Projo Sox Blog

RAYS WILL LOOK TO THE '92 BRAVES
The 1992 Braves built a 3-1 lead over the Pirates before losing Game 5 at Pittsburgh and falling in Game 6 at home. The Braves then won a classic Game 7 by a 3-2 score, with SID BREAM legging out the winning run on FRANCSICO CABRERA's 9th inning single.

HERE AND THERE
-- B.J. UPTON hit his fourth home run of the 2008 ALCS and recorded his 11th RBI of this series

-- Upton's 11 RBI tie David Ortiz's 2004 record for most RBI in an LCS

-- Upton's homer, which went an estimated 405 feet, hit the C-Ring catwalk, 125 feet off the field of play

-- It was Upton's seventh homer of this postseason, which ties Troy Glaus (2002) for third most homers in a single postseason behind co-leaders Barry Bonds (8 HR in 2002) and Carlos Beltran (8 in 2004)

-- Upton now has 7 HR in his 42 AB in the postseason after hitting 9 HR in 531 AB in the regular season

-- Upton's four homers in the 2008 ALCS tie the LCS record for most homers, matching seven players, including teammate EVAN LONGORIA

-- With CARL CRAWFORD's stolen base in the fourth inning, the Rays are now 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts in the ALCS and 17-for-19 in the postseason. The only caught stealings were a pick-off of CARLOS PENA by JOSH BECKETT in Game 2 and the caught stealing of DIONER NAVARRO by JASON VARITEK in the fifth inning tonight. The Red Sox have one stolen base in the ALCS and five in the postseason.

-- JASON BARTLETT's game-tying fifth inning home run (estimated at 391 feet) was his first of the postseason. Entering tonight, Bartlett had gone 32 games without a home run, spanning 117 AB. Bartlett hit 1 HR in 454 AB in the 2008 regular season. In Bartlett's regular season career, he had hit 11 HR in 1,533 AB...Bartlett also was hit by a pitch twice tonight; the last player in an ALCS to be hit twice was Detroit's Pat Sheridan in Game 5 of the 1987 ALCS. Russell Martin was hit by a pitch twice in Game 3 of the 2008 NLCS.

-- The 15 home runs hit by the Rays in the 2008 ALCS are the most by any team in LCS history. With the four home runs tonight, The 24 combined home runs by both clubs represents the second-most in LCS history, one shy of the 25 home runs hit in the seven-game 2004 NLCS between HOU (14) and STL (11).

-- JAMES SHIELDS issued three walks in the third inning. The only other time in his entire three-year Major League career that he walked as many as three batters in one inning was on 8/14/08 at Oakland.

---