ST. PETERSBURG -- As Rays manager Kevin Cash addressed his team to begin their post-clinching celebration inside Tropicana Field’s home clubhouse, he encouraged them to enjoy everything they accomplished Friday night but made sure to add, “We’ve got more meat on the bone, believe me.”
And no, he wasn’t talking about the tomahawk steaks that Yandy Díaz and others were eating as they walked around the beer-soaked room.
As proud as the Rays were to officially claim a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2023, they have done enough to aim even higher. Having spent so much of the season with the best record in the American League, anything less than an AL East title -- and a first-round bye -- would feel like a consolation prize.
So, as soon as they returned to their clean and mostly dry clubhouse on Saturday afternoon, the Rays quickly reset their focus and got back to business in a 3-2 win over the Astros before a crowd of 24,642 at the Trop on Saturday night.
“Yesterday was yesterday. We enjoyed it, but today is a new day and we're moving forward now,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “It's a matter of the next objective that we've had all year, and that's winning the division.”
They took another step in that direction in another close, tightly contested victory against the Astros. Left-hander Ian Seymour struck out 10 over six innings but left with the score tied at 2-2, then the Rays pulled ahead in the seventh. Liam Hicks led off the inning with a double, and Chandler Simpson legged out a potential double-play grounder to put runners on the corners with one out.
Up came Nick Madrigal, pinch-hitting for Cedric Mullins against lefty reliever Bennett Sousa. Madrigal lifted the third pitch he saw out to center field, and pinch-runner Kenny Piper dashed home to score the go-ahead run on Madrigal’s sacrifice fly.
Rookie Ty Johnson, auditioning for a bigger role down the stretch and beyond, picked up two outs in the eighth before closer Bryan Baker recorded the final four of the game to secure his Major League-leading 40th save.
Thanks to the Yankees’ 12-2 loss to the Mets, the Rays’ edge in the AL East increased to four games with 14 remaining. The four games they’ll play at Yankee Stadium from Sept. 22-24 still loom large, but adding to their lead now can only help their cause before that showdown of a series.
They’ve checked the box next to one goal, but their regular-season to-do list isn’t complete yet.
That’s why the Rays were quick to emphasize that they weren’t satisfied even as they danced, smoked cigars and chomped on what Díaz described as a “delicious” cut of meat that he finished in about five minutes late Friday night.
“Look, we’re not done. We’ve got to keep going,” Junior Caminero said Friday night via Vera. “We’re not done by any means. So now, the next objective is just to win the division.”