Rays Clinch 5th AL East Title

NEW YORK (AP) — Playing in perhaps baseball’s toughest division, the Tampa Bay Rays were the class of the field this season. The thrifty Rays clinched their fifth AL East title with a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the second game of a day-night doubleheader as Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit in 6 2/3 innings and Yandy Díaz hit a pair of two-run singles. Tampa Bay took the AL East for the first time since 2021 and surpassed that team by three days with the earliest division clincher in team history. The club also won division crowns in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season along with 2010 and 2008, when it reached the World Series and had the franchise’s first winning season.