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On Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, the Tampa Bay Rays finished off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, winning Game 3 by a score of 4-3. The Rays dominated all three games, never allowing the Yankees to hold a lead at any point in the series. They maintained their intensity throughout, demonstrating they were the superior team against their division rival.
With the sweep, Tampa Bay enters rare territory as they advance to the Championship Series. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, the Rays are only the third team to sweep a Division Series since the playoff format was revised to its current structure in 2022. The two previous teams to accomplish this, the 2022 Houston Astros and the 2023 Texas Rangers, both went on to win the World Series.
Key Analysis
History suggests the Rays could be on a similar path. In the past four seasons, this has occurred twice, and both times the sweeping team also won the Championship Series and ultimately the World Series. The Astros swept the Seattle Mariners in 2022, then swept the Yankees in four games in the ALCS before defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The Rangers swept the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 ALDS, then beat Houston in seven games in the ALCS before defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.
The question now is whether the Rays can repeat history. Tampa Bay will face either the Chicago White Sox or the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. Those two teams are set to play Game 4 of their Division Series matchup on Thursday night in Chicago. The Guardians finished atop the AL Central with an 85-77 record, while the White Sox finished one game back at 84-78 and won the AL Wild Card Series against the Astros.
Regardless of their opponent, the 98-win Rays will be favored to win the Championship Series and reach the World Series. This marks the third time in franchise history that Tampa Bay has reached the Championship Series and the first since 2020. In both previous appearances, the Rays advanced to the World Series but fell short of a title. They defeated the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 ALCS and Houston in 2020.
Rays manager Kevin Cash emphasized that his message to the team remains unchanged after the Division Series-clinching win. "The exact same message," Cash said. "Let's continue what we're doing. Don't know who we're playing yet, but we know we're going to face a very talented team, whoever it is."
Whether Tampa Bay can finish the job and join the 2022 Astros and 2023 Rangers remains to be seen. Given how the Rays are playing, it is entirely possible that history could repeat itself.