The Tampa Bay Rays will get two chances to clinch their first American League East title since 2021 when they visit the New York Yankees for a day/night doubleheader on Tuesday.
With a magic number of two over the Yankees, the Rays can seal their fate in the afternoon opener.
Tampa Bay (95-60) has won six of the nine games against New York and owns a six-game lead on the Yankees. New York (89-66) has a magic number of two for clinching the AL’s top wild-card spot over the Boston Red Sox.
The Rays, who are seeking their fifth division title, have led the AL East every day since June 27.
Following a 2-7 run last month, Tampa Bay is 19-7 since Aug. 23 and just went 8-1 on a homestand against the Houston Astros, Athletics and Red Sox. It featured three walk-off wins and ended with Sunday’s 5-1 win over Boston which saw Chandler Simpson and Jonny DeLuca drive in two runs apiece.
“We knew what we had to do,” Tampa Bay pitcher Griffin Jax said. “We wanted to put ourselves in a good place going into New York, make it a little bit easier.”
The Yankees play host to the Rays for the first time since Aaron Judge’s game-ending two-run homer for a 2-0 victory May 24. Judge returned Sept. 8 after missing 84 games with a fractured rib, played seven games and returned to the injured list with a strained calf.
The Yankees are 48-41 in games Judge has not played and enter the upcoming series after losing two of three at Arizona, including an 8-4 loss Sunday. Rookies George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones hit two of New York’s three home runs in the third inning, but Brent Headrick gave up a grand slam to Arizona’s Nolan Arenado in the fifth.
“We’re going to show up and try to win the games on Tuesday, and then we’ll keep going from there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve been through a lot as a team this year already, and we’ve answered the bell at the turns. We’re looking forward to hopefully playing a good week of baseball and building some momentum going into the postseason.”
Nick Martinez (15-4, 2.94 ERA) will start the opener for Tampa Bay followed by Drew Rasmussen (15-5, 2.72) in the second game. Martinez is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in his past five starts and 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA in 12 career appearances against the Yankees.
Since allowing six runs in 2 1/3 innings at home against the Yankees on July 9, Rasmussen is 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA in his past 11 starts. He is 4-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 10 career outings against the Yankees.
New York will start Carlos Rodon (6-3, 2.95) in the opener followed by Max Fried (5-4, 2.63).
Rodon is 2-1 with a 2.40 ERA in six starts since returning from the injured list Aug. 18 and is 3-3 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 career starts against the Rays
Fried is 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA in four starts since returning from the injured list Aug. 29 and allowed one run in seven innings last Tuesday at Minnesota. He is 5-0 with a 1.26 ERA in six career starts against Tampa Bay.
–Field Level Media
