Rays Can't Make Up Ground On Red Sox In Wild Card Race

The Tampa Bay Rays missed a golden opportunity Tuesday to pick up ground in the American League wild card chase.

New York cut its magic number to clinch the AL East to one by beating Tampa Bay 5-0 as Ivan Nova wins his 16th game for New York. Boston fell to Baltimore 7-5 as closer Jonathan Papelbon could not hold a lead. Boston still leads the Rays by two games in the wild card.

The magic number for Texas to clinch the AL West is four after they beat Oakland. Second place Los Angeles keeps pace with a 10-6 win over Toronto.

In the National League, Atlanta maintains a two and a half game lead over St.Louis in the wild card. The Braves beat Florida 4-0 while the Cardinals beat New York 11-6. Milwaukee reduced its magic number to clinch the NL Central with a 5-1 win over Chicago while Arizona does the same in the NL West despite losing to Pittsburgh because second place San Francisco lost to Los Angeles.

Category: MLB