AP Photo/David J. Phillip
The road to the World Series in the American League runs through Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs and home-field advantage with a 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Drew Rasmussen allowed a single hit in five shutout innings, while Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi spearheaded the offensive effort with home runs.
With home-field advantage now in their back pocket, the Rays will face the winner of the single-elimination AL Wild Card Game. They also have the chance to set their rotation and capitalize on the advantage having the No. 1 seed provides.
After all, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are all battling for the two wild-card spots.
Whichever teams land those spots will surely rely on a key pitcher in the single-elimination game and start somewhat behind when facing the Rays in the Division Series.
While winning enough in the regular season to have home-field advantage is impressive, Tampa Bay is in championship-or-bust mode after coming so close to winning the World Series last year. It reached the Fall Classic, just to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in heart-breaking fashion in Game 6.
It seemed as if the Rays were going to force a decisive Game 7 with Blake Snell cruising in that contest, but manager Kevin Cash removed the southpaw after just 5.1 innings and 73 pitches. The bullpen was unable to keep the Dodgers off the board and lost the chance at a World Series title.
To the Rays’ credit, they didn’t let last year’s disappointment derail this season.
They used their typical formula of unheralded stars and won an American League East division loaded with contenders with the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. All three of those teams feature household names in their lineup but could not keep pace with the balanced division winners.
Look for Lowe, Nelson Cruz, Joey Wendle, Randy Arozarena, Mike Zunino, Kevin Kiermaier and others to give opposing pitchers fits throughout the postseason, especially playing in front of the home fans.
Tampa Bay was two wins away from a championship last season. It has the talent to take the next step this time around and capture the franchise’s first World Series crown.
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