Tampa Bay Advances To ALDS With Shutout

Rays Blank Indians To Advance To ALDS

(Cleveland, OH) -- Alex Cobb set the tone and three relievers closed it out as the Rays shutout the Indians 4-0 at Progressive Field to advance to the ALDS. Cobb tossed six-and-two-thirds innings, allowing eight hits and striking out five to grab the win. Delmon Young connected for a solo homer in the third inning, while Desmond Jennings had a two-run double in the fourth. Rays manager Joe Maddon says Cobb was terrific on the mound.

Yunel Escobar added an insurance run in the ninth with an RBI single. Tampa Bay advances to play the Red Sox in Game One of the ALDS on Friday after grabbing two consecutive win or go home games. Cleveland left nine men on base, and its one through three hitters went 0-for-12. Yan Gomez and Carlos Santana had two hits each while Lonnie Chisenhall tallied three base knocks. Danny Salazar took the loss, allowing three runs in four-plus innings. The Indians had won 10 in-a-row entering the playoffs.

Pirates Play Cardinals In NLDS

(St. Louis, MO) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Game One of their National League Division Series tonight at Busch Stadium. The Pirates advanced to the NLDS with a 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card game Tuesday. Russell Martin homered twice to lead the Bucs to their first postseason win since 1992. A.J. Burnett starts the series opener for Pittsburgh, while St. Louis counters with Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals have home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs after winning the Central Division with the Senior Circuit's best record at 97-65. The Pirates won 10 of the 19 regular season meetings between the two teams.

Search Continues For Cubs Manager

The search continues for the new Cubs manager. Multiple reports say former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch is on the list to replace Dale Sveum, who was let go earlier in the week. Hinch is San Diego's VP and assistant GM.  Also in consideration is Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who is still trying to work out a deal to stay in New York.  His contract expires at the end of this month.  

Wednesday Scoreboard

AL Wild Card Game

Tampa Bay Rays 4, Cleveland Indians 0

Thursday, October 3 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB Playoffs

4:07 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
(Game One of best-of-five NLDS)

7:37 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
(Game One of best-of-five NLDS)