Rays 5, Yankees 2
B.J. Upton and Johnny Damon each knocked in two runs, and James Shields pitched 8 2/3 strong innings as the Tampa Bay Rays moved into a tie for the American League wild card lead with a 5-2 victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Monday.
The Rays, who were nine games behind Boston on Sept. 3, are even with two games to play. The Red Sox lost at Baltimore 6-3 on Monday.
Shields (16-12) allowed six hits and two runs, and shut the Yankees out over his final 5 2/3 innings on three hits. Kyle Farnsworth got the final out for his 24th save.
Upton doubled home two runs in the third inning to tie the game and Damon singled home the go-ahead run later in the inning. Damon, who also had a sacrifice fly in seventh, is tied with Lou Gehrig for 57th on the all-time hits list with 2,721.
Kelly Shoppach also homered for the second straight game for the Rays.
Rays’ left fielder Desmond Jennings made an amazing diving catch in the gap to take extra bases away from Derek Jeter in the fifth.
Robinson Cano had a solo homer in the first and an RBI single in the third to give New York a 2-0 lead. Cano is batting .386 in his career against Shields, with four home runs and 11 RBIs.