Carl Crawford

Jose Canseco was arrested at his home in Davie, Fla., yesterday after testing positive for steroids - a violation of his probation stemming from a nightclub brawl. The former American League MVP, who had been under house arrest for violating probation earlier, was being held at Broward County Jail without bond pending a court appearance. He will probably face a hearing on Monday or Tuesday, officials said. A total of six players from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Devil Rays were disciplined for their involvement in a bench-clearing brawl during a game on Sunday.

How's this for clutch pitching? The Phils were clinging to a one-run lead in the sixth inning. The Tampa Bay Rays put the potential tying run on base when first baseman Ryan Howard - would his defense be an issue before the Series was over? - made an error on a grounder by Carlos Pena. The temperature was rising at Tropicana Field, but Cole Hamels stayed cool. As he prepared to face cleanup man Evan Longoria, Pena broke for second. Hamels saw Pena go and threw to first.

IT WAS a one-two punch. First, the Boston Red Sox lost, then Evan Longoria, seemingly knowing what was on the line, lifted the Tampa Bay Rays into the playoffs. The Rays clinched the AL wild card with a stunning rally last night, overcoming a late seven-run deficit, then beating the visiting New York Yankees, 8-7, on Longoria's home run in the 12th inning. The Rays' win came 4 minutes after Boston blew a one-run lead in the ninth at Baltimore and lost, 4-3. The Red Sox, who held a nine-game lead over the Rays in early September, and Tampa Bay began the final day of the regular season tied for the wild card.

Matt Garza had to settle for his second career shutout after making a bid for the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay history. Garza didn't allow a hit against the Rangers until a debatable call with two outs in the sixth inning last night, then finished with a two-hitter as the Rays beat host Texas, 7-0. Meanwhile, a Tampa Bay lineup missing injured stars Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford hit four home runs in 4 2/3 innings off Kevin Millwood (6-7)....

Carl Crawford shrugged off what is becoming a typical performance for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' leadoff man. The 22-year-old emerging star went 4-for-5, scored three runs, stole two bases and had an RBI in a 10-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays last night. Crawford is 29-for-64 in his last 14 games, boosting his team-leading batting average to .319, with a major league-leading 35 steals. "I'm just feeling comfortable at the plate and knowing which area I want to hit the ball in, instead of going up there swinging," Crawford said.

Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford angrily shouted at teammate Pat Burrell in the clubhouse before last night's game in Baltimore, the latest breakdown in a lost season for the Rays. It was not clear what caused the dispute shortly before the Rays took the field for pregame stretching. The Orioles won the game, 4-2, on catcher Matt Wieters' two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Crawford, who had two hits for Tampa Bay but was twice caught stealing by Wieters, repeatedly yelled across the clubhouse at the Rays' designated hitter.

WHO'S THAT VULTURE perched on Mariano Rivera's shoulder? Why is Torii Hunter OK moving to rightfield? And how much will Adrian Gonzalez enjoy his new home? Here's a quick buzz around the American League: 1. Just try to imagine the late, great Bob Sheppard's voice announcing the following: "These changes for the Yankees. Russell Martin is now the catcher. Jorge Posada will DH. Rafael Soriano is the closer in waiting. Andy Pettitte has retired. And the Red Sox are now favored to win the AL East.

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain has had some tough times since retiring, the latest showing just how low a Cy Young winner can sink. He was arrested - on a fugitive fraud warrant issued in Louisiana - at the Canadian border at Port Huron, Mich., Thursday when he became disoriented and inadvertently drove onto the Blue Water Bridge into London, Ontario. He turned around before entering Canada, but not before agents were forced to act. "He asked if he could turn around when he realized where he was," U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jeffery Wilson said Friday.

The New York Yankees are ready for another celebration. The World Series champions wrapped up a successful season-opening road trip yesterday before heading back to the Bronx for a special ceremony that will precede the team's home opener tomorrow. "We're ready to get back," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "We get our rings and I'm juiced about that. " The Yankees are also feeling good about going 4-2 against AL East rivals Boston and Tampa Bay in the first week of the season.

Once again, David Price had all the answers against the New York Yankees. Fastball. Curve. Slider. Changeup. Whatever Tampa Bay's young lefty threw last night, the visiting Yankees had trouble hitting him in the Rays' 9-3 victory. "He really didn't make any mistakes," New York slugger Mark Teixeira said. "We hit a couple balls hard, but he pitched pretty darn well. " Price allowed three runs and seven hits in a career-best 7 2/3 innings - taking up where he left off last season, when he won his last three decisions, including an impressive performance against the eventual World Series champions.

