NEW YORK - Victor Mesa Jr. and Ryan Vilade arrived in Tampa Bay with almost no fanfare, the kind of players who barely register outside a clubhouse. On Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, they changed the conversation.
The Rays needed four runs to finish off a sweep in the Bronx, and those two accounted for three of them in a 4-3 win over the Yankees that sent Tampa Bay to its third American League Championship Series. In front of 48,865, the Rays took down one of baseball’s most recognizable teams with a pair of outfielders who, not long ago, were easy to overlook.
Mesa and Vilade were both far from secure just months ago. Mesa was designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins in February.
Vilade was traded by the Cincinnati Reds for cash in November. On Wednesday, they were the difference, delivering home runs that carried Tampa Bay to four wins from the World Series.
Vilade got the chance to start because manager Kevin Cash wanted his right-handed bat in the lineup against Yankees left-hander Max Fried, who took the loss after allowing all four Tampa Bay runs. Cash slotted Vilade fifth and left Chandler Simpson, a regular in the lineup all season, on the bench.
“Maybe on other teams, he’s playing more,” Cash said. “But he’s accepted his role of doing everything he can to contribute when his number is called.”
Vilade’s first postseason plate appearance in a 10-year professional career ended with a 356-foot flyout to left field that came up just short. His second changed the game.
He turned on a pitch and sent it deep enough to drive Spencer Jones back to the warning track, then a little farther still. Jones leaped at the wall, but the ball kept carrying.
At 340 feet, it was gone, and the Yankees’ dugout went quiet while the Rays erupted.
“It’s amazing,” said Vilade postgame, soaked in celebratory champagne. “I think I blacked out.“
“You dream of this as a kid, and to be able to live it, it was incredible. Especially for this team.
This team is so special. We play for one another, we love each other and we’re not done.
We don’t want it to end. We want to keep going.
Gosh, man, I’m so happy.”
New York answered to tie it when Jones doubled in a run, but Mesa soon pushed Tampa Bay back in front for good. Fried had settled in and worked into the sixth inning, and the Rays had reason to wonder whether he might last longer. Instead, Mesa ended his night on the first pitch of the at-bat, taking an 80th pitch - a 78-mph sweeper - and crushing it 401 feet for a 107.3-mph homer.
Mesa never had to watch much of the flight.
“It’s the best feeling in baseball, besides winning,” Mesa said postgame. “When you don’t even feel the bat, that means that you got a good contact.”
He celebrated by shouting toward the Rays’ bench and then shushing the crowd while circling the bases. The ball landed in front of the rowdiest section of the bleachers, and the moment belonged to Tampa Bay.
“This year started with a DFA. Look where I am now,” Mesa said in Spanish postgame.
“It’s an example of overcoming, of continuing to work, of trusting in yourself, of trusting in your talent. When one door closes, it is because another is opening.”
The Rays’ outfield had been a problem last year, when their 2025 season fell apart after the All-Star break. Mesa and Vilade were not obvious answers then, and they certainly didn’t arrive with guarantees. But both have contributed steadily, and on Wednesday they delivered in the biggest spot yet.
Tampa Bay has seen this kind of thing before from Cash’s team - players who seem to come out of nowhere and become part of the fabric of the clubhouse. That connection showed up again after the final out, with Mesa spraying Cash with alcohol and Vilade embracing Erik Neander, the team’s president of baseball operations, during his interview.
Once considered expendable, Mesa and Vilade are now helping carry the Rays forward.
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