ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — From worst to first to baseball heaven.
That mythical story line became reality Sunday night when the Tampa Bay Rays, behind the magic right arm of starter Matt Garza, beat Boston 3-1 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The Rays, a team that had experienced first place in the American League East for a grand total of 20 days in its first 10 years of existence, are going to the World Series. Yes, those Rays, a 150-1 longshot to win the American League pennant at the beginning of the season, will host Philadelphia in Game 1 on Wednesday night at raucous Tropicana Field.
“We always believed, from spring training until tonight,” said Garza, named MVP after going 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. “We were confident all along. Nothing changed tonight.”
The 24-year-old Garza was selected by the Rockies out of high school in the 40th round of the 2002 draft. He ended up going to Fresno State and was picked by Minnesota in the first round in 2005. The Twins traded him to Tampa Bay last November.
“When I first got traded here, I was a little disappointed,” Garza said as he took a champagne bath. “But these guys took me in with open arms and said, ‘Hey, you’re a piece of this puzzle we are going to put together.’ From there, we rode the wave and we are still going.”
Garza pitched with confidence and purpose, outdueling Boston starter Jon Lester. Garza attacked Boston hitters with 94-mph fastballs, slipping in sliders and curves to keep them off-balance. When he walked off the field in the eighth, he tipped his cap to the roaring crowd.
In seven-plus innings, he allowed just two hits, walked three and struck out nine. His one mistake came early when Dustin Pedroia, the second batter of the game, sent a line drive into the left-field seats for a 1-0 Boston lead.
But unlike in Game 5, when the Red Sox came back from 7-0 oblivion entering the seventh inning to win the game, Tampa Bay’s bullpen didn’t collapse. The game’s moment of high drama arrived in the eighth when Rays rookie left-hander David Price — 23 years old and in just his eighth big-league game — came in to face left-hander batter J.D. Drew, the hero of Game 5. Price struck out Drew with the bases loaded to end the Red Sox’s last best hope.
Price also struck out Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek in the ninth, then leaped in the air when second baseman Akinori Iwamura scooped up Jed Lowrie’s bad-hop grounder and touched second to end the game.
“He was sensational,” pitching coach Jim Hickey said of Price. “He’s going to rewrite some record books before he’s done.”
Before this magical run, the Rays were a baseball laughingstock, never winning more than 70 games.
Sunday, Tampa Bay became only the second team in major-league history to reach the World Series after finishing with the majors’ worst record the previous year. The other was the 1991 Atlanta Braves, who went on to lose in seven games to the Minnesota Twins.
Coming in, the Red Sox had won nine straight ALCS elimination games, but the Rays wouldn’t be denied.
“To be able to do this versus the Red Sox is really special, based on what they have been able to do over the last few years,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
Said Boston manager Terry Francona: “We didn’t get as far as we wanted. We got beat by a very, very good team. They’ll represent the American League very, very well.”
Tampa Bay tied the game 1-1 in the fourth behind a sweet piece of hitting by rookie Evan Longoria. He punched a 95 mph fastball off Lester into the right-field corner for a double, scoring Carlos Peña from first.
The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the fifth, finally figuring out Lester and stringing together three straight hits. Designated hitter Willy Aybar led off with a double off the left-field wall and scored on a single to left by Rocco Baldelli.
The insurance run arrived in the seventh when Aybar crushed a solo homer to left off Lester.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Hot streak vs. destiny’s children
Baseball writer Patrick Saunders breaks down the World Series:
Why the Phillies will win. They’re hot — 13-3 down the stretch, then dominating the Brewers and Dodgers in the playoffs. Their offense features power and speed. In Brad Lidge, left, they have this season’s best closer.
Why the Rays will win. Young, talented and unafraid, they’re playing like destiny’s team. They have the majors’ best defense, plus a deep, talented rotation led by ALCS MVP Matt Garza.
X-factor. Tampa Bay youngsters B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria were spectacular against Boston pitchers they had seen on a regular basis. Can they keep it up?
RECAP
Key moment: Tropicana Field exploded with noise in the eighth when Rays rookie left-hander David Price — at age 23 and in just his eighth big-league game — struck out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded to end the Red Sox’s last promising hope to score.
Unsung hero: Right fielder Rocco Baldelli, still playing sparingly as he battles mitochondrial disease, put the Rays in front 2-1 in the fifth with an RBI single.
Up next: The Rays, who are in the midst of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history, host Philadelphia in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night. The Phillies haven’t been to the World Series since 1993.
Baseball’s greatest turnarounds
Tampa Bay is just the second team in major-league history to advance to the postseason after owning the worst record in the majors the year before. The only other club to do it was the 1991 Atlanta Braves, who had a 29-game improvement. Following are the greatest single-season turnarounds in major-league history (since 1900):
Previous Games Year Team W-L year improved Postseason
1999 Arizona D-backs 100-62 65-97 35 Won NL West
1903 N.Y. Giants 84-55 48-88 34.5 —
1946 Boston Red Sox 104-50 71-83 33 AL champs
1989 Baltimore O’s 87-75 54-107 32.5 —
1936 Boston Braves 71-83 38-115 32.5 —
2008 Tampa Bay Rays 97-65 66-96 31 AL champs
1993 San Fran. Giants 103-59 72-90 31 —
1905 Phila. Phillies 83-69 52-100 31 —
Source: Tampa Bay Rays
