Tampa Bay Rays Clinch Fifth AL East Title

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their fifth American League East title Tuesday with a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees, achieving the earliest division clincher in team history.

Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit in 6 2/3 innings, and Yandy Diaz contributed two two-run singles to secure the win. This marks the Rays' first AL East title since 2021. The team also won division crowns in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, as well as 2010 and 2008, the latter being the year they reached the World Series and had their first winning season.

"It means a lot," Diaz said through a translator. "It’s a tough division. It’s a competitive division almost every single year. With this group we knew that from the beginning, but we still believed in ourselves every single way."

Tampa Bay (96-61) now holds a six-game lead over the second-place Yankees (90-67) with five games remaining. They will secure the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs with home-field advantage. The Rays trail the Milwaukee Brewers by two games for the best record in the majors.

The Rays have led the division since June 27 and spent 128 days in first place. They regained the lead on May 10 and have held it since, despite a brief period where they lost seven of 13 games.

"We played really good baseball up to this point," said Rasmussen, who previously underwent elbow surgery. "We got off to a little bit of a slow start in April but to play as we have since the beginning of May, this group’s different. We have a lot of fun together."

Tampa Bay's division title comes after returning to Tropicana Field, where they posted a 55-26 record this season. Last year, the team finished 77-85 overall and played home games at Steinbrenner Field due to damage to the Trop's roof from Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

The Rays also recently received approval for a financing plan to construct a new stadium in Tampa, Florida, with an expected opening in 2029.

"Everything the franchise has been through, to have the Tampa Bay on the chest tonight, the staff, the players for Tampa Bay, all of it, just, it’s really special," said president of baseball operations Erik Neander.

Following the final out, a groundout by Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr. to Rays closer Bryan Baker, the team celebrated on the field and in the clubhouse with champagne and beer.

"I’m very happy because this is a special group," said third baseman Junior Caminero. "When I (went) to spring training (the) first day, I saw this group and (thought), we've got a playoff team this year, and we did it."

Rasmussen's no-hit bid was broken up in the seventh inning by Heliot Ramos' double. He exited after walking Jazz Chisholm Jr., with Kevin Kelly coming in to retire Austin Wells after Ramos drove in the Yankees' only run.