ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) The playoffs beckoned, and just as they've handled other challenges this season, the Tampa Bay Rays took a leap forward.
The AL East leaders clinched the first postseason berth in franchise history Saturday, beating the Minnesota Twins 7-2 and making Scott Kazmir look like a genius for boldly proclaiming during spring training that the perennial last-place team was good enough to play in October.
"I knew we had something here. I knew we had the depth. I knew we had the pitching," Kazmir, drenched in champagne and beer, said. "I knew we had everything. We just had to put it together, and we did."