79-62 ---
Rays     47-45 11.0     30-19     77-64 2.0

ESPN:

[T]he Yankees have never blown a division/league lead of more than 6 games. The largest blown lead was 6 games in 1933.