The Rays flew to New York needing one win. One. Take a single game of Tuesday’s separate-admission doubleheader at Yankee Stadium and Tampa Bay clinches the AL East, the No. 1 seed in the American League, a bye through the Wild Card Series, and home field through the ALCS.
Tampa Bay arrived at 95-60 with a six-game lead and seven games left. For the Yankees to keep this alive, they need a four-game sweep in three days. Aaron Boone called it a “tall order,” which is a generous description.
This Has Been Coming Since June
The Rays took over first place on June 27 and never gave it back. That is not a hot streak, that is three straight months of owning the toughest division in baseball.
The closing kick has been absurd. Tampa Bay went 8-1 on its final home stand and has won four consecutive series, against the Braves, Astros, Athletics and Red Sox. Since July 20, the Rays are 39-18, the best record in the majors over that stretch. That run started right after Boston swept them in four at Fenway coming out of the All-Star break, which now looks like the last time anybody pushed them around.
The pitching is why. Tampa Bay’s rotation owns a 2.81 ERA this month, second only to the Yankees. They lined up Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen for the doubleheader, which tells you exactly how badly they want to end it on Tuesday. The Rays are 22-7 in Martinez starts this season. They have not lost a Rasmussen start since July 9, going 11-0 in his outings since then.
The offense has done what the Rays offense always does, which is find a different way to beat you every night. Junior Caminero has two walk-off homers and a real AL MVP case. Bryan Baker leads the majors in saves.
The Yankees Are Stuck in a Nightmare
New York entered this season determined to stop finishing second in its own division. Instead the Yankees are about to watch a rival celebrate on their field, and they are doing it with Aaron Judge on the injured list and not expected back for the Wild Card round.
Boone sent Carlos Rodon and Max Fried out for the doubleheader, and both have been excellent in September. It may not matter. A four-game sweep against a team playing this well, with your best hitter sidelined, is not a plan. It is a prayer.
What a Bye Actually Buys Them
The top two seeds skip the Wild Card round entirely. For a team built on starting pitching depth and bullpen leverage, that extra rest is worth more than a home date. Tampa Bay gets to line up Rasmussen and Martinez on full rest for the Division Series while the wild card teams burn arms in a best-of-three.
The Rays have not won this division since 2021. They spent the last two years being the interesting small-market club that nobody feared in October. That is over.
They are going to be the No. 1 seed in the American League, and the way they have pitched since July, nobody in that bracket should want to see them in a five-game series.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.