Monday, Oct. 13, 2008

Rays outlast Sox in ALCS marathon

Saturday became Sunday and Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon turned to bench coach Dave Martinez and said, "Dave, it's 12 o'clock."

A half-hour later, Maddon turned to Martinez and said, "Dave, it's 12:30."

Carl Crawford's stomach was grumbling in left field.

"I was getting hungry," he said.

A little while later, Maddon turned to Martinez with another update.

"It's 12:45."

"Nobody was getting tired, it was look at how late it is," Maddon said Sunday evening while standing outside the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park.

It was late Saturday then early Sunday and the Rays eventually outlasted the Boston Red Sox, winning Game 2 of the American League Championship Series 9-8 when Fernando Perez scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning.

The game took 5 hours, 27 minutes and ended at 1:35 a.m. Sunday.

It was the second-longest game in ALCS history, trailing only Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS between the Red Sox and Yankees, which went 12 innings and lasted 5:49.

It was also the fourth ALCS game to last more than five hours. The Red Sox have played in all four.

"I didn't realize how long it was, to be honest with you," Rays catcher Dioner Navarro said Sunday. "I knew it was a long game, but I didn't know it lasted five hours."

That's 5 hours, 27 minutes.

The Rays victory in the marathon evened the ALCS at 1-1. The series resumes this afternoon at Fenway Park.

The victory was also the biggest in Rays history and one of the more bizarre wins Rays fans have witnessed.

The game had two parts - power in the first five innings and pitching over the next six.

The teams combined to use 37 players, including seven pitchers each.

Navarro began the winning rally when he led off the 11th with a walk against losing pitcher Mike Timlin.

"You got to keep going out there and do your job," said Navarro, who caught all 11 innings. I enjoyed it. Every single pitch."

Perez ran for Navarro and moved to second when Ben Zobrist walked. The runners advanced on Jason Bartlett's grounder to third. Akinori Iwamura was walked intentionally to load the bases.

B.J. Upton then sent everyone into the early morning with a sacrifice fly that traveled no more than 180 feet to short right field.

Perez, who could give Crawford a run for the fastest Ray, easily beat the throw from J.D. Drew, slapping the plate emphatically with his right hand as he slid home with the winning run.

"Nobody said this was going to be easy," Rays designated hitter Cliff Floyd said after the game. "Nobody said it was going to be five hours. The best thing to do when you play five hours is to win."

That's 5 hours, 27 minutes.

"That was long. That was exhausting," first baseman Carlos Peña said Sunday. "But it was so much better because we won, man. All of a sudden, we were in the kitchen after the game, and the guys are like man. I said, 'I don't know, but I'm hyper all of a sudden.' I guess guys got tired, but hit their second wind after the game and couldn't even go to sleep after the game until late. I kind of happened to me a little bit. I started packing as soon as I got home. It was such a long game."

The marathon delayed the Rays travel plans, which were already delayed.

Instead of flying to Boston immediately after the game, the Rays opted to fly out Sunday afternoon.

The flight was scheduled to leave St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport at noon Sunday, but was pushed back to 2 p.m. Maddon also cancelled the Rays workout, which was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

"It worked out really well," Maddon said.

The Rays were still feeling the effects of the Saturday night game that just wouldn't end when they arrived in Boston late Sunday afternoon.

"It took everything all of us had," Crawford said. "It was very draining. But it was real fun. It was long, too."

It was 5 hours, 27 minutes.