ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - BJ Upton's 11th-inning sacrifice fly lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox Saturday in a marathon game two of the American League Championship Series.

With the victory the Rays evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece after dropping the opener at home to the defending World Series champions on Friday. Game three is on Monday in Boston.

Dioner Navarro drew a leadoff walk from Mike Timlin in the 11th, and was replaced by pinch runner Fernando Perez.

Pinch hitter Ben Zobrist also walked, and the runners advanced on a groundout by Jason Bartlett.

Akinori Iwamura was intentionally walked to set the stage for Upton, who lifted an 0-2 offering to shallow right field.

JD Drew caught the ball, but his throw couldn't beat Perez to the plate. Perez scored the game-winning run after five hours and 27 minutes.

The teams combined to hit seven home runs, tying a major league playoff record.