Red Sox Send Angels Packing

Phillies, too

(NEWSER) - Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez both proved why they’d been acquired last night. Bay hit a two-run shot to give the Red Sox a lead they never relinquished, sending Anaheim to a 4-1 defeat, while the man he was traded for hit a solo shot in the Dodgers' 7-2 win over the Cubs. But the Dodgers’ real hero was James Loney, who hit a grand slam in the fifth to erase a 2-run Cubs lead. More»

With Dodgers in NLCS, only Philly-Colorado remains up in the air

(NEWSER) - The Yankees wrapped up a sweep of the Twins tonight in Minneapolis, getting homers from Jorge Posada and suddenly clutch Alex Rodriguez in a 6-1 win. They advance to face the Angels, who mounted an unlikely ninth-inning comeback this afternoon, scoring off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon three times and hanging on for a 7-6 victory and their own sweep in Boston. More»

Rays' talent rises to occasion, avoids epic collapse in beating Boston to seal Series trip

(NEWSER) - The improbable has happened. The Tampa Bay Rays have ousted the defending champion Red Sox. Sportswriters, start your fawning:

• The Rays won this thing with “talent, talent, talent,” which trumps experience every time, writes Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe. “The best team in the American League is going to the World Series.”
• Besides, the Rays played like grizzled veterans, writes George Vecsey of the New York Times, thanks to a “lineup full of heroes doing the big things and the small things.”

(NEWSER) - Red Sox nation is secretly grieving. Sure, the Sox pulled off one of the most incredible comebacks ever on Thursday, but precious few were actually watching. Many among the Fenway Faithful didn’t exactly live up to their name, the Boston Globe reports. “It was 7-0,” laments one fan who left the park early. “I feel this incredible guilt, like letting an old friend down.” More»

Fan unintentionally coins rallying cry for first Series berth since '93

(NEWSER) - When a delirious Phillies fan called in to a radio show after Philadelphia's NLCS win, he inadvertently coined the team's new rallying cry. "Boston did it. The White Sox did it. Why can't us?," he asked. While waiting to see which AL team they'll face, Phillies fans have joyously embraced the grammatically challenged slogan, Deadspin reports. More»