Rays celebrate sweeping Yankees, advancing to AL Championship Series
By Associated Press
October 7, 2026 at 11:31 PM EDT
Victor Mesa Jr. hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Rays beat the Yankees 4-3 to win their AL Division Series. Tampa Bay will host the Guardians-White Sox winner in Game 1 on Monday.
Victor Mesa Jr. didn't bother to watch his home run land in Yankee Stadium's right-field seats, instead turning to his Tampa Bay teammates in the third base dugout.
Rays manager Kevin Cash waved an arm and pointed toward first base, urging Mesa to start the type of trot the 25-year-old yearned of when he defected from Cuba in 2018.
“That’s the moment that you want to live when you’re growing up,” Mesa said after his tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning lifted Tampa Bay over the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.
Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who got help from a fan interference call and reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020. They host the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field in the opener on Monday.
Click here for ALCS and World Series ticket info
“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Vilade said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side. We’re going to go out and compete and do our thing.”
Mesa, 25, was designated for assignment by Miami just ahead of spring training, then traded to the Rays.
“Look where I am now," he said.
Cash had worried when Mesa lingered at home plate.
“The last thing we need to do is ignite a really great team over there,” the manager said of the Yankees. “I get the emotions and the excitement and that was probably the biggest home run he’s ever hit in his life, so I totally appreciate how you want to enjoy that. In today’s game, there's a fine line of what’s OK and what’s not.”
A son of former Cuba player and national team manager Victor Mesa, Victor Jr. was 16 when he left Cuba along with his older brother, Victor Victor Mesa. Both signed with the Miami Marlins and the older brother didn't advance past Triple-A.
“When we defect(ed), we knew that we wanted to live moments like this," Victor Mesa Jr. said. “I want to thank him because he’s a big part of why I’m here.”
Vilade, 27, is with his sixth major league organization and got extensive big league playing time for the first time this season.
“Last year I was in Memphis and sleeping on an Amazon or a Walmart bed,” he said of his stint with St. Louis' Triple-A farm team. “And this year I’m here and get to go to the ALCS and compete with my guys.”
https://x.com/TNTSportsUS/status/2108020372453097601
After Mesa's homer gave the Rays a 4-2 lead, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two-run shot against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom half of the sixth as a fan reached over the left-field wall and caught the ball over the glove of a leaping Mesa.
A video review by replay umpire Malachi Moore determined the ball would not have been over the wall and would not have been caught by Mesa. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr. was allowed to score from first base. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.
“It was interference," Mesa said in Spanish. “I believe I might have even been able to get to that ball. Not that it matters whether we won or lost. Well, it’s in the past now. I think they could have even called an out, because I was right there. Everything happens for a reason. It was kind of an in-between call.”
The fan was escorted from the stadium by security and police.
ALSO READ: Rays' Experience Center will offer fans, team partners previews of new Tampa stadium
“I don’t know if he would have caught it or not caught it, the guy would have scored or not,” Cash said. "Our replay official Nick (Rogers) said the runner had passed second base at the point where the ball hit the fan’s wrist or hand, and makes sense why they awarded him home."
New York manager Aaron Boone said officials made the correct call.
“When he hit it, to my eye looking out there, I was a little concerned right away because it felt like something — I wasn’t sure. And then seeing the replay and seeing it unfold, I thought they did the right thing," he said.
Baseball's embrace of video technology was key to the inning.
Lombard reached with a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an ABS challenge. Austin Wells then walked on full-count changeup but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks ruled the pitch caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.
Quite a change from 1996, when umpires did not have replays to assist and Derek Jeter's homer for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite young fan Jeffrey Meier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore's Tony Tarasco was set to catch the ball. MLB began using video for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball/strike decisions starting this year.
Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. makes an attempt on a ball interfered with by fans that umpires reviewed and ruled a run-scoring double by New York's Anthony Volpe during the sixth inning in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (1024x682, AR: 1.501466275659824)
Junior Caminero singled ahead of Mesa's homer on a sweeper, the first longball Fried allowed to a left-handed hitter since August 2025.
Ian Seymour pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings and Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth.
Bryan Baker pitched the ninth, striking out Trent Grisham with a runner at second to become the first pitcher with three saves and no hits allowed in a three-game postseason sweep.
"We’re going to have to bring it in the ALCS and keep playing our type of baseball,” Baker said.
