St. Petersburg, Fla. — Someone had to win, which is what the Tampa Bay Rays finally concluded Wednesday after nearly four hours of alleged baseball had carried on at Tropicana Field.
And so, after the Tigers had somehow turned their early 5-1 hole into a 7-5 lead, and after it seemed as though Brad Ausmus’ bunch would escape with an actual victory — it all blew up.
And in astonishing fashion, the Rays made off with what passed for a victory, 8-7, over the shell-shocked Tigers.
Down 7-6 in their final at-bat, the Rays loaded the bases against Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth with none out, all before Rodriguez got a temper-inciting strikeout against Steven Souza Jr.