The Rays may be closing in on a playoff berth, but the bigger prize is still right in front of them: the AL East.
Tampa Bay opened its series against the Atlanta Braves with another strong outing from Freddy Peralta, and that win moved the club one step closer to locking up a postseason spot. The Rays could become the first team in MLB to clinch as early as Sept.
- Still, getting in is only part of the equation.
They’ve got their eyes on the division.
Entering play on Sept. 9, the Rays were four games ahead of the Yankees, with a pivotal finish still waiting at the end of the schedule. The two teams will meet for a four-game set at Yankee Stadium in the final week of the regular season, and Tampa Bay needs just one more win in the season series to clinch the tiebreaker over New York.
That’s a big edge to chase on the road, but the Yankees aren’t the only hurdle standing in Tampa Bay’s way.
According to ESPN, no AL team has a tougher remaining schedule than the Rays. Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .531, which tops the league.
The next closest club is the Orioles, whose remaining foes sit at .524 entering play on Sept. 8.
The stretch is loaded with playoff teams. Tampa Bay’s only matchup against a non-playoff opponent comes against the Athletics, a three-game series at Tropicana Field from Sept. 15 through 17. Every other team on the Rays’ schedule is currently in the postseason field.
That includes the Braves, who are leading the National League East and are on the other side of the field at Truist Stadium. After that, Tampa Bay heads home for its final homestand, a nine-game run with three-game sets against the Astros, Athletics and Red Sox.
Then comes the showdown in New York, followed by a final series at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies.
It’s a brutal finish, no question. But it also gives Tampa Bay a chance to sharpen itself before October. Playing that kind of schedule should leave the Rays tested and ready.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have a much softer path. Their remaining opponents own a combined winning percentage of .493, which ranks sixth out of 10 teams. New York is currently hosting the Rockies at Yankee Stadium, then moves on to face the Mets, the Twins on the road, and finally closes the regular season at home against the Diamondbacks, Rays and Orioles.
And the Yankees have Aaron Judge back in the lineup, which only makes the closing race more dangerous for Tampa Bay.
If the Rays want to protect their spot atop the division, that four-game series in New York looms huge. They need to create some separation, and the tiebreaker edge would go a long way toward doing it.
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Cody Bellinger helped set the tone by scoring the first run and adding a double in the eighth inning, while Heliot Ramos delivered the biggest swing with a three-run home run. Aaron Boone also pulled Judge after six innings to keep him protected as he continues ramping up for the postseason, a small but telling sign that the Yankees are trying to balance the return of their centerpiece with the broader need to keep everyone else engaged and ready. [Read more 🡒]