 |
 |
 |
|
Apr. 28--ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place, and no, that is not a misprint.
They climbed to the top of the American League East on Sunday after their 3-0 victory against the Boston Red Sox that completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champions and extended their winning streak to six games -- their longest winning streak since August 2005.
"It's been one of the best weeks in franchise history," left fielder Carl Crawford said.
The Rays are 14-11 and share the division lead with the Baltimore Orioles, who they meet for a three-game series beginning Tuesday in Baltimore.
Never have the Rays been this many games above .500 this late in the season.
Never have they been this high in the standings this late in the season.
Never have they won this many games in the first month of the season.
And it's only April 28.
"To start out like that, I think people are going to start counting us in a little bit longer this year," pitcher James Shields said. "We're going to try and keep it rolling."
Shields threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout -- the first of his young career and the second complete-game shutout thrown by a Rays pitcher in eight games. Andy Sonnanstine blanked the Chicago White Sox 5-0 on April 19.
A crowd of 32,363 nearly filled Tropicana Field for the second straight game and watched the Rays sweep the Red Sox in a three-game series for the first time in the club's 11-year history. It was also the Rays' fourth straight win against Boston dating back to last season.
It is only the second time the Rays have won four straight against Boston. The other time was in 1999.
