This whole situation is going

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CLEVELAND -- The Tampa Bay Rays road show rolls on. Next stop: Boston. Alex Cobb dodged trouble for nearly seven innings and the Rays pitched their way to another must-have win on the road, beating the Cleveland Indians 4-0 Wednesday night in the AL wild-card game. Cobb, who missed a chunk of the regular season after he was hit in the head by a line drive, quieted a thundering Cleveland crowd and ended the Indians unexpected season. "Cant put into words the appreciation I have celebrating on this field," Cobb said. "I knew how close it was to not coming back. Sitting on the couch watching these games, I knew we had a good chance. We have a great team. I was going to do everything I could to get back and be a part of it." Delmon Young homered in the third inning off rookie Danny Salazar as the Rays, playing in their third city over four days, advanced to face the AL East champion Red Sox in the division series starting Friday. "I felt like weve done it and been here before," said Desmond Jennings, who hit a two-run double. "The road we took to get here was pretty tough going to New York, Toronto, playing a game in Texas." Cobbs comeback in August from his frightening injury helped stabilize the Rays, who have spent the past two weeks winning crucial games to reach the post-season for the fourth time in six years. Cobb pitched out of massive jams in the fourth and fifth, and allowed two runners to reach in the seventh before turning it over to Tampa Bays dependable bullpen. Joel Peralta struck out Nick Swisher on three pitches, ending Clevelands last real chance. Fernando Rodney worked a perfect ninth, striking out Lonnie Chisenhall to end it. Rodney dropped to one knee, pointed skyward and soon was mobbed by all the Rays, who may be a little homesick but are Boston-bound. "Go out and play our game," Jennings said. "Its going to be tough anytime you play Boston." Unfazed by a raucous, red-clad, towel-waving crowd of 43,579 that roared like a jet engine inside Progressive Field, the Rays handled the Indians and will now face their division nemesis, the Red Sox, who went 12-7 against Tampa Bay this season. David Price set the tone for the Rays post-season run by throwing a complete game to beat Texas in the wild-card tiebreaker Monday night, and Cobb picked up where his teammate left off. After he was pulled in the seventh, Cobb walked to the dugout where he was first greeted with a high-five from Price. "The adrenaline was going pretty fast there in the early going," Cobb said. "Once Delmon hit that home run, I tried to fill up the strike zone. My stuff wasnt the best, but I made my defence work. They were awesome." There was a time when Cobb wasnt even sure he would pitch again this season. On June 15, he suffered a concussion when he was struck in the right ear by a line drive hit by Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer. Cobb was sidelined for 50 games and Tuesday he recalled lying on his sofa and wondering if he would be able to help the Rays contend for a playoff spot. He didnt want a repeat of 2011, when he couldnt pitch in the playoffs after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot in his ribs. But not only did Cobb go 5-1 after his scary moment, the 25-year-old finished 11-3 in 22 starts and manager Joe Maddon didnt hesitate giving him the ball for the winner-take-all wild-card game. The Indians went from 94 losses a year ago to 92 wins under first-year manager Terry Francona and won their last 10 games to make the post-season for the first time since 2007. But it was one and done for Cleveland, which didnt capitalize on scoring opportunities. The first three hitters, Michael Bourn, Swisher and Jason Kipnis, went a combined 0 for 12. The road-tested Rays, who have travelled 3,627 miles since leaving home on Sept. 23, took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on Jennings two-run double. James Loney and Evan Longoria hit one-out singles before Salazar retired Ben Zobrist on a fly to right, sending Loney to third. Jennings, who recently missed time with a hamstring injury, pulled Salazars pitch past diving a diving Chisenhall at third, and by the time left fielder Michael Brantley, who had been shading Jennings toward centre, ran it down, Loney and Longoria scored to give Cobb a three-run cushion. Cobb was in trouble in the bottom of the inning as the Indians loaded the bases on a double, single and walk. But Cobb got Asdrubal Cabrera to hit a grounder to first baseman Loney, who threw to second for a force and shortstop Yunel Escobar fired to Cobb covering first for the double play. Cobb pumped both fists in celebration, knowing he had escaped danger. It was nothing new for Cabrera, an All-Star the past two seasons who struggled in 2013 and went 2 for 15 with the bases loaded. The Indians threatened again in the fifth, putting two on with none out. But Cobb struck out Bourn, got Swisher to ground to first and retired All-Star Kipnis on a soft-as-cotton comebacker to keep it 3-0. Francona was confident Salazar, who sailed through Clevelands farm system with a rocket right arm, could prolong the season. "We gave him the ball for a reason," Francona said. "This stage isnt too big for him." And for the most part, Salazar held his own. But a few mistakes cost him and will undoubtedly give him some restless nights until spring training. Youngs ninth homer in the past three Octobers gave the Rays a 1-0 lead in the third, and their first hit off