NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays, picked by most projection systems to finish last in the American League East, clinched their fifth division title in franchise history Tuesday night with a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, earning home-field advantage through the American League Championship Series.
Ace Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, striking out 11 batters on a career-high 114 pitches to power the clincher. The win came in the second game of a doubleheader after Tampa Bay dropped the opener 2-0. Shortstop Taylor Walls scooped the final grounder from George Lombard Jr. and fired to first baseman Jonathan Aranda to end it.
“I don’t think anything was handed to us all year. Obviously, I think a lot of guys expected [the Yankees] to run away with it, and [it] probably to be New York, Boston and Toronto at the top,” veteran starter Nick Martinez said. “No one really expected us to be here, so we’ve had to fight for it from the beginning of the season.”
The Rays have spent 128 days atop the AL East standings this season, including 88 consecutive days in first place dating to June 27. Since July 20, Tampa Bay has posted a 40-19 record, the best in Major League Baseball over that stretch. The team has not had a full month with a losing record all season.
“This group has deserved it all year long, and it’s a special group,” designated hitter Yandy Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “This is just the beginning, and in our minds, the biggest and the most important celebration is the World Series one.”
The title is the fifth in franchise history, joining championships in 2008, 2010 and 2020-21. It is also the fourth time the Rays have claimed the AL’s best record, matching their 2010, 2020 and 2021 seasons. President of baseball operations Erik Neander credited the players directly after consecutive fourth-place finishes had fueled the preseason skepticism.
“Four teams got all the attention in this division, and they’re four really good teams, right?” Neander said. “Just a testament to these guys and just an unbelievable year, and they deserve this. They deserve to enjoy this.”
Rays CEO Ken Babby pointed to the significance of clinching while wearing new road jerseys featuring “Tampa Bay” across the chest. “Sitting there in the ninth inning, watching that with ‘Tampa Bay’ across our chests, with all that this franchise has been through in this past year, man, it’s a great time to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays,” Babby said. “So proud of this group.”
Infielder Junior Caminero said the team’s belief was evident from the first day of Spring Training. “When I got to Spring Training, first day, I [saw] this group, and I [told] them, ‘We’ve got to play [in] October this year,’” Caminero said. “And we did it.”
Rasmussen acknowledged the division title is only a waypoint. “We know this isn’t the finish line. We know that this is a regular-season accomplishment,” he said. “But man, it feels really good.”
The Rays will host their AL Division Series games at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with the postseason bracket set to be finalized when the regular season concludes this weekend.