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Record 21 pitchers used as Rays top Orioles in 18-inning marathon

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Friday night was the wildest night of the 2013 baseball season to date. But nothing, and I do mean nothing, was crazier or more entertaining than the 18-innings marathon played at Tropicana Field.

The Tampa Bay Rays eventually escaped the mayhem with a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles thanks to David DeJesus' walk-off single, but not before an MLB record 21 pitchers (11 Rays, 10 Orioles) were used, including Tampa's scheduled starter on Sunday Jeremy Hellickson.

Hellickson, by the way, earned the victory with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Bud Norris, typically a starter for Baltimore, took the loss and was one of only three relievers in the game to be scored upon. In fact, neither team plated a run from Ben Zobrist's seventh inning RBI single until the game-winner crossed in the 18th. That covered a span of 81 batters, or nine trips through an entire lineup.

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Fresno State keeps BCS hopes alive with 41-40 victory over Boise State

It's still September, but when you're in a non-qualifying conference, it's never too early to talk about the BCS.

For Fresno State, a team that entered the season as a popular pick for a BCS bowl, an undefeated season would be a must. And to do that, it'd have to beat Boise State for the first time in eight seasons. And it did.

The Bulldogs went to 3-0 with a 41-40 victory that turned from an epic choke into a great comeback in the span of one fourth quarter drive.

With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, Fresno was up 34-19. Halfway through the fourth, it trailed 40-34.

But after Boise QB Joe Southwick's sneak into the end zone for the lead -- and a subsequent end-around to wide receiver Matt Miller, who threw for the two-point conversion in the most Boise State of fashions -- Derek Carr led Fresno State down the field in a 15 play drive that took just 3:30 and Joe Quezada scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Boise, now 2-2 after a loss to Washington, had one last opportunity, but turned the ball over on downs.

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Suddenly realizing he needs Wayne Rooney, David Moyes tries to be nice

When David Moyes took over as Manchester United manager over the summer, Wayne Rooney had already made his second demand for a transfer in three years. Less than a month after starting his new gig, Moyes reportedly made the already ugly situation worse by saying, "overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him." Rooney was said to be "angry and confused" about the comment and, through indirect means, he pushed harder for a move to Chelsea that was never going to materialize.

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Max Scherzer earns 20th victory as Tigers lower magic number to three

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Though the value of pitcher victories have been greatly reduced as advanced stats have become more prominent, reaching 20 wins in a season is still a very significant and special achievement for a starting pitcher.

For Detroit Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer getting there in Detroit's 12-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night probably felt particularly sweet, not only because it's his first time winning 20 games, but because it took him five attempts to finally reach the milestone.

Scherzer started his remarkable season by winning each of his first 13 decisions. That represented the best start to a season record wise since Roger Clemens started 14-0 in 1986, and was worthy of a selection to start the All-Star game opposite New York Mets ace Matt Harvey.

After suffering his first defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers on July 13, Scherzer went on to win his next six decisions, improving to 19-1 on Aug. 24. At that point 20 wins seemed like a lock, but Scherzer struggled over his next four starts going 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA.

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Red Sox clinch first AL East title since 2007

With their postseason berth already secured on Thursday, the Boston Red Sox turned right around and clinched the AL East division title on Friday night, officially locking themselves into the ALDS round, with a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Understandably, the Red Sox went for a more subdued celebration on Thursday as they had bigger fish to fry in the days ahead. But the champagne bottles were popped on Friday as the team reveled in the completion of their worst-to-first journey in the AL East. It's the first division championship for Boston since 2007, and will mark their first appearance in the ALDS since 2009. A considerable drought given Boston's success over the past 18 seasons.

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Flyers sign Matt Read to four-year, $14.5 million extension

Matt Read was approaching the 2013-14 season knowing it was the final year of his first NHL deal. Talk about his future was something he tried to avoid this summer, with his mind focused on getting ready for the season.

Well, just days into training camp, Read won't have to worry about his status with the Philadelphia Flyers after this year. On Friday, he signed a four-year, $14.5 million extension with the team. He'll have a $3.625 cap hit.

From the Flyers:

“We’re excited and happy we finally got this done,” said general manager Paul Holmgren. “This has been going on for the better part of the summer. We’re happy and I’m sure Matt’s happy. He’s one of the young, core players on our team.”

...

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Henrik Stenson’s just gonna take the $10 million FedEx Cup prize now, thank you very much

ATLANTA - Hey, if nobody else wants it, Henrik Stenson would be happy to help himself to the $10 million prize that goes to the winner of the FedEx Cup.

Stenson continued his roll at East Lake on Friday, shooting a 66 to go with Thursday's 64 to leave him at -10 for the Tour Championship, halfway home to the largest prize in golf. And he did so with only 13 clubs in the bag, having broken his four-wood on the driving range just before teeing off.

"I've won quite a few of my wins from being in the front," Stenson said afterward. "I've always looked at it like if I'm ahead, the other guy's got to play better to catch up. So I don't mind it at all. They got more work to do than I have, in that sense. It might seem like a large lead or whatever, but four shots during two rounds is not that much. We know sometimes four shots isn't enough on nine holes." (Or four, as Adam Scott could tell you.)

[Struggling Tiger Woods: 'I just ran out of gas']

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Greg Cosell’s Look Ahead – Thoughts on Trent Richardson, and what both teams get from the trade

When I studied running back Trent Richardson before the 2012 draft, I really liked him.

He was naturally powerful. I thought he had good short area quickness. I never worry about long speed for NFL running backs. Lateral agility and movement is more important than long speed, and he had that.

I know he was playing through injuries last year, but I didn’t think he showed those traits he way he did at Alabama, and that concerned me a little bit. I didn’t see the lateral quickness in a confined space. It’s not college, and there’s very few gaping holes. You have to get through small cracks with lateral quickness, and he didn't show that. I can’t say he won’t be a great back, but he didn’t look the same in the NFL as he did at Alabama.

That said, I think the trade for Richardson this week was a great move for the Colts. It makes sense for the Browns too.

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