Tampa Bay Rays Postseason History

The Tampa Bay Rays have become a fixture in the postseason since 2008, making seven trips to baseball's big October stage. Here's what they've done in the postseason, including their two American League pennants in 2008 and 2020.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have become a fixture in the postseason since 2008, making seven trips to baseball's big October stage.

Here's what they've done in the postseason, including their two American League pennants in 2008 and 2020.

2008

• Record: 97-65
• How they got there: Won the American League East for the first time, beating out the Boston Red Sox by two games.
• AL Division Series: Won the best-of-5 series over the Chicago White Sox, 3-1.
• AL Championship Series: Won the best-of-7 series over the Boston Red Sox, 4-3.
• World Series: Lost the best-of-7 series to Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1.

2010

• Record: 96-66
• How they got there: Won the American League East for the second time, beating out the New York Yankees by one game.
• AL Division Series: Lost the best-of-5 series to the Texas Rangers, 3-2.

2011

• Record: 91-71
• How they got there: Won a wild-card spot in Game No. 162, overcoming a seven-run deficit to beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in 12 innings. Evan Longoria's homer in extra innings won it for the Rays.
• AL Division Series: Lost the best-of-5 series to the Texas Rangers, 3-1.

2013

• Record: 92-71
• How they got there: Finished tied with the Texas Rangers for a wild-card spot but beat them in Game No. 163 to advance to the postseason. David Price pitched a complete game, and Evan Longoria went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run.
• AL Wild-Card Game: Beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0 thanks to 6 2/3 shutout innings from Alex Cobb. Delmon Young had a third-inning solo home runs and Desmond Jennings had a two-run double in the fourth.
• AL Division Series: Lost the best-of-5 series to the Boston Red Sox, 3-1.

2019

• Record: 96-66
• How they got there: Finished second to the New York Yankees in the American League East, but clinched a wild card spot.
• AL Wild-Card Game: Won the wild-card game, beating Oakland 5-1 behind a stellar pitching performance from Charlie Morton.
• AL Division Series: Lost the best-of-5 series to the Houston Astros 3-2. The home team won all five games, and the Rays lost to Houston ace Gerrit Cole twice in the series.

2020

• Record: 40-20
• How they got there: Won the American League East division for the third time. 
• AL Wild-Card Series: Swept the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the expanded 16-team COVID-infused playoffs. Rays starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow were exceptional in the 3-1 and 8-2 wins in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• AL Division Series: Beat the New York Yankees, 3-2. The Rays won the deciding Game 5 on home runs from Austin Meadows (fifth inning and Mike Brosseau (eighth) and four Tampa Bay pitchers allowed just three hits to knock out the Yankees.
• AL Championship Series: Beat the Houston Astros, 4-3. The Rays won the first three games in the series, but then lost the next three, forcing a Game 7. Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer in the first and Mike Zunino added a solo shot in the second to help give the Rays a 4-2 win. Charlie Morton pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Rays, allowing just two hits. 
• World Series: Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2. The entire series was played in Arlington, Texas because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rays won the second and fourth games to tie the series, but struggled to score from there, losing 4-2 in Game 5 and 3-1 in Game 6.

2021

• Record: 100-62
• How they got there: Won the American League East division for the fourth time, beating the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees by eight games. It was the first time in team history that the Rays had won 100 or more games.
• AL Division Series: Lost the best-of-5 series to the Boston Red Sox, 3-1. Starter Shane McClanahan was brilliant in the Rays' 5-0 win in the opener, but then the Red Sox swept the next three games.

Postseason records of note

• World Series titles: 0
• American League pennants: 2
• American League East titles: 4
• World Series record: 3-8
• American League Championship Series record: 8-6
• American League Division Series record: 13-18
• American League Wild-Card game record: 4-0
• Total record in postseason games: 28-32

Postseason records vs. opponents

• Chicago White Sox (2008): 3-1
• Boston Red Sox (2008, 2013, 2021): 6-9
• Philadelphia Phillies (2008): 1-4
• Texas Rangers (2010, 2011):  3-6
• Cleveland Indians (2013): 1-0
• Oakland A's (2019): 1-0
• Houston Astros (2019, 2020): 6-6
• Toronto Blue Jays (2020): 2-0
• New York Yankees (2020): 3-2
• Los Angeles Dodgers (2021): 2-4
• Total record in postseason games: 28-32