Page 11 - He Rays News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

With the division title still in doubt, it wasn't clear if the Baltimore Orioles would stage a big celebration when they merely clinched a postseason berth. Cedric Mullins hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Orioles edged the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday after both teams clinched spots in the playoffs. Cleveland's win over Texas meant Baltimore and Tampa Bay were both in — but Orioles fans ended up with more to cheer about than just that.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the city of St. Petersburg announced a news conference for Tuesday expected to include finalized details about a new downtown ballpark. The playoff-bound franchise has fielded competitive teams over the past several years but struggled to draw fans to Tropicana Field, widely-regarded as one of the most outmoded facilities in Major League Baseball. The Rays, who have played in the Trop since they first took the field in 1998 , are averaging 17,778 per game this season, 27th among the 30 big league teams.

With the division title still in doubt, it wasn't clear if the Baltimore Orioles would stage a big celebration when they merely clinched a postseason berth. Cedric Mullins hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Orioles edged the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday after both teams clinched spots in the playoffs. Cleveland's win over Texas meant Baltimore and Tampa Bay were both in — but Orioles fans ended up with more to cheer about than just that.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash tried to keep his top relievers rested for this crucial series at Baltimore — and one by one, they came out of the bullpen and shut down the Orioles. Luke Raley hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay's remarkable bullpen retired everyone it faced in the Rays' 4-3 victory over the Orioles on Thursday night. The Rays won the opener of this four-game showdown to pull within a game of first-place Baltimore in the AL East.

The former Royals first baseman, now with the Baltimore Orioles, has relished playing big games in September for the first time in his career.