Newzhit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night with the help of a fan interference call for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.Baseball's adaptation of video technology was key to the inning.Lombard reached with a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an ABS challenge.
Austin Wells then walked on full-count changeup but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks ruled the pitch caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.Quite a change from 1996, when umpires did not have technology to assist and Derek Jeter's homer for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite Jeffrey Meier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore's Tony Tarasco was set to catch the ball. MLB began using video for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball/strike decisions starting this year.Ian Seymour pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth and Bryan Baker pitched the ninth for his third save of the series.Seeking its first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on Sept. New York opened the season with MLB's third-highest payroll at $303 million while the Rays were 26th at $91 million.Swept in a best-of-five postseason matchup for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th straight season without a World Series crown.
That equaled their longest drought since w…
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