The Yankees knew the American League East celebration was coming to the Bronx unless they could keep Tampa Bay from finishing the job. They could not do it in the nightcap Tuesday, falling 6-1 as the Rays clinched the division at Yankee Stadium and turned their attention toward a possible return trip next week.
| Game | Rays | Yankees | Key decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doubleheader opener | 0 | 2 | Carlos Rodón worked 8 innings |
| Doubleheader nightcap | 6 | 1 | Drew Rasmussen struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings |
Tampa Bay’s 6-1 win delivered the club’s fifth AL East crown and its first since 2021. The Yankees and Rays split the separate-admission doubleheader after New York took the afternoon game, 2-0, behind eight strong innings from Rodón.
The result also settled New York’s immediate postseason setting. The Yankees will open the American League Wild Card Series at home for the second straight season, with Game 1 set for Sept. 29. Boston is the likely visitor, and the survivor of that series would move on to face the Rays in the AL Division Series.
Rasmussen keeps New York quiet
Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, allowing only two walks through six frames while keeping the Yankees from creating a sustained threat. Heliot Ramos finally opened the seventh with a double, ending the hitless bid.
The right-hander departed after 6 2/3 innings, having piled up 11 strikeouts on a career-high 114 pitches. Kevin Kelly entered and surrendered George Lombard Jr.’s RBI hit, the Yankees’ lone breakthrough of the evening.
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Rasmussen, Rays | 6 2/3 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Max Fried, Yankees | 6 2/3 | 6 | 4 | – |
Fried pays for a few awkward plays
Max Fried was charged with four runs on six hits across 6 2/3 innings, though the left-hander’s work was sharper than the final line suggests. Tampa Bay first scored in the third when Ryan Vilade brought home a run with a groundout.
The Rays created a troublesome sequence in the seventh. Taylor Walls laid down a bunt that Fried fielded, but first baseman Luis García Jr. had also charged the ball, leaving no play available as Tampa Bay’s second run crossed.
John Schreiber took over for Fried and allowed a two-run single to Yandy Díaz. Walls scored all the way from first on the play, and the call remained after review. Díaz entered the at-bat mired in an 0-for-26 stretch.
For the Yankees, the bigger picture now is no longer the division race. Tampa Bay has the flag, the clubhouse has celebrated, and New York’s task is to win its Wild Card Series and earn another meeting with the Rays.