Seeking its first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on Sept. 22. New York opened the season with MLB's third-highest payroll at $303 million while the Rays were 26th at $91 million.
"We're feeling great. The best team in the world right here," said Caminero, who celebrated on the field by making a "sweeping" motion. "We play every single game, inning by inning, pitch by pitch. We got the support of all these guys here. We played really good baseball. We're not yet done.
"Now, the Yankeeeeees lose! Yankeeeeees lose!"
Swept in a best-of-five postseason matchup for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th straight season without a World Series crown. That equaled their longest drought since winning their first championship in 1923, a gap between titles in 1978 and '96.
https://x.com/MLB/status/2108050819757281701
“The ending is terrible,” Boone said. “It’s a broken clubhouse.”
Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed the postseason after straining a calf on Sept. 16. The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after May 31 because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team couldn't overcome. New York batted .130 in the series and was outscored 10-5.
ALSO READ: 'Small-ball' Rays beat sloppy Yankees 5-2, build a 2-0 lead in AL Division Series
“There’s a standard to win a championship, and it’s black and white," Judge said. "There’s no gray area."
After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.
“This is my fourth season. It’s been far too many times having this taste in your mouth,” Volpe said. “There’s too many chips added to your shoulder that it just feels like enough’s enough.”
ALSO READ: Rays, Rasmussen shut down Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of AL Division Series
Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with an RBI single in the third and Ben Rice tied the score against Nick Martinez with a single in the bottom half, his eighth RBI of the postseason.
Vilade's opposite-field, 340-foot drive in the fourth landed just over the right-field short porch. The ball, just over the glove of a jumping Jones, would not have been out of any other big league ballpark.
https://x.com/TNTSportsUS/status/2108041242311299213
Volpe, starting at second base in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr., hit a 96.6 mph liner off Martinez’s back with two outs in the fourth for an infield single, and Seymour relieved. Jones’ opposite-field double landed beyond Mesa, driving in Volpe.
"We knew it was going to be a hostile environment," Martinez said. "We knew if we brought the energy and fought for every pitch, we had a chance."
The Yankees left the ballpark dejected.
“We didn’t meet the expectations of the fans and this organization," ace Cam Schlittler said. “There’s a certain standard of being a Yankee and we didn’t fulfill that.”
Tampa Bay closer Bryan Baker celebrates the final out that secured the Rays' 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (1024x682, AR: 1.501466275659824)
Rays manager Kevin Cash waved an arm and pointed toward first base, urging Mesa to start the type of trot the 25-year-old yearned of when he defected from Cuba in 2018.
“That’s the moment that you want to live when you’re growing up,” Mesa said after his tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning lifted Tampa Bay over the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.
Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who got help from a fan interference call and reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020. They host the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field in the opener on Monday.
Click here for ALCS and World Series ticket info
“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Vilade said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side. We’re going to go out and compete and do our thing.”
Mesa, 25, was designated for assignment by Miami just ahead of spring training, then traded to the Rays.
“Look where I am now," he said.
Cash had worried when Mesa lingered at home plate.
“The last thing we need to do is ignite a really great team over there,” the manager said of the Yankees. “I get the emotions and the excitement and that was probably the biggest home run he’s ever hit in his life, so I totally appreciate how you want to enjoy that. In today’s game, there's a fine line of what’s OK and what’s not.”
A son of former Cuba player and national team manager Victor Mesa, Victor Jr. was 16 when he left Cuba along with his older brother, Victor Victor Mesa. Both signed with the Miami Marlins and the older brother didn't advance past Triple-A.
“When we defect(ed), we knew that we wanted to live moments like this," Victor Mesa Jr. said. “I want to thank him because he’s a big part of why I’m here.”
Vilade, 27, is with his sixth major league organization and got extensive big league playing time for the first time this season.
“Last year I was in Memphis and sleeping on an Amazon or a Walmart bed,” he said of his stint with St. Louis' Triple-A farm team. “And this year I’m here and get to go to the ALCS and compete with my guys.”
https://x.com/TNTSportsUS/status/2108020372453097601
After Mesa's homer gave the Rays a 4-2 lead, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two-run shot against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom half of the sixth as a fan reached over the left-field wall and caught the ball over the glove of a leaping Mesa.
A video review by replay umpire Malachi Moore determined the ball would not have been over the wall and would not have been caught by Mesa. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr. was allowed to score from first base. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.
