BOSTON -- Mired deep in last place in the AL East standings, the Tampa Bay Rays rallied late and kept the Boston Red Sox from moving within a game of the division lead.Luke Mailes two-run homer in the seventh put Tampa Bay into a 3-3 tie and set up Evan Longorias game-winning solo shot in the eighth as the Rays rallied to beat the Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday night.Exciting win. That was a nice come from behind, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.The Rays have won all of 56 games this season and needed to come from behind for 27 of them. Tuesdays rally did nothing to help the Rays standing within the division, but it did keep Boston from picking up a game on first-place Toronto after the Blue Jays 5-3 loss to Baltimore.Boston remained two games behind Toronto for the AL lead and the Orioles are just one game behind the Red Sox.This is what happens down toward the end of the year, Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. Some teams are battling to push you out of the playoffs and some teams are battling to stay in it.Bogaerts doubled during Bostons two-run sixth inning that briefly put the Red Sox up 3-1. The Rays tied it in the seventh with and unlikely power source at a crucial moment. Maile delivered his second career homer with two outs in the seventh, driving a 1-2 pitch from Drew Pomeranz out to left.It was the last pitch of the night from Pomeranz, who was one strike from cruising into the eighth with a two-run lead.Longoria finished up the rally in the eighth with his 31st homer of the season, a shot that cleared the Green Monster altogether and stuck Boston reliever Clay Buchholz (5-10) with the loss.It is what he does. Thats why hes such a special player, Cash said. Were thankful weve got Longo on our side.Pomeranz and Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi both pitched well but didnt factor in the decision.Enny Romero (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts and got the win. Alex Colome survived a hit and a passed ball in the ninth while picking up his 29th save.Pomeranz struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, five hits and two walks. Odorizzi allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two.Hanley Ramirez hit a homer in the fifth for Bostons first run and added an RBI single in the sixth when the Red Sox scored twice to take a 3-1 lead.NO-DECISIONOdorizzi didnt want to discuss much about another strong start that fizzled to a no-decision, but he was thrilled to talk about the performance of his young catcher.Luke was the one who made it all count. What a clutch piece of hitting, he said. He got his pitch, he was sitting on it, and he made the most of it. Without that swing, were not back in the game.GREAT LOCATIONBoston took its first lead in the sixth after Dustin Pedroia walked with one out and went to third on Bogaerts double down the left-field line. Pedroia tagged up and scored on David Ortizs sinking fly ball to right, where Steven Souza Jr. prevented another run with a diving catch.Boston ended up getting the run anyway on an odd single by Ramirez, whose towering popup to shallow right landed safely between Souza and first baseman Brad Miller.Its one of those placement balls that found its spot, Cash said.STAY AWAYBuchholz pitched just the eighth inning. Manager John Farrell said he needed to call on Buchholz for the second straight night -- a first for the former starter -- with reliever Brad Ziegler unavailable with an illness.And with Boston in position for a return to the playoffs, the Red Sox werent taking any chances.He had to leave the ballpark, Farrell said. He has the flu so weve had to keep him quarantined.TRAINERS ROOMRays: Tampa Bay enjoyed a second straight game without a player on the DL. The Rays got back to full strength Monday by activating RHP Alex Cobb, who is coming off Tommy John surgery and is scheduled to start Friday against Toronto. Before Monday, the Rays had at least one player on the DL every game since beating Minnesota 12-5 on July 6, 2011 -- a string of 853 consecutive games.Red Sox: OF Andrew Benintendi has been fitted for a brace for his sprained left knee. Farrell said it will take about a week to construct the custom brace that will allow the rookie to increase the intensity of his rehab workouts. Benintendi injured the knee last Wednesday in a loss at Tampa Bay.UP NEXTRays: LHP Drew Smyly (6-11, 4.80 ERA) starts for the Rays in the series finale Wednesday afternoon. Smyly is 4-0 in his last seven starts with three no-decisions. Smyly has pitched at least six innings during the seven-game span.Red Sox: RHP Steven Wright (13-6, 3.18) will make his first career start against the Rays. The knuckleballer took the loss Friday against Kansas City, allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings. Keith Tkachuk Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Adam Lowry Jets Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-keith-tkachuk-jets-jersey/ . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Teppo Numminen Jets Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Patrik Laine Jets Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball is looking for its lost respect.Preseason polls are peppered with Big Ten teams. But not the Buckeyes. Hardly anybody was talking about Thad Mattas team at the Big Ten media day earlier this month. Attendance at Value City Arena is sliding.Three seasons removed from winning the 2013 Big Ten Tournament and four consecutive top-2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, Ohio State has become an also receiving votes team.The 21-14 overall record belied the disappointment that was last season. The Buckeyes failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. Relegated to the NIT, they were bounced by Florida in the second round.However, Ohio State does have its top six performers returning from last years young team , and they will attempt to -- as guard Kam Williams puts it -- reset an elite level.I think the message for these guys has kind of been pretty basic, just in terms of weve got to get back to doing things the right way, Matta said.NOT A GOOD SIGNFirst thing was to get past the mass exodus . After the season, three members of last seasons freshman class announced they would transfer, joining another member of that 2015 recruiting class who transferred out in December.No doubt about it, the departures of those freshmen -- Austin Grandstaff (DePaul), Daniel Giddens (Alabama), Mickey Mitchell (UC Santa Barbara) and A.J. Harris (New Mexico State) -- left some holes. The excuse was the same in every case -- Ohio State just wasnt the right fit.CORE OF TALENT RETURNSForward Marc Loving, the lone senior, was the top scorer last season, averaging 14 points and 5.3 rebounds. Forwards Keita Bates-Diop (11.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds) and JaeSean Tate (11.7, 6.4), who is now healthy after shoulder surgery, also are back. Outstandding guard JaQuan Lyle (11.dddddddddddd.2, 4.7) returns, along with guard Williams (8.3, 1.8) and 7-foot center Trevor Thompson (6.5, 5.1), who tested the NBA waters but didnt make the leap.I think thats a pretty good nucleus in todays day and age of college basketball -- to have six guys back, Matta said.GROWING UP FASTAfter the loss of four-fifths of last years recruiting class, the Buckeyes will need immediate production from first-year players. They include 6-foot-9 forward Derek Funderburk, 6-foot-6 forward Andre Wesson, junior-college transfer C.J. Jackson, a 6-foot-2 guard; and 6-foot-9 Micah Potter, a four-star prospect who is expected to contribute right away as the No. 2 center.TURNING IT AROUNDNobody in the program is putting the blame for the down season all on the guys who transferred out. The pat answer is that it was a variety of factors, and thats probably true. But some also are quick to say that this years squad seems to be pulling together, when some of the players last year might have been pulling in their own directions.Its a different chemistry, Tate said. That team last year, it was close. Those guys are still my brothers. But I feel that everybody is on the same page this year, everybody wants the same goal and there arent hidden agendas.A lot of the stuff that happened last year, it just made us hungrier, he said. I mean, nobody wants to go to the NIT. We had a lot of bad losses by a lot of points. A piece of humble pie. Thats one of the big things this year, we dont want that feeling.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy ' ' '