By By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
NEW YORK — The words Tampa Bay stretched across the Rays’ new road jerseys Tuesday night.
By the end of the night, those jerseys were soaked in a champagne celebration at Yankee Stadium.
The Rays are American League East champions.
They lost the first game of a day-night doubleheader to the Yankees, 2-0. The Rays then answered with a 6-1 win in the nightcap to clinch their fifth division title. The Rays first since 2021.
They did it in New York, against the Yankees, the team that spent the season trying to catch them.
And they did it wearing the name of the region they represent.
Yandy Díaz, who had been in a prolonged slump, supplied the offense, driving in four runs on two two-run singles.
Taylor Walls fielded the final ground ball and threw to Jonathan Aranda at first. The celebration began on the field and carried into the clubhouse.
Drew Rasmussen gave them the chance to finish it. He struck out 11, threw a career-high 114 pitches and took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning.
If Kevin Cash has been weighing who should start the Rays’ first playoff game, Rasmussen gave him one more powerful argument.
Tuesday was about the pitcher the Rays needed to win the division, and the way he delivered.
“To have the opportunity to run the race from start to finish is special,” Rasmussen said afterward. “But man, it feels really good.”
The Rays are 96-61. They have won 20 of their last 28 games and secured the American League’s No. 1 seed.
With four wins in their last five games, the Rays would reach 100 wins for the first time in franchise history.
They can skip the Wild Card Series, open in the AL Division Series, and hold home-field advantage through a possible AL Championship Series.
Tropicana Field, where they won 55 regular-season games, the stadium the national media constantly cries about, could be the setting for the biggest nights still ahead.
This franchise has had a difficult relationship with its home region at times.
Stadium questions have too often competed with baseball for attention. Yet there the Rays stood Tuesday, celebrating an AL East title in the Bronx with Tampa Bay across their chests.
Rays CEO Ken Babby took notice.
“Sitting there in the ninth inning, watching that with ‘Tampa Bay’ across our chests, with all that this franchise has been through in this past year, man, it’s a great time to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays,” Babby said.
The Rays earned this title over six months. They held first place for 88 consecutive days leading into the clincher.
When Boston swept them in four games just after the All-Star break, they responded instead of surrendering the lead.
When the Yankees remained close enough to make the final week interesting, the Rays went into Yankee Stadium and settled the race itself.
Veteran starter Nick Martinez put a voice to the fight: “No one really expected us to be here, so we’ve had to fight for it from the beginning of the season.”
Cash let his players enjoy the champagne, but his message to the clubhouse was to aim to celebrate three more times next month. Díaz was thinking the same thing.
“This is just the beginning, and in our minds, the biggest and the most important celebration is the World Series one,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera.
A division title guarantees nothing once October begins.
The bye gives the Rays rest and a shorter path, but they still have to win when games tighten, and every pitching decision feels bigger.
Tuesday deserves its own moment, though. The Rays went into the Yankees’ ballpark, won the AL East, and ensured that the road to the World Series will run through Tropicana Field.
When their championship photo is pulled up years from now, two words will be right there in the middle of it:Tampa Bay
