Rays sweep Yankees
The Tampa Bay Rays swept the New York Yankees — their first sweep of New York since April 2021 — a result listed among early‑season MLB highlights (x.com). The same slate of highlights noted homers from Brice Turang and Colson Montgomery in other games that night ( ).
Tampa Bay swept New York over the weekend, beating the Yankees 5-3, 5-4 in 10 innings, and 5-4 for the club’s first three-game sweep of New York since April 16-18, 2021. (mlb.com) The opener on Friday, April 10, turned when Yandy Díaz hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Luis Gil, his third home run of the season, after the Rays had already committed an early fielding error. Steven Matz then settled in for five innings, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win at Tropicana Field. (mlb.com, espn.com) Game 2 on Saturday went 10 innings before José Caballero drove in the winning run in a 5-4 Rays victory. The win pushed Tampa Bay back to.500 at 7-7 and guaranteed the series before Sunday’s finale. (espn.com, espn.com) The sweep mattered because Tampa Bay entered Sunday still trying to climb out of an uneven start. The Rays finished the weekend 8-7, their first time above.500 this season, while the Yankees fell to 8-7 after a fifth straight loss. (espn.com) It also stood out because the Yankees had opened the season 8-2 and arrived in St. Petersburg leading the American League East. Three losses in three days flipped the early division picture and gave Tampa Bay its first head-to-head statement inside the division. (espn.com, baseball-reference.com) Sunday’s finale was built on Drew Rasmussen, who returned after missing time for the birth of his daughter and threw six scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, struck out seven, walked none, and retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced in the 5-4 win. (mlb.com, espn.com) The Rays also got a jolt from Chandler Simpson, who went 3 for 4 on Sunday, scored twice, stole his seventh base, and reached base in all 15 games this season. Kevin Cash had moved Simpson into the leadoff spot on Friday, and the lineup change paid off immediately against New York’s pitching. (espn.com, mlb.com) The previous Rays sweep of the Yankees came in the Bronx in April 2021, when Tampa Bay won 8-2, 6-3, and 4-2. This one came in St. Petersburg, with all three games decided by two runs or fewer. (baseball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com, baseball-reference.com) By Sunday afternoon, the story was simple: Tampa Bay played cleaner baseball after its shaky start, got enough early offense in every game, and held off every late Yankees push. Four years after its last sweep of New York, the Rays did it again and left the first American League East meeting of 2026 with all three wins. (mlb.com, mlb.com, espn.com)
