The Tampa Bay Rays capped off a sweep against the division rival Red Sox to draw within 3 1/2 games behind Boston for the AL Wild Card spot. Rays pitcher James Shields earned his 15th win of the season as Tampa routed Boston 9-1. BJ Upton joined the 20/20 club with a grand slam to put the game out of reach. Baltimore awaits the red hot Rays as Boston returns home with a hopefully tough series against Toronto. On August 7th, Tampa seemed far out of the playoff picture, falling 10 games behind then 2nd place New York. The Yankees now hold the lead over the Red Sox with Tampa only a few games behind, however Boston has 7 games against the lowly Orioles and Tampa has 7 games against the first place Yankees to close out the season. The most important match up is a 4 game series between the two teams starting this Thursday in Fenway.
