THE Tampa Bay Rays will seek to recapture last year’s postseason buzz as they open their American League Division Series (ALDS) against the AL East rival Boston Red Sox on Thursday night in St. Petersburg, FL.
Last season, the Rays secured their first AL pennant since 2008 to set up a World Series matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays pushed the Dodgers to six games before ultimately falling short of their first title in franchise history.
One year later, Tampa Bay is again in good position to make a deep postseason run. With a 100-62 record, the Rays reached the century mark in victories for the first time ever while finishing eight games ahead of Boston atop the AL East standings.
Boston went 92-70 to claim the top AL wild card spot before defeating the rival New York Yankees (6-2) in the wild card game on Tuesday to set up their best-of-five ALDS matchup with Tampa Bay.
Despite posting their worst attendance figures in the franchise’s 24-year history amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Rays are expecting to get a big boost from their Tropicana Field crowd as they host postseason baseball for a third consecutive season. — Reuters