October has arrived, and with it comes the ALDS matchup between the top-seeded Rays and the Yankees.
This one has a familiar feel. The last time these two teams met in a postseason series was the 2020 ALDS, when Tampa won in five games and kept rolling all the way to the World Series.
New York, meanwhile, was knocked out in the ALDS again last year, which only adds more weight to this round. The Yankees handled their Wild Card test against the Red Sox, and now the question is whether they can carry that momentum into a shot at upsetting the Rays and pushing toward another World Series trip.
The series opens in Tampa, and the full five-game schedule is set.
Game 1 is on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Tampa at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Game 2 follows there on Monday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
The series then shifts to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, with a start time still to be determined. If needed, Game 4 is set for Thursday, Oct. 8 in New York, also TBD, and Game 5 would return to Tampa on Saturday, Oct. 10, with the time still listed as TBD.
Tickets are available for the series on StubHub. Right now, Game 1 tickets start at $130, Game 3 in New York starts at $100, and Game 5, if it becomes necessary, starts at $155.
The broader postseason calendar is already in place, too. The MLB Playoffs begin with Wild Card games from Sept.
29-Oct. 1, the Divisional Series run from Oct. 3-10, the Championship Series from Oct. 11-20, and the World Series is scheduled for Oct. 23-Oct.
In Other News...
Rays Face Their Biggest October Test Yet Against A Surging Yankees Team
The next hurdle for Tampa Bay arrives on Oct. 3, when the Rays open the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field against the Yankees in a best-of-five set. It is a matchup that brings together a division winner that finished 98-64 and a New York club that is riding momentum after sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, with the usual October pressure only amplified by the rivalry backdrop.
Pitching will be front and center from the start, and so will the question of Aaron Judges availability after his injury status became part of the conversation. For the Rays, the edge of home field matters, but so does handling a Yankees team that arrives hot and used to leaning into chaos, making this one feel like the kind of series that can turn quickly on a single matchup or one loud night in St. Petersburg. [Read more 🡒]
Freddy Peralta Gives Rays A Playoff Weapon At Perfect Time
Freddy Peraltas arrival has given the Rays a jolt at exactly the right moment, and September showed why Tampa Bay was eager to add him. The right-hander was named American League Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in five starts, a stretch that reflected both his talent and the impact of the coaching adjustments he made after being traded to the Rays.
For a club headed into the ALDS against the Yankees, that kind of late-season surge can change the shape of a series. Peralta has gone from a midseason addition to a possible Game 1 or Game 2 starter, giving Tampa Bay a high-end arm it can trust in a matchup where every inning figures to matter. [Read more 🡒]