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Rays Sweep Yankees Out of the Playoffs, Headed to the ALCS
The Tampa Bay Rays are going back to the ALCS. A 4-3 win over the New York Yankees in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night completed a 3-0 sweep of the American League Division Series and sent the Bronx Bombers home for the winter.
It is the first time in franchise history the Rays have won a best-of-five or longer postseason series without dropping a game. It is only the second time the Yankees have ever been swept in a best-of-five, joining the 1980 ALCS. Tampa Bay, the AL's best team at 98-64, now waits for the winner of Saturday's winner-take-all Game 5 between the Guardians and White Sox in Cleveland.
Game 3 turned on two swings in the sixth inning. With the score tied, Victor Mesa Jr. drilled a two-run homer 401 feet into the right-center field bleachers off Yankees starter Max Fried to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead. The Yankees answered when Anthony Volpe launched a long fly ball to left that disappeared into the stands, seemingly a game-tying two-run homer. But after a replay review, the umpires ruled fan interference, with a fan reaching over the wall onto the field of play, and the home run came off the board as an RBI double that cut the lead to 4-3.
"Seeing the replay and seeing it unfold, I thought they did the right thing," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game, via The Athletic. "I thought they got it right."
The play was an eerie echo of the Jeffrey Maier game at the old Yankee Stadium in 1996, only this time the call went against the home team. Rays reliever Griffin Jax struck out Spencer Jones to end the inning, and the 4-3 lead held.
The numbers tell the story of the series. The Yankees never held a lead in 27 innings. They scored five runs in three games and committed four errors in Game 2. Tampa Bay outscored them 10-5 across the series: 1-0 in Game 1, 5-2 in Game 2 and 4-3 in Game 3. The Aaron Judge-less offense never found a gear, and the Yankees' championship drought, dating back to 2009, now matches the 17-year stretch the club went without a title between 1979 and 1995.
What is next
The Rays get to rest while the Guardians and White Sox beat each other up for one more night. The ALCS begins Monday, October 12, with Tampa Bay hosting the winner of Saturday's Game 5 in Cleveland. For the Yankees, the second straight ALDS elimination at the hands of a division rival sets up an offseason full of hard questions about the roster, the lineup and what comes next in 2027.
Key Facts
- Series: Rays swept the Yankees 3-0 in the ALDS (1-0, 5-2, 4-3)
- Decisive moment: Victor Mesa Jr.'s two-run homer in the 6th of Game 3; Volpe's apparent tying homer overturned for fan interference
- Yankees offense: five runs in three games, never held a lead in 27 innings
- Rays record: 98-64, best in the American League; first ALCS trip since 2020
- Next: ALCS begins Monday, Oct 12 vs the Guardians/White Sox Game 5 winner
VIA USA Today, New York Post, The Athletic, ESPN, MLB. Boone quote via The Athletic.
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