“It was interference," Mesa said in Spanish. “I believe I might have even been able to get to that ball. Not that it matters whether we won or lost. Well, it’s in the past now. I think they could have even called an out, because I was right there. Everything happens for a reason. It was kind of an in-between call.”
The fan was escorted from the stadium by security and police.
ALSO READ: Rays' Experience Center will offer fans, team partners previews of new Tampa stadium
“I don’t know if he would have caught it or not caught it, the guy would have scored or not,” Cash said. "Our replay official Nick (Rogers) said the runner had passed second base at the point where the ball hit the fan’s wrist or hand, and makes sense why they awarded him home."
New York manager Aaron Boone said officials made the correct call.
“When he hit it, to my eye looking out there, I was a little concerned right away because it felt like something — I wasn’t sure. And then seeing the replay and seeing it unfold, I thought they did the right thing," he said.
Baseball's embrace of video technology was key to the inning.
Lombard reached with a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an ABS challenge. Austin Wells then walked on full-count changeup but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks ruled the pitch caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.
Quite a change from 1996, when umpires did not have replays to assist and Derek Jeter's homer for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite young fan Jeffrey Meier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore's Tony Tarasco was set to catch the ball. MLB began using video for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball/strike decisions starting this year.
Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. makes an attempt on a ball interfered with by fans that umpires reviewed and ruled a run-scoring double by New York's Anthony Volpe during the sixth inning in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (1024x682, AR: 1.501466275659824)
Junior Caminero singled ahead of Mesa's homer on a sweeper, the first longball Fried allowed to a left-handed hitter since August 2025.
Ian Seymour pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings and Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth.
Bryan Baker pitched the ninth, striking out Trent Grisham with a runner at second to become the first pitcher with three saves and no hits allowed in a three-game postseason sweep.
"We’re going to have to bring it in the ALCS and keep playing our type of baseball,” Baker said.
Seeking its first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on Sept. 22. New York opened the season with MLB's third-highest payroll at $303 million while the Rays were 26th at $91 million.
"We're feeling great. The best team in the world right here," said Caminero, who celebrated on the field by making a "sweeping" motion. "We play every single game, inning by inning, pitch by pitch. We got the support of all these guys here. We played really good baseball. We're not yet done.
"Now, the Yankeeeeees lose! Yankeeeeees lose!"
Swept in a best-of-five postseason matchup for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th straight season without a World Series crown. That equaled their longest drought since winning their first championship in 1923, a gap between titles in 1978 and '96.
https://x.com/MLB/status/2108050819757281701
“The ending is terrible,” Boone said. “It’s a broken clubhouse.”
Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed the postseason after straining a calf on Sept. 16. The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after May 31 because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team couldn't overcome. New York batted .130 in the series and was outscored 10-5.
ALSO READ: 'Small-ball' Rays beat sloppy Yankees 5-2, build a 2-0 lead in AL Division Series
“There’s a standard to win a championship, and it’s black and white," Judge said. "There’s no gray area."
After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.
“This is my fourth season. It’s been far too many times having this taste in your mouth,” Volpe said. “There’s too many chips added to your shoulder that it just feels like enough’s enough.”
ALSO READ: Rays, Rasmussen shut down Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of AL Division Series
Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with an RBI single in the third and Ben Rice tied the score against Nick Martinez with a single in the bottom half, his eighth RBI of the postseason.
Vilade's opposite-field, 340-foot drive in the fourth landed just over the right-field short porch. The ball, just over the glove of a jumping Jones, would not have been out of any other big league ballpark.
https://x.com/TNTSportsUS/status/2108041242311299213
Volpe, starting at second base in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr., hit a 96.6 mph liner off Martinez’s back with two outs in the fourth for an infield single, and Seymour relieved. Jones’ opposite-field double landed beyond Mesa, driving in Volpe.
"We knew it was going to be a hostile environment," Martinez said. "We knew if we brought the energy and fought for every pitch, we had a chance."
The Yankees left the ballpark dejected.
“We didn’t meet the expectations of the fans and this organization," ace Cam Schlittler said. “There’s a certain standard of being a Yankee and we didn’t fulfill that.”
Tampa Bay closer Bryan Baker celebrates the final out that secured the Rays' 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in New York. (1024x682, AR: 1.501466275659824)