HOUSTON — Much as they did for most of this season of ups and downs, the Rays rebounded from the disappointment of the previous night to win their way into the playoffs Friday, beating the Astros, 7-3.
In reaching the postseason for a fourth straight season, the Rays joined the Blue Jays in the three-team American League wild-card field, with the Mariners needing a win in their late game to complete the grouping.
“It’s really exciting,” pitcher Shane McClanahan said before the game. “I’m really proud of this team. We’ve battled all year, we’ve fought, we’ve endured a lot of stuff. And to be in the situation we are now, where we have the opportunity to clinch, is something really special.”
They planned to have quite a celebration, with 200 bottles of champagne and 60 cases of beer (30 Bud, 30 Bud Light) chilled and ready to be popped, sprayed and poured in their Minute Maid Park clubhouse.
Still to be determined over the final five days of the season is the seeding, with a considerable benefit to finishing on top: hosting one the best-of-three, one-site wild-card Series next weekend. The second wild-card team plays at the first, with the third at the AL Central champion Guardians.
The Rays (86-71) are two games behind the 88-69 Jays (who beat the Red Sox) and either 1/2 ahead or behind the Mariners, pending the result of their late game against the Angels.
The Rays were in position to clinch the playoff berth on Thursday, with the Orioles losing in the afternoon. All they needed was a win over Cleveland and they were in. They were on their way, taking a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning but lost as the Guardians rallied, leaving them disappointed.
Friday, they had two chances to get in. One was a loss by the Orioles, whose game started 65 minutes earlier, but Baltimore beat the Yankees, 2-1, their game ending as the Rays were hitting in the top of the eighth. So the Rays had to beat the Astros to pop bottles.
They took a 1-0 lead in the first, sparked by a leadoff walk by Yandy Diaz, who had a big night in his return to the lineup for the first time since Sept. 19. Diaz and Randy Arozarena drew walks, and Harold Ramirez delivered a two-out RBI single.
The Astros tied it with a homer by Alex Bregman off Drew Rasmussen, then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Manuel Margot had trouble with two balls hit to right field.
But the Rays came roaring back.
They got two runs in the fifth when Diaz (who had three hits) singled, Arozarena tripled and Franco singled to make it 3-2. They added three more in the sixth when Francisco Mejia singled, Jose Siri doubled in one run and Diaz doubled in two more.
Rasmussen delivered a dazzling start, working seven strong innings, and throwing only 73 pitches.
The Rays’ celebration comes in a season in which they dealt with extensive injuries (30 players sidelined 41 times) and inconsistent performances, and in a season that seemed, at several points, to be headed instead to a disappointing ending.
“There’s been a lot of back and forth, but happy with the way the guys have withstood a lot of it,” manager Kevin Cash said. “There’s certainly been adversity, just with the injuries that have taken place. Those are gut punches that we felt throughout the course of the season.”
The low point was the July 8-10 weekend in Cincinnati.
They were swept by the lowly Reds, losing twice on extra-inning walk-offs, to drop to 45-40 and lost center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, shortstop Wander Franco and starter Shane Baz to serious injuries that required surgery. Kiermaier (hip) and Baz (elbow) were done for the season, while Franco (hand) missed two months.
And there were others:
In mid-June, they went 2-7 on a trip to Minnesota, New York (a three-game Yankees sweep) and Baltimore, then came home to lose another two of three to the Yankees, as well as outfielder Manuel Margot (knee) for two months, on top of second baseman Brandon Lowe (back) and catcher Mike Zunino (shoulder) being already sidelined.
They came out of the mid-July All-Star break losing eight of 11, an Aug. 12 loss dropping them from the six-team playoff field. Ace Shane McClanahan was scratched from an Aug. 30 start in Miami with what initially looked like a serious injury.
“This team has been through a lot this year,” reliever Brooks Raley said. “We’ve overcome a lot. These guys have done nothing but show up and compete every day.”
The Rays are headed to the postseason for the fourth straight season and eighth time in 15, starting with their unexpected 2008 run.
This is the fourth time they earned their way in as a wild-card team, and in the third different format. In 2011 they won the sole wild-card spot (thanks to Game 162), in 2013 and 2019 they were the second wild-card and won a one-game playoff on the road (at Cleveland and at Oakland); this year, it is a three-team field with best-of-three playoff series all at one site.
