The last time the Tampa Bay Rays reached the American League Championship Series, they needed five games to get past the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. They're hoping to make it a little easier on themselves this time around. Make your MLB picks using the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses: Tampa Bay attempts to complete a sweep of the 2026 ALDS when they square off against New York at 8 p.m.
ET in Game 3 on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The Rays, who defeated the Yankees in this round in 2020 en route to the second World Series appearance in franchise history, edged New York 1-0 in this year's series opener before pushing their AL East rivals to the brink of elimination with a 5-2 victory in Game 2. The Rays went 7-6 against New York during the regular season but lost four of the six contests at Yankee Stadium, including three of four in their penultimate series of the campaign.
Tampa Bay was outscored 15-6 in its final two games in the Bronx, but its pitching staff has kept the Yankees in check thus far in the ALDS. New York was limited to one hit in Game 1 as Drew Rasmussen had a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings before Austin Wells ripped a double down the right field line. However, Wells made an ill-advised decision to try and stretch it into a triple and was thrown out easily at third base.
Rays closer Bryan Baker worked a perfect ninth to preserve the win. The Yankees didn't fare much better offensively in Game 2 as they registered just four hits, two of which were solo homers by Ben Rice. They were even worse defensively, committing four errors -- including three in the first inning that helped give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay will look to punch its ticket to the ALCS behind Nick Martinez, who set a career high with 15 wins this year and matched another with a 3.10 ERA. The 36-year-old right-hander posted a better ERA on the road (2.38) than at home (3.90) during the regular season and had a 2.16 mark in two turns at Yankee Stadium. Martinez held New York to one run over six innings in a no-decision on May 22 and gave up just two while recording a season-high seven strikeouts across six frames in a 2-0 loss on Sept. 22.
The Yankees are counting on Max Fried to help extend their postseason. The 32-year-old left-hander, who allowed just one run and three hits over six innings against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series for his first win in 10 total starts at Yankee Stadium in 2026, was tagged for four runs and six hits across 6 2/3 frames as he took the loss in his lone home outing against the Rays. Two NL Division Series take place Wednesday evening, including Game 4 of the matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at 6 p.m.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
