My Two Cents: Heck Yes, AL East Rivalry Games Mean More for Yankees, Rays

Tom Brew | May 10, 2024

Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (right) chats with his catcher. / John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's simple math, New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon says. In the contemptuous American League East, the head-to-head games just mean a little bit more.

The rivalries — all of them — are real. The Yankees-Boston Red Sox hatred gets the most national publicity, but all the other AL showdowns mean a lot, too. That's why this three-game series between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays this weekend in St. Petersburg means a lot as well, even in early May.

"Yeah, it matters a lot because sure we want to win every game, but when you beat a team like the Rays or the Orioles, you're giving them a loss, too,'' Rodon said in the Yankees' clubhouse before Friday night's game. "And it's no different when we see one of them on TV. If the Rays are playing the (San Diego) Padres, sure we're rooting for the Padres. It's the same if it's the (Cleveland) Guardians against the (Toronto) Blue Jays or something. We're rooting for the Guardians.

"This division is really tough, and it's the same every year, from top to bottom. We are all always fighting for a division title and if not, we're fighting for a wild-card spot or sometimes two. So every game means just a little bit more. That's why we're all really looking forward to this series, and I'm sure it's the same thing over there (in the Rays clubhouse.)''

There's no doubt the AL East is the best division in baseball. It used to be owned by the Yankees — they won the first nine division titles after the Rays joined the division in 1998 — but it's been incredibly competitive lately. Since 2015, all FIVE teams have won at least one division crown. No other division can say that. In fact, it's the only time all five teams have won their respective division in just a nine-year window in baseball history.

It takes a lot to win the AL East, with all this firepower. Throwing out the 2020 COVID season — which the Rays won with a 40-20 record, which averages out to a 108-win season — the AL East winner has averaged 98.3 wins a year.

It takes playing at a high level to win it. And players in both clubhouses know that.

"We still take our same process out there and we know it's a long season, but we all understand the value of these games,'' said Rays reliever Jason Adam, who is 2-0 this season with two saves and a snappy 1.69 ERA. "Everybody in this clubhouse has won and knows what it takes to win (in this division), so we know where we need to be. We weren't playing well there for a while, but we've done a lot of great things in the last week or so, so I like where we are at going into this series. It means a lot.

"This rivalry is a legitimate thing, and from a fan perspective, they're always fun games to watch. And from our perspective, these are very important games. The Yankees, they're a team we're trying to be better than this season so we can win the AL East. They're important, but we have to trust our process and play our game. If we execute, we'll be where we're supposed to be.''

Heading into Friday's game, the Yankees have been playing well. They have a league-high 25 wins and are a half-game behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. The Rays are 19-19, six games behind the Orioles. The Rays lost two of three to the Yankees in mid-April and would like to gain some ground on the front runners this series. This series is the first of 13 straight games against AL East foes.

""Division games all mean a little more throughout the year, but we still want to go out there and win every night,'' said Rays pitcher Zack Littell, who is starting Saturday's 4:10 p.m. ET game at Tropicana Field. "You can't overthink what's on the schedule. Sure, we want to beat the Yankees tonight, and I'm going to do all I can (on Saturday) to beat them, too.

"Winning four series in a row would be great, but you just can't think about it that way. It would wear you out tonight if you were thinking about what we'll have to do for the next 13 games.''

The division rivals don't see as much of each other anymore with the new balanced schedule that came into play last year. They used to pay each division foe 19 times a season, but now it's just 13 a year and two trips into town instead of three. It changes things, because you can go months now without seeing a certain division rival. The Yankees, for instance, don't play Boston for the first time until June 14. a full 71 games — give or take rainouts — into their season.

"The new schedule puts a little bit of a premium on these games now, too,'' said Rodon, who is 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in eight starts but won't be pitching in this series. "Before, what, we played almost half of our games in the division (76 of 162, 47 percent) and now it's a lot less (52 games total vs. the AL East).

"It's a good thing for all of us (in the AL East), to be honest, because this is always the best division in baseball. Seeing these guys less is probably a good thing.''

Rodon, who pitched six seasons with the Chicago White Sox under the old schedule format, said he hated seeing the same American League Central teams in back-to-back starts. It happened to him three times in the first three months of the season in 2021.

Rodon pitched a no-hitter against Cleveland on April 14, 2021 in Chicago. His next start? It was six days later — in Cleveland.

"I hated that Cleveland was going to be my next start. I just no-hit them and I knew they were going to be mad as hell,'' Rodon said. "I do think the hitters probably have a little edge, having just seen you. They made it hard on me that second time around.''

Rodon got the win in an 8-5 Chicago victory, but he only lasted five innings and gave up three hits and five walks. A month later he had to face Kansas City twice in a week. He pitched six scoreless innings on May 7 in a 3-0 win, but then got shelled for four runs in a 5-1 loss in his next start.

"The biggest thing before was that hitters could really get familiar with you, especially if your turn in the rotation always hit,'' Rodon said. "It can still happen, but maybe not as much. It's still fun, though, especially here (in Tampa Bay) since so many of us spend a lot of time in the winter and spring here. Rays-Yankees games are always fun, and the fans really get into it here.''

Nothing will get determined in May, of course, but these games still have a bigger feel to them. It's the AL East after all.

"We've been playing well, and the biggest thing is that you just want that to continue,'' said Yankees closer Clay Holmes, who has pitched 16 1/3 innings so far and still hasn't give up an earned run. He has 11 saves, tied for the AL lead with Emmanuel Clase of Cleveland. "It's a division game, so the bonus if you win is to hand them a loss.

"I'm sure they're thinking the same thing, though. They'll get after us, too. We've had a lot of battles the last few years, because we want the same thing. The AL East is the best division in baseball and we both want to win it. ''

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