Grant Balfour just recorded a save in front of more than 30,000 incredibly excited Tampa Bay fans. He pitched in the 8th and 9th innings, and dealt with some bloody sticky situations. With the Rays clinging to a 2-1 lead in the top of the 8th, and with runners on 2 and 3 and 2 out, Balf came in to pitch to the hitting monster Manny Ramirez. He got to a full count against Manny, but ended up walking him to load the bases. Never one to shy away from a challenge and a bit of pressure, Balf came through with the goods, to draw a ground out from Mike Lowell and end the inning.
The Rays picked up another run in the bottom of the 8th, to get a bit of insurance at 3-1, and they stuck with Balf in the ninth. The crowd were on their feet, screaming and cheering Grant on. He didnt disappoint them. He started off by striking out Kevin Youkilis on 3 pitches. He then battled Brandon Moss for 7 pitches and struck him out on the 8th. Things got a bit hairy when he gave up a double to Alex Cora, but came back strong and struck out Jason Varitek on 3 pitches.
That is a bloody awesome performance. One of the best Aussie MLB performances for the year, and a very important win for the Rays, giving them a 2.5 game lead in the AL East. Good stuff!!
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