Rays a Glass! Tampa Bay Clinches Playoff Spot With 7-3 Win at Houston
HOUSTON, Texas — This time, the Tampa Rays didn't wait around for help. They took matters into their own hands on Friday night and clinched a playoff spot for a record fourth straight year with an impressive 7-3 win over the Houston Astros.
And then they celebrated. For the first time.
Oh what a night 🍾 pic.twitter.com/1tr8TZc9Vx
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) October 1, 2022
"This is what we play for. Everybody, from top to bottom, just shows up and does their job,'' Tampa Bay relief pitcher Jason Adam said. "This is a blast and we want to do this four more times. Good coaching, good group of guys, great family. It's unbelieveable, and we all want to win. We don't care about individual titles. We just want to win the World Series.''
The first step was getting in, and after having to cancel the postseason celebration on Thursday after blowing a late lead in Cleveland, the Rays left no doubt on Friday, smacking around a Houston team that had just swept them in St. Petersburg a week ago.
Yandy Diaz returned to the lineup from a shoulder injury and had three hits and starter Drew Rasmussen was terrific, pitching seven innings and allowing just two runs and five hits. It was his 11th win of the season — and his first since Sept 9 after three straight losses.
"This is the reason why you play the game right here. You want to play in October,'' Rasmussen said. "We couldn't be happier with the position we're in. Our ability to come back day in and day out has been nothing but incredible. This organization does just a great job of stockpiling talent, and we couldn't be happier getting to share all of this together.,
"We're battle tested, so we're just going to keep doing this into October.''
"Our ability to come back day in and day out has been nothing but incredible."@Drew_Rasmussen_ speaks to @TriciaWhitaker about the resilience of the @RaysBaseball as a group. #MLB | #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/fVfdzrd3m0
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) October 1, 2022
The Rays' magic number was one coming into the night, but the Baltimore Orioles did their part to stay alive by beating the New York Yankees 2-1. So it was on the Rays to take care of business themselves, and they did just that against Houston stud Framber Valdez. He's been tough all year, and his 16 wins are second-best in the league, behind only teammate Justin Verlander (17).
But the Rays knocked him around for six runs in 5 2/3 innings, and that's happened only one other time all season, when he gave up six runs to the Angels in April.
The spark came from Diaz, who has missed more than a week with a shoulder issue. He walked and scored in the first, singled and scored on a Randy Arozarena triple in the fifth and then drove in two runs with a double in the sixth inning.
Those runs in the fifth put the Rays ahead for good after trailing 2-1. The three runs in the sixth gave them some breathing room and Tyler Walls hit a solo home run in the eighth for insurance.
The Rays have five games left, two in Houston and three in Boston before starting the wild-card round of the playoffs, which is a best-of-three series at the home park of the higher seed.
Toronto and Seattle both won on Friday night, so the Rays are still currently the No. 6 seed, two games behind Toronto and a half-game behind Seattle. If the playoffs started today, the Rays would play No. 3 seed Cleveland, the AL Central winner, in the first round. They are 2-4 against them this season. The winner of that series would play the New York Yankees in the AL division round, which is a best-of-five series.
The Rays do hold tiebreakers with both Toronto and Seattle, so there's still a lot to play for this weekend. The No. 4 seed gets to host the No. 5 in the first round.
Seattle clinched a playoff spot on Friday as well, their first since 2001, snapping the longest postseason drought in baseball. And with the Yankees' loss, the Astros actually clinched homefield advantage throughout the AL playoffs as well.
''The goal now is to be doing this again in another week,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ''Every team goes through a lot and we've been through a lot. It's nice to get a win and know that we're in. We did go through some blows early on, and to continue to win in the American League is a testament to the guys.
"I've got a lot of confidence in this group. They've withstood some bad news and some bad performances, but they've come out on top with some really good performances to stay afloat here. It feels like right now, we're coming into our own a little bit. These guys are still young, and we're getting a taste of some really cool stuff."''
The Rays have made the playoffs a club record four years in a row now, and this is their eight appearance since 2008. They've won two American League pennants (2008, 2020) and would love another shot at a world title.
Rays clinch photo gallery
Drew Rasmussen, Tricia Whitaker
Drew Rasmussen pitched seven innings and allowed just two runs in the Rays 7-3 win over the Houston Astros, which clinched a playoff spot for the Rays. Rasmussen gets doused with beer and champagne during his interview with Bally Sports reporter Tricia Whitaker. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Drew Rasmussen
Teammates douse Drew Rasmussen after defeating the Houston Astros to clinch a playoff berth at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Colin Poche
Sep 30, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Rays players celebrate after defeating the Houston Astros to clinch a playoff berth at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Yandy Diaz
Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz (2) gives a thumbs up on the field after the Rays defeated the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Harold Ramirez
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Harold Ramirez (43) celebrates on the field after the Rays defeated the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Tyler Glasnow
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Harold Ramirez (43) celebrates on the field after the Rays defeated the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Ji-Man Choi
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi (26) celebrates after the Rays defeated the Houston Astros to clinch a playoff berth at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Team photo
Tampa Bay Rays players, coaches and staff pose for a photo at Minute Maid Park after the Rays defeated the Houston Astros to clinch a berth in the 2022 playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.