Associated Press
The baseball notebook …
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó Matt Garza threw down the resin bag and told himself what he needed to do after Dustin Pedroia’s first-inning homer.
“Just calm down,” the Tampa Bay pitcher said. “Take one pitch at a time. I just told myself, ‘That’s it. I can’t give up anything more.”‘
And that was all the Red Sox got.
Garza shut down Boston in Game 7 of the AL championship series Sunday night, allowing only one more hit in seven-plus innings to lead the Rays to their first pennant and earn the MVP award.
“I took today’s game just like another game in June,” Garza said. “That’s the only way I could do it.”
The 6-foot-4 right-hander was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts in the series.
“He gave us fits. He gave us nothing,” Boston manager Terry Francona said.
RATINGSNEW YORK ó Game 7 of the AL championship series drew the most viewers ever for a baseball game on cable television.
Nearly 13.4 million people watched the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Sunday night on TBS, the network said Monday. That broke the mark set by the 1998 Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game on ESPN in which Mark McGwire hit his 61st home run to tie the single-season record.
RED SOX
BOSTON ó Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell has had surgery on his right hip.
CHAMBERLAINNEW YORK ó Yankees manager Joe Girardi and co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner lent their support Monday to pitcher Joba Chamberlain, arrested last weekend on suspicion on drunk driving.
“I have spoken to Joba and he made it very clear to me that he made a mistake,” Girardi said in a statement. “We certainly don’t condone his actions, but he is part of the Yankees family and I believe he learned a valuable lesson which he can grow from.”
ATHLETICSOAKLAND, Calif. ó Mark Ellis’ first choice was to stay put with Oakland, even if he had tested his value in free agency.
The Athletics secured some stability up the middle Monday by agreeing on an $11 million, two-year contract to keep the popular second baseman around.
CUBSCHICAGO ó General manager Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a four-year contract extension through the 2012 season.
The move came following the Cubs’ best regular season in more than six decades.DODGERSLOS ANGELES ó The Dodgers have declined a $5.5 million club option on shortstop Angel Berroa, instead opting for a $500,000 buyout.