The Tampa Bay Rays will face their ol’ frenemies, the New York Yankees, in the American League Division Series that begins Saturday in St. Petersburg.
The Yankees advanced by defeating the AL East rival Boston Red Sox 9-2 on Wednesday to sweep the best-of-three AL Wild Card Series.
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Next up for the Yankees: another division foe in Tampa Bay.
First pitch on Saturday is at 6:30 p.m. at Tropicana Field.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Monday at 8 p.m., also at the Trop.
The teams move to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4 on Oct. 7-8. If needed, Game 5 goes back to St. Petersburg on Oct. 10. Starting times for these games have not been announced.
The Rays won the regular-season series, 7-6, and clinched the AL East title by defeating the Yankees 6-1 on Sept. 22 in New York. Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that game.
The Rays (98-64) earned a first-round bye with the AL's best record and finished 4.5 games ahead of second-place New York (93-68) in the division.
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The teams' familiarity goes beyond the divisional rivalry. The Yankees host spring training at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field – in the heart of the Bay area – and the Rays used the facility for regular-season home games in 2025 because of hurricane damage at Tropicana Field.
While no widely cited scientific survey has measured Yankees fandom in Tampa Bay, the club's long-standing local presence and the sizable crowds it routinely draws at Rays games suggest it remains one of the region's most popular out-of-market teams.
Rays fans are invited to a postseason pop-up rally at Tampa’s Midtown district on Thursday at 5 p.m.
