Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – 7:05 pm (EDT) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland The Red Sox were favored by pundits to win the American League pennant prior to the start of the season due to acquisitions of Adrián González, Carl Crawford and Bobby Jenks.
This proclamation would instantly backfire on him, as mere seconds after he made this statement, the Rays walked in a run with the bases loaded to make the game 7-1, in what would end up being a six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut their deficit to 7-6.
[17] Facing closer Jonathan Papelbon, Chris Davis and Nolan Reimold hit back-to-back doubles with two outs, which tied the game.
The next batter, Robert Andino, hit a line drive to left field which Carl Crawford was unable to catch, allowing Reimold to score and the Orioles walked off with the win.
[18][19] After the Orioles won, Andino, who had been a Red Sox killer of late, said, "End of season like this, to make Boston go home sad, crying, I'll take it all day.
"[20][21] Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – 7:10 pm (EDT) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida The Yankees had already won the American League East several days prior to this contest.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi indicated that he would approach the final games so that the team's pitching staff would be set up for the 2011 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers.
[24] Suspicions rose to whether or not the Yankees would compete intensely due to them wanting to rest their aging players for the playoffs and to keep the Red Sox out, their fierce rivals whom they had a lopsided losing record to that season.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, down to his final strike, struggling Rays first baseman Dan Johnson hit a solo home run near the right field foul pole to tie the game.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – 7:05 pm (CDT) at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas The National League Central had been a two-way race late into the season with the Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers vying for contention.
[28][29] The Cardinals battled back despite perennial all-star Albert Pujols serving on the disabled list and pitcher Adam Wainwright sitting out the entire year due to Tommy John surgery.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – 7:10 pm (EDT) at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia The Philadelphia Phillies had clinched a playoff berth, the division title, and the best league record for weeks.