NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays arrived at Yankee Stadium holding a six-game lead in the American League East with only seven games remaining, needing just one victory to clinch the division’s first title since 2021 and send the Yankees to the Wild Card bracket.
The four-game series opens Tuesday with a separate-admission doubleheader. A single Rays win eliminates New York from the AL East race entirely, locking the Yankees into an AL Wild Card spot and forcing them through a best-of-three. Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged it would be a “tall order” to keep Tampa Bay from celebrating in the Bronx — but said that is precisely what his club intends to do.
For the Rays, the prize is substantial: an AL East championship guarantees a bye through the Wild Card Series and home-field advantage in both the AL Division Series and, if they advance, the AL Championship Series. Tampa Bay has not ceded first place in the standings since reclaiming the top spot June 27.
The Rays send their two best starters to the mound for Tuesday’s doubleheader. Veteran right-hander Nick Martinez goes first — Tampa Bay is 22-7 in his starts this season — followed by Drew Rasmussen, who has not lost since July 9, with the club going a perfect 11-0 in his outings since then. Left-hander Ian Seymour and right-hander Freddy Peralta are lined up for Wednesday and Thursday. The Yankees counter with Carlos Rodón and Max Fried in the twin bill; Rodón is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three September starts, while Fried is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA over the same stretch. Gerrit Cole and AL Cy Young Award frontrunner Cam Schlittler follow in Games 3 and 4.
“They’re high,” Cole said of the stakes.
Tampa Bay enters the series on a 39-18 run since July 20, the best record in baseball over that span, backed by a 2.81 ERA in September that ranks second only to New York. The Rays went 8-1 during their final regular-season homestand, sweeping series against the Braves, Astros, Athletics and Red Sox. AL MVP candidate Junior Caminero supplied a pair of walk-off home runs during that stretch.
New York’s best hope rests on its pitching and a resurgent power surge. First baseman Ben Rice cracked his team-leading 39th home run, with Boone having predicted in Spring Training that Rice would reach that neighborhood. Catcher Austin Wells has homered three times in his last six games, and outfielder Heliot Ramos has gone deep in back-to-back games. The Yankees’ most pressing concern remains the absence of Aaron Judge, sidelined with a right calf strain; New York is 48-41 without him compared to 41-25 with him in the lineup.
The series concludes Thursday, with the Yankees needing a four-game sweep — the only outcome that keeps their AL East hopes alive heading into the final weekend of the regular season.