ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays watched the Yankees lose to the Twins on the clubhouse televisions, then went out and padded their AL East lead with a fifth straight win over the Oakland A’s at Tropicana Field, their third straight series victory.
The win pushed Tampa Bay’s lead to four games over New York with 11 games remaining — and a potential five-game cushion if the Rays complete what would be their MLB-leading 16th sweep in their series finale against Oakland.
“I keep telling our guys: So long as we take care of business, it doesn’t matter,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “All we can do is play who’s on our schedule here tonight, and if we win tonight, it doesn’t matter what they did.”
The Rays jumped on Oakland early. Junior Caminero, outfielder Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson strung together three straight two-out doubles in the first inning for two runs, then Nick Fortes and Ryan Vilade delivered run-scoring hits in the second to build a 4-0 lead. Simpson’s two-hit night boosted his average to .310, tied with Astros MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead.
“I’m really just focused on the team and just trying to get us to win the AL,” Simpson said. “Eleven games left, so continue to take it one pitch, one AB at a time, and then whatever the numbers are, it will be.”
Veteran starter Nick Martinez surrendered solo home runs to Tommy White and Henry Bolte in the third inning before exiting after 72 pitches in five innings. Manager Kevin Cash said the decision was about “where they were in the game” and wanting “to do everything we could to lock it down.” The outing put Martinez in line for his 15th win, making him the ninth pitcher in franchise history to reach that mark in a single season and the first Ray to do so since Zach Eflin won 16 in 2023.
“The guys came in behind me, man, and picked me up. Did a great job shutting them down,” Martinez said. “That’s the type of baseball we play, man. We’ve got to believe to our core that the guy behind us is gonna get the job done and play for each other, and that’s the way you can win in the playoffs.”
With injured setup man Tyler Wells out until the postseason, the bullpen carried the load. Right-hander Kevin Kelly struck out the side in the sixth and cruised through the seventh. Lefty Cam Booser worked a clean eighth, and right-hander Cole Sulser picked up his third save in place of closer Bryan Baker, who had the day off.
“We’ll definitely take it, especially this time of the year,” Sulser said. “But the big thing is we’re just trying to control our own destiny. So to go out there, win another close ballgame after winning so many close ones recently, is awesome.”
“Obviously, we were very aware of how they’re playing and what’s going on over there,” Martinez said. “It was good that we took advantage of their loss.”
The Rays host the Red Sox at Tropicana Field this weekend before traveling to Yankee Stadium for a four-game, three-day showdown that could determine the AL East.