Sports | Tampa Bay Rays Rays KO Sox, Head to Series By Marie Morris Posted Oct 19, 2008 11:12 PM CDT Copied Boston's Kevin Youkilis, right, and his Red Sox teammates watch the ninth inning of the Rays' 3-1 victory in Game 7 of the ALCS in St. Petersburg, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Tim Donnelly) The worst-to-first Tampa Bay Rays completed a stunning run to their first World Series, holding off the defending champion Boston Red Sox, 3-1, last night behind Matt Garza's masterful pitching in Game 7 of the ALCS. "It's unbelievable," center fielder BJ Upton said. "We battled a lot of adversity this year. We stuck together as a team." Baseball's doormat since starting play in 1998, the Rays were a 200-1 shot to win the World Series before the season started. They nearly let it slip away when they blew a seven-run lead late in Game 5 and lost meekly Saturday night. Now, they'll host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 Wednesday night. Garza was named ALCS MVP. Read These Next Arizona governor wants answers on Grand Canyon fire. Trump reportedly asked Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow. Democrats happily pile on over the Epstein fallout. They played husband and wife on TV, are now married. Report an error