NEW YORK - The Tampa Bay Rays are headed back to the American League Championship Series after completing a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees with a 4-3 victory Wednesday night.
Victor Mesa Jr.’s two-run homer put Tampa Bay ahead for good, while a controversial fan interference call helped preserve the lead and became a pivotal moment in the series-clinching win.
The backstory:
Mesa broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run homer off Yankees starter Max Fried in the sixth inning, giving Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead.
The Yankees appeared to tie the game in the bottom of the inning when Anthony Volpe drove a ball toward the left-field wall. A fan reached over the wall and caught the ball above Mesa’s glove.
After a video review, umpires determined the ball would not have cleared the wall and Mesa would not have caught it. Volpe was awarded an RBI double, allowing George Lombard Jr. to score and cutting Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-3.
Rays reliever Griffin Jax then struck out Spencer Jones to end the inning and preserve the lead.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen made it stand. Ian Seymour worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth, and Bryan Baker worked the ninth for his third save of the series.
The fan interference call came 30 years after one of the most famous postseason plays involving a spectator at Yankee Stadium.
During Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reached over the right-field wall as Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco attempted to catch Derek Jeter’s fly ball. The play was ruled a home run, helping the Yankees rally to win the game.
Umpires did not have video review available at the time.
Major League Baseball began using video review for home run calls in 2008, and that technology played a crucial role Wednesday in determining Volpe’s hit was not a home run.
Technology also affected the inning through MLB’s automated ball-strike challenge system. Lombard reached after successfully challenging a called strike, while Rays catcher Liam Hicks successfully challenged a ball call that resulted in an Austin Wells strikeout.
Big picture view:
The Rays advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2020 and moved another step closer to what would be the first World Series championship in franchise history.
Tampa Bay also celebrated on the Yankees’ home field for the second time in about two weeks after clinching the AL East there on Sept. 22.
The series also featured one of baseball’s largest payroll gaps. New York began the season with MLB’s third-highest payroll at about $303 million, while Tampa Bay ranked 26th at about $91 million.
The Yankees, meanwhile, were swept in a best-of-five postseason series for the first time since losing the 1980 ALCS to Kansas City.
New York has now gone 17 consecutive seasons without winning the World Series, matching the franchise’s longest championship drought since its first title in 1923.
What they're saying:
The Yankees entered the postseason without captain Aaron Judge, who strained his calf Sept. 16 after already missing significant time earlier in the season because of a fractured rib.
New York swept Boston in the Wild Card Series but never held a lead against Tampa Bay during the Division Series.
The Yankees have not advanced past a higher-seeded postseason opponent since 2020.
For the Rays, contributions came throughout the lineup. Jonathan Aranda opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third before Ben Rice tied the game in the bottom of the inning.
Ryan Vilade put Tampa Bay back in front with an opposite-field home run in the fourth. The 340-foot drive barely cleared the right-field wall and would not have been a home run in any other major league ballpark.
New York tied the game again when Jones doubled home Volpe in the fourth before Mesa delivered the decisive blow two innings later.
What's next:
Tampa Bay will host either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday.
The Rays will have four days off before the series begins. Because of the postseason schedule, Tampa Bay will have played only three games over a 14-day span when the ALCS gets underway.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the Associated Press.