Rays sweep Yankees out of ALDS as fan interference overturns Volpe's tying homer
Rookie Victor Mesa Jr.'s two-run homer and a fan-interference replay call sealed Tampa Bay's 4-3 ALDS sweep of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
The Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game American League Division Series sweep of the New York Yankees with a 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, sealed by a chaotic sixth-inning finish.
Rookie Victor Mesa Jr. delivered the decisive blow, a tiebreaking two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth. Fried allowed four runs on seven hits over 5⅔ innings, striking out seven without a walk.
The Yankees nearly levelled it in the bottom half. Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a game-tying two-run homer, but a fan reached over the left-field fence and interfered. The league’s replay centre determined “the ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught”, and Volpe was awarded an RBI double, with George Lombard Jr. scoring from first. Griffin Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.
Bryan Baker struck out Trent Grisham with the tying run on second to end it, earning his third save of the series.
The Rays reach the ALCS for the third time in club history and the first since 2020. They will host either the Chicago White Sox or the Cleveland Guardians in a best-of-seven series beginning Monday. It is the second time in two weeks Tampa Bay have celebrated at Yankee Stadium, having clinched the AL East there with a 6-1 win on 22 September.
The Yankees were swept in a division series for the first time in franchise history, extending their championship drought to 17 years.
More on this topic: all Sport stories
