St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Evan Longoria clubbed three home runs
and the Tampa Bay Rays ended the Baltimore Orioles' hopes for an AL East title
with a 4-1 triumph in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday at Tropicana
Field.
Longoria, who scorched a game-winning, wild-card-clinching 12th-inning homer
in the Rays' final regular-season game last year, homered in each of his first
three plate appearances to help the Rays (90-72) complete their third straight
90-win campaign.
Jeremy Hellickson (10-11) struck out six and walked one over 5 1/3 scoreless
innings of one-hit ball to earn the victory.
Adam Jones knocked in the lone run for the Orioles (92-69), who managed just
two hits in each of the last two games.
The O's will visit the Rangers in the first-ever wild-card game on Friday
after Texas lost to the AL West champion Oakland Athletics earlier on
Wednesday.
Chris Tillman (9-3) absorbed the loss after giving up three runs on four hits
with five strikeouts over five frames.
The Sports Network