The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t get the finish they wanted in Game 162, but they left Philadelphia with something bigger in hand: the American League’s best regular-season record and the No. 1 seed in the AL playoff bracket.
Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 7-3 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, riding six solid innings from Zack Wheeler and home runs from Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa. Kyle Schwarber also chipped in with a crucial two-run double as the Phillies snapped a late-season slide and locked up the National League’s final Wild Card spot, clinching their fifth straight postseason trip.
For the Rays, the loss capped a 98-64 season, the third-best win total in franchise history. Only the 2021 club, which won 100 games, and the 2023 team, which won 99, finished with more. Tampa Bay had already secured the AL East title, the league’s top seed and a first-round bye before it ever arrived in Philadelphia.
That’s the part that really matters for October. The Rays won two of three in the weekend series, then headed home after finishing with 55 wins at Tropicana Field. That home-field edge now shapes the road ahead, giving Tampa Bay nearly a full week to reset, line up its pitching and wait for the winner of the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Red Sox.
That series opens Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with Game 1 set for 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night, also on NBC and Peacock, and Game 3, if it’s needed, would come Thursday.
Tampa Bay’s postseason starts Saturday at Tropicana Field in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. The game time and TV assignment will be announced after the Wild Card round ends.
Sunday had plenty on the line for Philadelphia. The Phillies came in needing a win to avoid losing the final National League playoff spot, after dropping four straight and watching Arizona close hard late. With the pressure on and Citizens Bank Park full, Wheeler delivered the kind of start Philadelphia needed to steady itself.
Harper and Sosa supplied the power, Schwarber added the big extra-base hit, and the Phillies finished the job with a 7-3 win that sends them to Atlanta for Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener against the NL East champion Braves.
Tampa Bay, by contrast, was already done chasing September drama. The Rays’ priority was never about squeezing out a division race or hanging onto a Wild Card position. It was about staying sharp, staying healthy and avoiding unnecessary wear before the real season begins.
The path is clear now. The Yankees finished 93-68 and earned home field for the Wild Card Series.
Boston finished 87-75 and comes in as the No. 5 seed. The winner moves on to face Tampa Bay in the ALDS.
The bye gives the Rays a real edge. They can line up their Division Series rotation without burning starters in a short Wild Card round.
They can give regulars a breather and clean up minor injuries after 162 games. And they get to open at home, where their 55 wins made Tropicana Field one of the league’s toughest places for opponents to visit in 2026.
The regular season is over. Tampa Bay owns the AL’s best record, home-field advantage through the American League playoffs and a clear October assignment: turn a 98-win season into something even bigger.
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Tampa Bays edge is built on more than just seeding. A 55-26 record at home gave the Rays the best home winning percentage in the American League and one of the top marks in Major League Baseball, which means any opponent coming through the postseason bracket will have to deal with a familiar ballpark and a team that has been hard to handle there all season. [Read more 🡒]