Rays Win, Red Sox Edge O’s – Still Tied Entering Final Game

St. Petersburg, FL (WIBX) - The Tampa Bay Rays continue to win and keep pressure on the Red Sox to do the same as both fight for the American League's final playoff spot.

The Rays beat the Yankees for the second straight night on Tuesday. However, Boston also beat Baltimore, meaning both have identical records entering the final day of the regular season.

Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson threw six innings of three run ball to earn the victory in the 5-3 win.

While it seems everything has gone wrong for the Red Sox of late, things are going right for the Rays, who turned a turned a triple-play in the 6th inning. Batting with the bases loaded, New York's Russ Martin hit a ground ball to third baseman Evan Longoria who stepped on the bag, threw to second and then on to first.

In Baltimore, Boston hung on for an 8-7 win. Rookie Ryan Lavarnway hit his first two Major League homers and drove in four runs to the Red Sox's offense.

National League Race

The St. Louis Cardinals did something Tuesday they have were not able to do on Monday, beat the Houston Astros. The Cards won by a final of 13-6 after trailing Houston 5-0 in the third.

The win propels the Cardinals into a tie for the National League wild-card with the Atlanta Braves, who lost again to the Philadelphia Phillies by a final of 7-1.