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Upton blasts help Rays advance to ALCS

October 7, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST

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The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after they defeated the Chicago White Sox to win their MLB American League Divisional Series in Chicago, October 6, 2008. 

REUTERS/Frank Polich

The Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after they defeated the Chicago White Sox to win their MLB American League Divisional Series in Chicago, October 6, 2008. REUTERS/Frank Polich

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Tampa Bay Rays eased into the American League Championship Series with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday, sealing their division series by a 3-1 margin with a win highlighted by two B.J. Upton homers.

The Rays outfielder blasted two solo shots and first baseman Carlos Pena knocked in two runs to propel the Rays to their first ever postseason series win on their playoffs debut.

Starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine (1-0) held the White Sox to two runs on three hits through 5 2/3 innings and the Rays bullpen held the home team scoreless the rest of the way.

In a complete team effort, Rays batters chipped away at White Sox pitching throughout the game, scoring runs in the first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings. Sox starter Gavin Floyd lasted only three innings after allowing four runs on five hits.

The Rays made their domination count early in the game, with Upton going deep in the first and third innings.

Outfielder Carl Crawford walked to open the fourth and came around to score on a double by designated hitter Cliff Floyd.

Catcher Dioner Navarro singled to score Floyd before Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen removed his starter.

Pena knocked in two runs with singles in the fifth and seventh frames.

Solo home runs by first baseman Paul Konerko and outfielder Jermaine Dye accounted for Chicago's only runs.

The Rays will face either the Los Angeles Angels or the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS for the right to advance to the World Series.

Boston leads that series 2-1 with Game Four at Fenway Park taking place later on Monday.

(Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by John O'Brien)

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