Salazar. Drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in 2003, Young returned to the Rays in August with plenty of post-season experience -- and success. He was the ALCS MVP with Detroit last season as the Tigers swept the New York Yankees in four games. Now hes on the road with the Rays, who want to travel as deep as they can this month. NOTES: Young is appearing in his fifth straight post-season: two with Minnesota, two with Detroit and this one with Tampa Bay. ... Indians reliever Chris Perez, who lost his closers job in the final week of the season after two horrid performances, was kept on the 25-man roster for the game. Francona said it "wasnt a tough decision" and said part of it was out of loyalty to the two-time All-Star. ... Rays RHP Jamey Wright was selected to his first post-season roster in his 18th major league season. ... Former Indians slugger Jim Thome was in attendance and got a rousing ovation when shown on the scoreboard. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The New York Rangers centre had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators ending a 13-game goal-scoring drought. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . "It feels good, Ive never had one before, not even in College," Hagelin said after the Rangers outgunned the Jets 4-2, behind some solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist following a pretty wide open first period. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. "For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury," said general manager Doug Wilson in a statement. "Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - How do you know baseball is right around the corner? Because there seems to be a new Alex Rodriguez story every day. Its amazing we survived a whole season without him. But, yes, once we get that little football game out the way in Arizona, the sports world will start to turn its attention toward spring training. At least thats the hope of new commissioner Rob Manfred. And there wont be a bigger story line anywhere than the return of A-Rod from his one-year performance-enhancing drug ban. His first day in camp is sure to be grab-the-popcorn entertaining, as hes expected to issue a public mea culpa to not only the New York Yankees organization, but baseball fans around the world. That is, if the Yankees even let him in the building. Theyve supposedly told him not to bother showing up until position players are required to report on Feb. 25. Cant you just picture Rodriguez strolling into the locker room without a care in the world, plopping his stuff down in front of Derek Jeters old locker and asking, Hey, is this one empty? He is so oblivious to everything around him that he wouldnt even think twice about it. Just like him getting hitting tips from of all people, Barry Bonds. I actually thought it was an Onion headline when I saw that one. No way could that have been real. Steroids or not, Bonds is probably the best hitter who a lot of us will see in our lifetime. Getting tips from him is probably not the worst thing a player could do. But if you are Alex Rodriguez, maybe, just maybe you might want to seek someone else out. There are also reports the Yankees are looking to void his marketing deal that will pay Rodriguez a certain amount of money for each upcoming milestone he reaches, like home run No. 660, which would tie him with Willie Mays, or No. 714, which would match Babe Ruth, and so on and so forth. The Yanks will argue that Rodriguez is now tainted with the stench of PEDs and the marketing deal should be nulll and void.ddddddddddddThe Major League Baseball Players Association has already stated it would back Rodriguez, and rightfully so. The Yankees should not be let off the hook here. They gave him this ridiculous deal, they should own up to it. This whole situation is going to be ugly, especially because the Yankees already have a new third baseman in Chase Headley. Rodriguez, though, still thinks its his job to lose. Awkward. Look, if the Yankees dont want him around, they should work out some sort of buyout and move on. You almost get the sense this is playing out like a Seinfeld episode that saw George show up to work every day despite the fact that his employers wanted nothing to do with him and tried to make his life miserable every chance they could. Now back to the Big Game in Arizona, which as a lifelong fan of the New York Jets is going to be extremely painful to watch considering both head coaches formerly led Gang Green, albeit for just one glorious day in Bill Belichicks case. TSNs own Lyle Fitzsimmons, another long suffering fan of the NYJ, gave a little background on that topic here: Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. Regardless, like the rest of America, I am a sheep and will be tuned in on Sunday. Seattle is just impossible to root for. Richard Sherman doesnt shut up and Marshawn Lynch has become the most unlikable player in football. And believe me, that is saying an awful lot. Then theres the cheating New England Patriots. Part of me would like to see the Patriots win, Tom Brady get the MVP and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell have to hand both him and Belichick a trophy. There is no more fitting ending to this, perhaps the worst season in NFL history, than Goodell, Belichick and Brady giggling together at the end of the Super Bowl. But, there is nothing inside of me that will allow me to root for the New England Patriots and for that to happen. Give me Seattle, 24-16. Then once thats over, get ready for all A-Rod, all the time. ' ' '