The Rays left Tropicana Field with one more home win in the bank and the American League East nearly within reach. Tampa Bay closed its regular-season slate in St. Petersburg by beating the Red Sox, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon, pushing its record to 95-60 and opening a path to its first division crown since 2021.
A strong final afternoon at the Trop
- Tampa Bay put Patrick Sandoval under immediate pressure, loading the bases with its first three hitters.
- Jonny DeLuca cleared two runs with a double to left, then Junior Caminero and DeLuca came home on Chandler Simpson’s single.
- Victor Mesa Jr. added a fourth-inning solo shot to right, his 14th home run of the season.
- Griffin Jax worked five scoreless innings, striking out five. His lone serious trouble came in the fifth, when he filled the bases with two outs before fanning Roman Anthony to end the inning.
- The Rays finished off the 5-1 victory, their 55th at Tropicana Field this season.
| Game snapshot | Result |
|---|---|
| Red Sox at Rays | Rays 5, Red Sox 1 |
| Rays record | 95-60 |
| Griffin Jax | 5 innings, 0 runs, 5 strikeouts |
| Victor Mesa Jr. | 14th home run of the season |
One win from the division
The Rays can shut the Yankees out of the AL East race as soon as Tuesday, when the clubs meet for a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. A victory in either game would clinch the division for Tampa Bay: it would also secure the season-series advantage and the tiebreaker.
Drew Rasmussen is scheduled to take the ball in the second game. He said the club has put itself in position through the work of the past several months and now has the chance to finish the regular season the right way.
“We’ve earned it over the last four or five months,” Rasmussen said. “Now we have the opportunity to finish up the regular season on a high note.”
A home field restored
Sunday also wrapped an 8-1 homestand that included three walk-off wins and consecutive series victories over the Astros, A’s and Red Sox. The Rays completed the home schedule at 55-26, the third-best home winning percentage in franchise history. Only the 2008 club, which went 57-24, and the shortened 2020 team, at 20-9, finished with better marks.
That success carried extra meaning after Tampa Bay spent the previous season outdoors at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Back in its longtime dome, the club made Tropicana Field matter again—and will bring postseason baseball back to the building.
Manager Kevin Cash said his players have fully taken to being home again and welcomed the certainty of playoff games in St. Petersburg.
Nick Martinez noted that the month had offered little breathing room, with opponents either already in the postseason picture or still battling to get there. The Rays, he said, kept their focus on their own game rather than the noise around the standings.
For one last regular-season afternoon at the Trop, that approach looked familiar: an early lead, a starter making pitches when the inning tightened, and a clubhouse walking out with another meaningful win.
