The defending AL Champions will have home-field advantage in the postseason through at least the ALCS.
With their 7-0 win over the Astros in Houston on Wednesday night, the Rays clinched the No. 1 seed in the American League. They also won their franchise record 98th game,
“It truly is something special to be on a team that’s not only taking care of business throughout this season, but also doing it at a better clip than any team prior to us, especially with all the success they’ve had here with this organization,” said Drew Rasmussen. “And I don’t think we’re satisfied, which is really cool. I think we have the opportunity to win 100 games, and that’d be one heck of a mark to get to.”
All they have to do to achieve that is win two more games.
Tampa Bay hung around .500 for the early part of the year. Then Tyler Glasnow went down.
But the Rays got hot at the end of the first half and continued that trend through the remainder of the season, leading the majors in runs scored and putting together 46 comeback wins.
“We’re a really resilient group. Even when games don’t start the way we want them to or things go south at some point, we fight ‘til the end,” said reliever Andrew Kittredge. “I really like the way we battle, even when we’re not really playing well necessarily. Then we’re scary good when we are playing good.”
This season also marks the second consecutive year that the Rays have been the top seed in the American League. They’re also the first team to accomplish that feat since the Yankees did it in 2011 and 2012.
“This organization has been really good,’ said manager Kevin Cash. “Since 208, they’ve had a lot of success, so you’re talking about many playoff teams, many really good teams. To be at the top of that list, yeah, we’re definitely going to appreciate that.”
The Rays will now wait and see who they’ll face in the ALDS. The Wild Card race in the AL is still up for grabs, with the Yankees leading Boston for the top spot by a game, and Toronto and Seattle being right behind the Sox heading into the final weekend.
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