Key to Winning: Scrubs Having a Breakout Season

Oakland ace tosses majors' 19th perfecto

(AP) - Dallas Braden pitched the Athletics' first perfect game in 42 years and just the 19th in major league history today, dazzling the majors' hottest team in recording a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland. Braden threw his arms in the air after Gabe Kapler grounded out to shortstop for the final out. The closest the Rays got to a hit was Jason Bartlett's liner to third leading off the game. Evan Longoria tried to bunt against Braden leading off the fifth, drawing boos from the small crowd. More»

It was spectacularly unlikely

(NEWSER) - “It’s hard to describe how epic the Red Sox collapse was,” writes Nate Silver in the New York Times , calling it statistically like Bill Buckner’s famous botched play of 1986 “multiplied by itself two or three times over." On Sept. 3, the Red Sox had a 99.6% chance of making the playoffs. What’s more, by the time the Orioles were down to their last strike last night, the Sox had about a 98% chance of winning the game. More»

Last-day losses cap miserable month for Red Sox, Braves

(NEWSER) - The Boston Red Sox are in the record books and out of playoff contention after a terrible night capped a terrible September. The Red Sox allowed two ninth-inning runs in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles last night, the AP reports. Minutes after the Red Sox trudged off the field—still tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the final playoff spot—the Rays secured the spot by beating the New York Yankees 8-7, having fought back from being down 7-0 in the middle of the seventh inning. 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»

(NEWSER) - White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle retired 27 consecutive Tampa Bay Rays today for a perfect game and a 5-0 win, the Chicago Tribune reports. There were a couple of dicey moments, particularly in the ninth inning, when center fielder DeWayne Wise barely caught a drive by Gabe Kapler destined for the stands, the AP adds. It’s the first perfect game since Randy Johnson’s in 2004, and the 16th since 1900. More»