Baseball: Tampa Bay 5 Baltimore 3

Chris Gimenez went 2-for-3 with a key two-run double Monday and the Tampa Bay Rays kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 5-3 win over Baltimore. Ben Francisco's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning broke a 1-1 deadlock and Gimenez followed with his decisive two-run hit, helping the Rays to victory in the opener of a season-ending three-game series. Ben Zobrist added a pair of hits, including a solo homer for Tampa Bay, which came into the contest needing three wins and three losses by the Oakland Athletics to have a shot at the post-season. Alex Cobb (11-9) baffled the Orioles on two hits over seven innings, yielding only one run while fanning seven. Fernando Rodney nailed down the win with his 47th save. Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen (12-11) took the loss, allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits in a 6 2/3-inning effort. Chris Davis and Matt Wieters homered for the playoff-bound O's, who with the loss fell one game behind the New York Yankees in the American League East.