SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – The dream season continues for the Tampa Bay Rays. They completed the three game sweep over the New York Yankees to advance to the franchise’s third American League Championship Series (ALCS) appearance.
The bats for Tampa Bay were powered by a pair of home runs. The first one came from Ryan Vilade who hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. That gave the Rays a 2-1 lead.
The second homer came in in the sixth inning when Victor Mesa Jr. hit a two run blast that gave Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead. They would remain in front and go on to win the ballgame 4-3.
There was a controversial moment in the bottom of the sixth inning. Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two run home run that tied the game up at four runs a piece.
However, upon further review it was determined that a fan interfered with the ball, but that Mesa Jr. was not going to be able to catch the ball anyway. Instead of a two run homer, the Yankees were rewarded a run, but Volpe was was given a double.
For the Rays, each time they have made it this far in the postseason, they advanced to the World Series (2008 and 2020). They wait now to see whether it will be the Cleaveland Guardians or Chicago White Sox that they will face in the ALCS.
Game one of the series will start on Monday night at Tropicana Field.
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