Boston ends its regular season on a losing note.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Bill Mueller is more concerned about the playoffs than his first batting title.

Mueller became the first Boston switch-hitter to win the title as Boston lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3-1 Sunday. His .326 average was the lowest for an AL batting champion in 31 years.

“That kind of stuff really never has motivated me,” Mueller said. “My foundation has always been to be one of 25 guys. Personal things don’t motivate me as much as getting into the playoffs and possibly winning a World Series.”

Mueller went 0-for-1, grounding into a forceout as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. He finished one point ahead of teammate Manny Ramirez, who didn’t play, and two ahead of the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, who went 0-for-3 against Baltimore.

“We were aware of a lot of things,” Boston manager Grady Little said. “”We’re all a team here, and we all pull for each other. We’re all proud that Billy accomplished what he did.”

The last time the AL champion had an average as low as Mueller’s was when Minnesota’s Rod Carew hit .318 in 1972. Mueller had the lowest average for a batting champion in either league since Atlanta’s Terry Pendleton hit .319 to win the NL title in 1991.

“I’m very excited for him,” Boston’s Jason Varitek said. “I’m very proud of him.”

Four of the last five AL batting champions have been on the Red Sox, with Nomar Garciaparra winning in 1999 and 2000, and Ramirez winning last year. Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki led in 2001.

Boston (95-67), which finished six games behind New York in the AL East, is headed to the playoffs as the AL wild card and plays Oakland starting Wednesday. The Red Sox had their best record since going 95-66 in 1986 – when they came within a strikeout of winning their first World Series since 1918.

“It’s a long road and we’re right where we set out to be when we left spring training … playing in October,” Little said. “Everything we’re doing around here this week is preparing for the postseason. We rested our regulars throughout the weekend and today was no different.”

Garciaparra was among those getting the day off.

Tampa Bay (63-99) won its second straight and avoided becoming the 11th team to lose 100 games in three straight seasons, the first since Toronto from 1977-79. The Devil Rays, under first-year manager Lou Piniella, improved from a 55-106 mark in 2002.

“It’s important,” Piniella said. “It shows that the organization is going forward. It’s been a long season. It’s a good way to finish up.”

Tampa Bay rallied in the eighth when Aubrey Huff hit an RBI double, Travis Lee had a sacrifice fly and Damian Rolls added a run-scoring single off Brandon Lyon (4-6).

Huff broke two of Fred McGriff’s club records, finishing with .311 with 107 RBIs, one point better than McGriff in 1999 and one RBI ahead of McGriff in 2000.

Kevin Millar put Boston ahead 1-0 with a solo homer of Victor Zambrano (12-10) in the seventh.

Tim Wakefield allowed two hits over two scoreless innings in a tuneup for Game 2 of the playoffs.

Zambrano gave up seven hits over eight innings. He was hit in the upper leg by Damian Jackson’s liner in the eighth, but finished the inning.

The right-hander has 26 wins overall with the Devil Rays, tying Esteban Yan and Albie Lopez for first place on the team’s career list.

Lance Carter pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save.

Notes: Red Sox closer Byung-Hyum Kim struck out all three batters he faced in the sixth. … Boston OF Trot Nixon (left calf) missed his fifth straight game. His status for Wednesday’s playoff opener might not be determined until after the Red Sox work out Tuesday in Oakland. … Zambrano recorded a team-best 12 wins despite leading the AL in hit batters (20), walks (106) and wild pitches (15). … Boston LF Dave McCarty singled in his first three at-bats. … The Devil Rays wound up leading the AL in walks allowed (636), hit batters (95) and wild pitches (65). The last AL team to lead in all three categories was the 1981 Toronto Blue Jays.

AP-ES-09-28-03 1731EDT