Rays roll past frustrated Marlins, lock up AL East
In a division loaded with big-budget teams, this is becoming a familiar picture: the Tampa Bay Rays gathering on the mound, posing for a photo as AL East champions.
The Rays clinched their second straight division title, with Mike Zunino hitting a go-ahead homer and Brandon Lowe later adding a pair of RBI doubles to beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Saturday night.
“Like I’ve said before, this is the best team in the American League and today we showed it,” Rays infielder Yandy Díaz said through an interpreter.
Reliever Pete Fairbanks retired Lewis Brinson on a foul popup with the bases loaded for the final out, giving the Rays the chance to celebrate on the field. Earlier in the day, Tampa Bay’s magic number was cut to one when the New York Yankees beat Boston 5-3.
There was a standing ovation from the season-high announced crowd of 23,783 at Tropicana Field when the Yankees’ victory was announced after the top of the sixth inning.
“It means the world,” Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “It’s a small-market team, not a huge payroll. We have so many well-above average players in our clubhouse. Certain guys make a certain amount for right reasons . ... When you have 26 guys to buy in, and show up to the field with the blue-collar mentality each and every day and want it more than the opposition, more times than not, then we’ll have these moments. That’s what our guys have.”
Tampa Bay improved to 96-59 and won its fourth division title since becoming a major league team for the 1998 season. The club debuted as the Devil Rays then, and wore jerseys with that name during this clinching victory.
The Rays, who lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games last season, have never won the championship.
After Fairbanks got the last out, the Rays hugged and sprayed each other as their families watched from on the field, off to the side.
Inside the clubhouse, the Rays showed the locker room celebration on Zoom to their Triple-A Durham affiliate. The Rays used 61 players this year.
Shane McClanahan (10-6) allowed one run and six hits over five innings. The lefty worked out of several jams, holding the Marlins to 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Brett Phillips reached to begin the fifth on a fielding error by second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Zunino then hit his 32nd homer, connecting off Sandy Alcantara (9-14) for a 3-1 lead.
After the Marlins twice got within one, Lowe’s RBI double in the seventh gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead. Phillips had a sacrifice fly and Lowe, who was nearly hit by Díaz’s foul while in the on-deck circle, extended the lead to 7-3 with another run-scoring double.
Alcantara gave up five runs — three earned — and nine hits over six-plus innings. He became the third major leaguer to reach 200 innings this season, and the first Marlins pitcher since Mark Buehrle in 2012.
Miami loaded the bases with one out in the sixth against Collin McHugh but scored just once to make it 3-2 on Eddy Alvarez’s RBI grounder.
Alvarez was ejected after slamming his helmet to the ground after a called third strike in the eighth. Marlins manager Don Mattingly came out of the dugout to argue and was also tossed.