The Rays arrived in the Bronx needing one win to put the American League East away, and after the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader got away from them, they answered with the kind of night that has defined their season. Drew Rasmussen carried Tampa Bay through the second game, the lineup supplied six runs, and a 6-1 win over the Yankees delivered both the division flag and the American League’s top postseason seed.
Tampa Bay, now 96-61, will have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. The club’s road to the World Series will begin at Tropicana Field, a fitting reward for a team that spent much of the year hearing that somebody else was better positioned to own the division.
Rasmussen closes the door in New York
- The Rays opened the doubleheader with a 2-0 loss at Yankee Stadium, delaying their chance to clinch.
- In the nightcap, Rasmussen took command. The ace struck out 11 Yankees, worked a career-high 114 pitches and did not allow a hit until the seventh inning.
- Tampa Bay backed him with a 6-1 victory, securing the franchise’s fifth AL East championship.
- The Rays celebrated away from home after previously clinching a postseason berth in their Tropicana Field clubhouse on Sept. 11.
Nick Martinez, one of the veteran arms in the rotation, said the club has been fighting against preseason assumptions from the start. Many forecasts had Tampa Bay finishing at the bottom of the AL East after back-to-back fourth-place finishes, with New York, Boston and Toronto expected to occupy the top of the standings.
“Nothing came easily for us,” Martinez said. “A lot of people thought the Yankees would take off with the division, probably with New York, Boston and Toronto at the top. We were not supposed to be here, so we had to battle from the first day.”
A division lead built to last
The title is Tampa Bay’s first since consecutive division crowns in 2020 and 2021. The other AL East titles came in 2008 and 2010. It is also the fourth time the Rays have finished with the league’s best record, following 2010, 2020 and 2021.
Tuesday marked the club’s 88th straight day in first place, a run that began June 27. Overall, Tampa Bay spent 128 days atop the AL East. The Rays never posted a losing month, even while the division race continued to produce challenges from the clubs chasing them.
| Rays postseason note | Result |
|---|---|
| Regular-season record | 96-61 |
| AL postseason seed | No. 1 |
| Division titles in franchise history | Five |
| Consecutive days in first place entering clinch | 88 |
| Record since July 20 | 40-19 |
| Recent record | Won 9 of 11 |
As AL East champions, the Rays bypass the Wild Card Series. Their postseason opens with Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Tropicana Field on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Yankees and Red Sox appeared headed for a Wild Card Series meeting, leaving open the possibility that Tampa Bay will see a familiar division opponent next.
The response that changed the season
The Rays’ decisive stretch began after an uncomfortable weekend in Boston.
- Following the All-Star break, Tampa Bay was swept in four games at Fenway Park from July 17-19.
- Boston was gaining ground, while New York sat only 1 1/2 games behind the Rays.
- Martinez then delivered six strong innings in Toronto, helping Tampa Bay begin a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays.
- The Rays followed with a winning homestand, then went 9-0 on a western road trip.
- Since July 20, they have gone 40-19, the best record in Major League Baseball over that span.
Shortstop Taylor Walls called that Toronto series a turning point. The sweep in Boston had forced the group to decide whether it would give ground or reset and keep playing its brand of baseball.
“You learn a lot about a club by how it reacts after something like that,” Walls said. “You have to look at yourselves and ask if you are really that good or if a rough stretch is about to bury you. Everybody came in and answered it.”
Walls said the Rays have been especially good at halting a skid before it becomes something larger, then turning their attention forward instead of letting recent losses linger.
The clubhouse edge
Left fielder Chandler Simpson pointed to steady work and a group that stayed connected through every small bump in the schedule. Even when the Rays hit a short losing streak and the outside doubts returned, he said the room did not fracture or lose its focus.
“The work has been consistent, and this group has stayed together,” Simpson said. “We have run into hurdles, but nobody has let that change who we are. That is what has allowed us to keep showing up the same way.”
Veteran designated hitter Yandy Díaz described the same quality in simpler terms: unity, paired with the enjoyment the club brings to the field each day. Through interpreter Kevin Vera, Díaz said the group has carried that feeling all season and called it a special one.
For a team picked by many to finish last, the Rays did not just survive the AL East. They owned it for nearly three months, earned the league’s No. 1 seed and left Yankee Stadium with a division championship that nobody handed them.
