Wild Finish to Wild Night as Rays and Cardinals Clinch Playoff Spots

How does one start to sum up the sequence of events that just unfolded this evening? Let’s stick with the most important information.
The Tampa Bay Rays, who were trailing, 7-0, heading into the eighth inning of their game against the Yankees, came back to win in 12 innings and are in the playoffs. The Boston Red Sox, who took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning of their game against the Baltimore Orioles, had their hopes dashed and lost, 4-3, when their closer, Jonathan Papelbon, couldn’t close it out. Keep in mind, this all happened within minutes of each other.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves saw their season come to an end in heart-breaking fashion when their closer, Craig Kimbrel, blew his third save of September in the ninth. The Braves would eventually fall to the Phillies in 13 innings, missing a chance to play the Cardinals in a one-game playoff on Thursday after St. Louis dominated the Houston Astros, 8-0, behind nine shutout innings from Chris Carpenter.
As a result of tonight’s events, the Yankees will host the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay will travel to Texas to play the Rangers in the A.L. division series on Friday. In the N.L., St. Louis will take on the same Phillies team that helped them get into the postseason, and the Arizona Diamondbacks will visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.