IT WAS a one-two punch. First, the Boston Red Sox lost, then Evan Longoria, seemingly knowing what was on the line, lifted the Tampa Bay Rays into the playoffs. The Rays clinched the AL wild card with a stunning rally last night, overcoming a late seven-run deficit, then beating the visiting New York Yankees, 8-7, on Longoria's home run in the 12th inning. The Rays' win came 4 minutes after Boston blew a one-run lead in the ninth at Baltimore and lost, 4-3. The Red Sox, who held a nine-game lead over the Rays in early September, and Tampa Bay began the final day of the regular season tied for the wild card.

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain has had some tough times since retiring, the latest showing just how low a Cy Young winner can sink. He was arrested - on a fugitive fraud warrant issued in Louisiana - at the Canadian border at Port Huron, Mich., Thursday when he became disoriented and inadvertently drove onto the Blue Water Bridge into London, Ontario. He turned around before entering Canada, but not before agents were forced to act. "He asked if he could turn around when he realized where he was," U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jeffery Wilson said Friday.

Jake Peavy pitched a three-hitter in his home debut this season, outdueling Justin Masterson and making Adam Dunn's sacrifice fly in the first inning stand up to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians last night. Peavy (1-0) struck out eight to cool off a Cleveland lineup that scored 31 runs in its three previous games. The 29-year old righthander had his fifth career shutout and ninth complete game. He only allowed one runner past first base, did not walk a batter and threw 111 pitches.

WHO'S THAT VULTURE perched on Mariano Rivera's shoulder? Why is Torii Hunter OK moving to rightfield? And how much will Adrian Gonzalez enjoy his new home? Here's a quick buzz around the American League: 1. Just try to imagine the late, great Bob Sheppard's voice announcing the following: "These changes for the Yankees. Russell Martin is now the catcher. Jorge Posada will DH. Rafael Soriano is the closer in waiting. Andy Pettitte has retired. And the Red Sox are now favored to win the AL East.

SERIES SCHEDULE (Best-of-5) Game 1: Today, Texas (Lee 12-9) at Tampa Bay (Price 19-6), 1:37 Game 2: Tomorrow, Texas (Wilson 15-8) at Tampa Bay (Shields 13-15), 2:37 Game 3: Saturday, Tampa Bay (Garza 15-10) at Texas (Lewis 12-13), 5:07 Game 4: Sunday, Tampa Bay (Davis 12-10) at Texas (Hunter 13-4), 1:07, if necessary Game 5: Tuesday, Texas at Tampa Bay, 5:07 or 8:07, if necessary Avg..276 (1st) .247 (13th) Runs787 (4th) 802 (3rd) RBI740 (5th) 769 (3rd)

It's dangerous out there Any fan who has tried to catch a sharply hit foul ball knows how it can sting, so imagine the pain Texas righthander Dustin Nippert felt Monday night when he was hit by a line drive. Even though he said he didn't suffer any serious injuries, Nippert did not object to being placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. The Rangers said they did so for precautionary reasons. They recalled reliever Doug Mathis from triple-A Oklahoma City. Nippert left in the sixth inning after he was hit by a ball off the bat of Austin Jackson.

Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford homered for the Tampa Bay Rays, helping righthander Jeff Niemann remain unbeaten with a 5-1 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox last night. Niemann (5-0) limited the White Sox to singles by Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham before giving up a solo homer to Mark Teahen, leading off the eighth inning. He walked three and struck out five before Randy Choate and Dan Wheeler finished the four-hitter with a scoreless ninth. Crawford hit a solo homer in the first and also drove in a run off Gavin Floyd (2-5)

David Price finally got to finish what he started. Price threw a four-hitter, John Jaso and Jason Bartlett had two RBI apiece and the Rays beat visiting Toronto yesterday, 6-0. The Rays, sitting atop the AL East, improved to 14-5. "I've always believed that when a young pitcher can throw a complete-game shutout it does do something for their confidence," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "And to do it in a minimal number of pitches like that, 108, that's really good also.

The New York Yankees are ready for another celebration. The World Series champions wrapped up a successful season-opening road trip yesterday before heading back to the Bronx for a special ceremony that will precede the team's home opener tomorrow. "We're ready to get back," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "We get our rings and I'm juiced about that. " The Yankees are also feeling good about going 4-2 against AL East rivals Boston and Tampa Bay in the first week of the season.

Once again, David Price had all the answers against the New York Yankees. Fastball. Curve. Slider. Changeup. Whatever Tampa Bay's young lefty threw last night, the visiting Yankees had trouble hitting him in the Rays' 9-3 victory. "He really didn't make any mistakes," New York slugger Mark Teixeira said. "We hit a couple balls hard, but he pitched pretty darn well. " Price allowed three runs and seven hits in a career-best 7 2/3 innings - taking up where he left off last season, when he won his last three decisions, including an impressive performance against the eventual World Series champions.