Epic Fail: Red Sox and Braves Collapse and Miss the Playoffs

In all the history of Major League Baseball, no team that had a lead of more than eight games in September failed to win that division of league title.  In the space of a few moments on September 28th, the last day of the regular season, it happened to both the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves in incredible fashion.

Boston had a nine game lead in the American League Wild Card race on September 3rd. but went into a tail spin after that.  The Tampa Bay Rays were as hot as the Red Sox were cold, and the two were tied in the standings with one game left.  It looked good for the Red Sox, as they took a 3-2 lead over the Baltimore Orioles, and the New York Yankees had a 7-0 lead over Tampa Bay in the eighth inning.  But the Rays scored six runs in the eighth, and tied it with two out in the ninth on pinch hitter Dan Johnson’s home run.  The Rays won it in the 12th on Evan Longoria’s second home run of the game for an 8-7 win.  Meanwhile, Boston was up by one in the bottom of the ninth at Baltimore.  The Orioles staged their own two out rally, scoring two runs off closer Jonathan Papelbon to shock the Red Sox 4-3.  The Rays were in as the A.L. Wild Card.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals had been in pursuit of the fading Atlanta Braves throughout September, and those two teams were tied on the final day of the season as well.  St. Louis shutout the Houston Astros 8-0 and waited for the result of the Atlanta Braves – Philadelphia Phillies game.  The Braves led 3-2 in the ninth when the Phillies tied it up and sent the game into extra innings.  Philadelphia’s Hunter Pence drove in the go ahead run in the top of the 13th inning, and the Phillies shut down the Braves in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 victory.  Atlanta had led St. Louis by 8-1/2 games on September 6th, but the Cardinals took the lead when it counted the most and won the Wild Card.

After what is probably the wildest final day of the season ever in baseball, the playoffs are set.  In the National League, the Cardinals will play Philadelphia, and the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the Milwaukee Brewers.  In the American League, Tampa Bay will play the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers will play the Yankees.  The Braves and Red Sox will have a long winter.

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Tags: atlanta braves, baseball, boston red sox, evan, st louis cardinals, tampa bay rays