# Rays clinch East, Yankees lock in Wild Card hosting

> Tampa Bay wins the AL East as New York settles for second place but secures home-field advantage in the postseason.
- Title: Rays clinch East, Yankees lock in Wild Card hosting · Mlb
- Summary: Tampa Bay wins the AL East as New York settles for second place but secures home-field advantage in the postseason. The Yankees will host the Wild Card…
- Keywords: yankees, tampa bay rays, al east, wild card series, mlb playoffs, aaron boone, drew rasmussen, carlos rodon, max fried, division clinch, sports, Rays
- Source: Mlb — https://mlb.com/news/yankees-lose-to-rays-tampa-bay-clinches-al-east
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: yankees, tampa bay rays, al east, wild card series, mlb playoffs, aaron boone, drew rasmussen, carlos rodon, max fried, division clinch, sports
## Rays clinch AL East at Yankee Stadium
Tampa Bay beat New York 6-1 on Tuesday to win their fifth division title in franchise history and first since 2021. The Rays celebrated in the visiting clubhouse while the Yankees absorbed the loss at home.

> It kind of sucks. That's what we work on all season, but it's not the end goal for us.
## Rasmussen dominates in clinching game
Drew Rasmussen held the Yankees hitless through six innings, striking out 11 and throwing 114 pitches. He allowed just one hit in 6 2/3 innings to lead Tampa Bay to the division-clinching win.

> Rasmussen was great, and they've put together a fantastic regular season to earn that.
## Yankees split doubleheader, win first game
Carlos Rodón pitched eight brilliant innings in the opener, leading New York to a 2-0 win and stalling Tampa Bay's celebration for one game. The Rays bounced back to clinch in the nightcap.

> You don't want anyone to be celebrating at your stadium.
## Fielding mistakes cost Yankees in loss
Jazz Chisholm Jr. failed to cover first base on a bunt, allowing a run to score. The Yankees have struggled with similar defensive plays recently, including bunts mishandled against Arizona.

> That's a safety situation that we know is coming more often than not.
## Yankees clinch Wild Card home games
New York will host the AL Wild Card Series for a second consecutive year, with Game 1 scheduled for September 29 against likely opponent Boston. The winner faces Tampa Bay in the Division Series starting October 3.
## Boone plans to rest roster down the stretch
Manager Aaron Boone said he will use the Yankees' remaining five games to rest players before the playoffs. Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler will make their final regular-season starts with conservative pitch counts.

> We wanted to push it off if we could. Credit to them.
## Fried confident despite division loss
Max Fried said the Yankees are excited and confident about their roster heading into the playoffs, citing strong pitching including Cam Schlittler, who he predicted will win the Cy Young Award.

> We've got great arms. We've got a guy that's going to win the Cy Young.
## Key takeaway

The Yankees will host the Wild Card Series for a second straight year despite losing the division to Tampa Bay, and they're using their remaining games to rest players before the playoffs.