Rays Will Be Facing Yankees Best With AL East on the Line

The Tampa Bay Rays know which New York Yankees pitchers they will be facing in their series next week.

Sep 8, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Rays have already clinched a spot in the MLB playoffs, shifting their focus entirely to earning the No. 1 seed in the American League and winning the AL East.

To accomplish that feat, the Rays are going to have to hold off the New York Yankees. Every day they are inching closer and closer to securing the division crown, with their Magic Number now in single digits.

Each victory Tampa Bay secures, or loss by the Yankees, takes one digit off their Magic Number. The earliest the Rays can clinch the division is Sept. 20, should they win out and New York loses all of its games. An unlikely scenario, which sets the table for a massive series next week.

The #Rays - whose magic number is 9 - can clinch the AL East as early as Sunday, September 20th, per @MLB.

Of course, the Rays would have to win out and the #Yankees drop their next four. That's unlikely.

— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) September 16, 2026

The Rays are heading to Yankee Stadium for a four-game set; a doubleheader on Sept. 22, followed by single games on the 23rd and 24th. Tampa Bay needs to win one of those games to secure the season-long tiebreaker, which would give them a massive edge in such a close race.

Rays know which Yankees pitchers they will face

Sep 6, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Of course, picking up victories over the Yankees is easier said than done, especially because the Rays are going to be facing the very best that New York has to offer on the mound. As shared by Greg Joyce of New York Post Sports on X, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has set his rotation for the weekend with an eye toward the Tampa Bay series.

New York isn’t making any adjustments, staying on turn for their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with an off day Monday. That means they have set their rotation for the series accordingly; Max Fried and Carlos Rodon will start the doubleheader games. Gerrit Cole is taking the mound in Game 3, and Cam Schlittler will toe the rubber for the series finale.

That is going to be a tall task for the Rays to overcome. But if they can handle business the rest of the week against the Athletics and Boston Red Sox, they will take a lot of pressure off heading into the four-game set with the Yankees.

The Yankees are planning on staying on turn for the Diamondbacks series this weekend, meaning their rotation for the four-game showdown against the Rays next weekend lines up to be:

Tues. doubleheader - Fried and Rodón
Weds. - Cole
Thurs. - Schlittler

— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) September 16, 2026

As of now, Tampa Bay has yet to announce who will be starting for the doubleheader. Like New York, the Rays are off Monday, so they can make adjustments and set things accordingly. With the possibility of clinching the No. 1 seed and a bye within reach, manager Kevin Cash could switch things on the fly.

Currently, Ian Seymour is scheduled to take the ball against Cole, with Freddy Peralta on the bump against Schlittler. If Cash opts to stay on schedule as Boone did, Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen will take the ball in the doubleheader.