ST. PETERSBURG -- The American League’s top two seeds will meet in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series, starting with Game 1 on Monday night between the Guardians and Rays at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t won a World Series since they came into existence in 1998. That might sound like a long time, and it is … until you remember that the Cleveland Guardians haven’t won it all since 1948, half a century before the Devil Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- The first thing Junior Caminero thought when he was traded to the Rays in November 2021 was that he had done something wrong. Caminero was only 18 years old at the time, a little more than two years removed from beginning his professional career in Cleveland’s organization

ST. PETERSBURG -- You wouldn’t know it from the way he pitched, but Drew Rasmussen didn’t feel totally comfortable in Game 1 of the American League Division Series until around the fourth inning. He was feeling the sold-out crowd at Tropicana Field. He was channeling the intensity of his first

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays didn’t set their roster for the American League Championship Series on Sunday, but they made one thing certain: Shane McClanahan will not be part of it. McClanahan has been shut down for the rest of the postseason, manager Kevin Cash announced during Sunday’s workout at

ST. PETERSBURG -- If you had to design a Major League closer from scratch, you would probably prioritize a handful of traits. Poise, obviously, to handle high-pressure situations in high-stakes games. Swing-and-miss stuff, for sure, to minimize the margin for error on the mound. And confidence, no doubt, to never

ST. PETERSBURG -- As the Rays prepared to party inside the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after finishing an American League Division Series sweep late Wednesday night, manager Kevin Cash again used the tomahawk steak that Yandy Díaz and others devoured after they clinched a spot in the postseason last

ST. PETERSBURG -- Spend enough time around the Rays, and you’ll hear a familiar refrain about how this year’s team can win games in many different ways.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Outside of northeast Ohio and the South Side of Chicago, and perhaps the Vatican, there might not be anyone watching Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night with greater interest than the Rays. Whoever comes out on top of that winner-take-all matchup at

NEW YORK -- The schedule for this year’s American League Division Series came with an extra off-day that, theoretically, meant teams would only need three starting pitchers. But the Rays swept the Yankees by using all five of theirs, brilliantly executing a pitching plan they devised during the downtime between

NEW YORK -- Two weeks ago, Kevin Cash set the tone for the rowdy celebration raging in the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium with a message that made it clear the Rays weren’t done. They had accomplished their regular-season goals, getting back to the postseason and winning their first American

NEW YORK -- Two weeks ago, the Rays went wild in the visitors’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after clinching their first American League East championship in five years. That party started shortly after a win over the Yankees and carried late into the New York night. Could they have another

NEW YORK -- Nick Martinez knows how rowdy things can get during a big game against a division rival at Yankee Stadium. Oh, sure, he started a couple meaningful games against the Yankees in the Bronx this season. But have you heard about the time the Rays’ American League Division

NEW YORK -- Cam Booser stood on the mound at Tropicana Field on Monday night with Game 2 of the American League Division Series hanging in the balance.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays knew they were in for a challenge against American League Cy Young Award favorite Cam Schlittler on Monday night at Tropicana Field. The Yankees’ ace has shown in a short time that he’s made for big moments, especially in unfriendly environments, and he is as

ST. PETERSBURG -- It was hardly the environment that Cam Schlittler and the Yankees expected arriving at Tropicana Field for the first game of the American League Division Series.

ST. PETERSBURG -- After the Rays’ regular-season finale last Sunday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, manager Kevin Cash summoned his starting rotation for a brief meeting to run through their pitching plans for the American League Division Series. Well, “brief” might not even do it justice.

ST. PETERSBURG -- American League Cy Young Award front-runner Cam Schlittler said Saturday afternoon what his incredible numbers away from Yankee Stadium would already suggest: He likes pitching on the road. More specifically, he likes the feeling of “silencing” someone else’s home crowd. But he wasn’t worried about that as

ST. PETERSBURG -- Sitting behind a table inside a mostly quiet Tropicana Field on Friday afternoon, Rays ace Drew Rasmussen tried to make it sound simple. The complex science and mysterious art that is pitching in the Major Leagues, he said, isn’t that complicated. “I'm a pretty big believer that

ST. PETERSBURG -- When Matt Garza took the mound at Tropicana Field on July 26, 2010, the Rays had been on the wrong end of no-hit history four times in the previous eight years. About two years later, Félix Hernández threw the 23rd perfect game in Major League history against

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees and Rays have shared the field for plenty of memorable moments, tightly contested games and deeply rooted disagreements over the years. They are natural rivals in the American League East, pitting New York’s history and high-payroll dominance against Tampa Bay’s ingenuity and lower-budget success. They’ve

ST. PETERSBURG -- On Saturday morning, the Rays set their roster for the American League Division Series, including 14 position players, 12 pitchers and no real surprises.

ST. PETERSBURG -- It seems like the Rays’ three biggest injury concerns coming out of the regular season are no longer a concern.

ST. PETERSBURG -- The last time Tropicana Field was in the national spotlight was nearly two years ago. Roof open and ripped apart, pieces scattered around the exposed field and seating area, the dome stood as the most visible symbol of the destruction and devastation that Hurricane Milton inflicted upon

The American League East’s two best teams will meet in the best-of-five AL Division Series, starting with Game 1 Saturday between the Yankees and Rays at 6:30 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. Let’s take a look at how the pitching rotations might line up: