Rays top White Sox 6-2, advance to their 1st ALCS (AP)

By RICK GANO, AP Sports Writer 4 minutes ago CHICAGO - B.J. Upton and these Tampa Bay Rays are headed home — to get ready for the American League championship series. Worst in the majors last year, the Rays will play for a spot in the World Series after finishing off the Chicago White Sox 6-2 Monday in Game 4 of the AL playoffs. Ray-markable! Upton homered twice, Andy Sonnanstine pitched a solid 5 2-3 innings and manager Joe Maddon's surprising Rays won 3-1 in the best-of-five series — their first trip to the postseason. Next up, the Boston Red Sox or the Los Angeles Angels starting Friday. "We feel like we belong and it's showing right now," Upton said. After staving off elimination several times and winning a tiebreaker for the AL Central title, the White Sox were finally knocked out. The loss dashed Chicago's hope for a... [read full story]