ST. PETERSBURG — As Rays manager Kevin Cash addressed his team to begin their post-clinching celebration inside Tropicana Field’s home clubhouse, he encouraged them to enjoy everything they accomplished Friday night but made sure to add, “We’ve got more meat on the bone, believe me.”
And no, he wasn’t talking about the tomahawk steaks that Yandy Díaz and others were eating as they walked around the beer-soaked room.
As proud as the Rays were to officially claim a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2023, they have done enough to aim even higher. Having spent so much of the season with the best record in the American League, anything less than an AL East title — and a first-round bye — would feel like a consolation prize.
So, as soon as they returned to their clean and mostly dry clubhouse on Saturday afternoon, the Rays quickly reset their focus and got back to business in a 3-2 win over the Astros before a crowd of 24,642 at the Trop on Saturday night.
“Yesterday was yesterday. We enjoyed it, but today is a new day and we’re moving forward now,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “It’s a matter of the next objective that we’ve had all year, and that’s winning the division.”
Thanks to the Yankees’ 12-2 loss to the Mets, the Rays’ edge in the AL East increased to four games with 14 remaining. The four games they’ll play at Yankee Stadium from Sept. 22-24 still loom large, but adding to their lead now can only help their cause before that showdown of a series.
“It’s just a testament to sort of where we want to go,” left-hander Ian Seymour said. “Obviously, celebrating a postseason berth is a joy, but that’s far from what this team wants to accomplish. So it’s good to set the tone after that today, for sure.”
They took another step in that direction in another close, tightly contested victory against the Astros. Seymour struck out 10 over six innings but left with the score tied at 2-2, then the Rays pulled ahead for good in the seventh.
Liam Hicks led off the inning with a double, and Chandler Simpson legged out a potential double-play grounder to put runners on the corners with one out. Up came Nick Madrigal, pinch-hitting for Cedric Mullins against lefty reliever Bennett Sousa.
Madrigal has been with the Rays for less than a week, but Cash felt comfortable turning to him in a big spot due to his long-established ability to put the ball in play. Meanwhile, Madrigal spent the entire day preparing for the moment his name was called.
Madrigal lifted the third pitch he saw out to center field, and pinch-runner Kenny Piper dashed home to score the go-ahead run on Madrigal’s sacrifice fly.
“I felt like I wasn’t trying to overthink the situation. I felt calm in there, and I know my job was to get the guy home from third,” Madrigal said. “I had a good scouting report going into it and just tried to slow the game down as best I could, and I wasn’t trying to do too much. I felt comfortable in the moment, and luckily it worked out for us.”
Rookie Ty Johnson, auditioning for a bigger role down the stretch and beyond, picked up two outs in the eighth. Madrigal made another key play behind closer Bryan Baker in the eighth, keeping what could have been a game-tying single by Yainer Diaz in the infield. Then Baker recorded the final four outs of the game to secure his Major League-leading 40th save.
“It’s pretty easy to feel good about everything yesterday. We celebrated it the right way, and I think everybody still showed up ready to work today,” Baker said. “I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but anytime you can pull out a win in that fashion, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.
“But especially in that situation, it was pretty sweet to go ahead and get the next win under our belt and seal the series.”
That’s why the Rays were quick to emphasize that they weren’t satisfied even as they danced, smoked cigars and chomped on what Díaz described as a “delicious” cut of meat that he finished in about five minutes late Friday night.
They’ve checked the box next to one goal, but their regular-season to-do list isn’t complete yet.
“I think now it’s more [to] have some more celebrations like we did last night,” Baker said. “I think that’s the main goal.”