Red Sox lose to Orioles 4-3
By DAVID GINSBURG, Associated Press
Sep 28, 2011 11:16 PM CDT
Boston Red Sox's Adrian Gonzalez, left, high-fives Mike Aviles after Aviles scored on a base hit by Dustin Pedroia in the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)   (Associated Press)

The Boston Red Sox completed their September collapse in horrific and historic fashion, falling out of the playoff chase by allowing two ninth-inning runs in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

The Red Sox held a nine-game lead in the AL wild-card race after Sept. 3, but a 7-19 swoon left them tied with Tampa Bay entering the final day of the regular season.

Only minutes after this game ended, the Rays completed their comeback from a 7-0 deficit with an 8-7 win over the New York Yankees in 12 innings.

Even if Tampa Bay lost, the Red Sox faced the prospect of a quick turnaround following a long night at Camden Yards that included a rain delay of 1 hour, 26 minutes in the middle of the seventh inning.

When the rain came, Tampa Bay trailed 7-0. By the time play resumed, the Rays and Yankees were tied at 7 heading into the 10th inning.

The Orioles won the game in the ninth against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon (4-1), who struck out the first two batters before giving up a double to Chris Davis. Nolan Reimold followed with a double to score pinch-runner Kyle Hudson, and Robert Andino completed the comeback with a single to left that Carl Crawford couldn't glove.

Boston became the first team to miss the postseason after leading by as many as nine games for a playoff spot entering September, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Jim Johnson (6-5) worked the ninth for Baltimore.

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