By admin 
TAMPA, Fla. – Leading up to and after Friday’s clinching of a playoff berth, the Tampa Bay Rays have been talking a lot about grander goals – about beating out the New York Yankees to win the American League East and earn a first-round bye, and then advancing through the playoffs.
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This weekend, they played like a team capable of winning a championship.
Sunday’s 14-4 win completed a three-game sweep of the AL West-leading Houston Astros, improved the Rays’ AL-leading record to 90-59, maintained their four-game division lead and lowered their magic number to win the East to 10, with a slim chance that celebration could happen this week at Tropicana Field.
The Rays took control from the beginning Sunday, building a 7-0 lead by the third inning and expanding it to 11-0 by the fifth.
They showcased a powerful offense that featured homers by Jonathan Aranda (two), Richie Palacios and Nick Fortes, and a strong performance by starter Freddy Peralta, who worked five no-hit innings, though he walked three in a messy 30-pitch third.
Fireballing rookie Brody Hopkins made his big-league debut in the sixth, and Cole Sulser, Casey Legumina and Steven Matz took it from there.
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The Rays grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first off Houston’s Hayden Wesneski.
Yandy Diaz led off with a single, Junior Caminero pulled a double down the third-base line, Victor Mesa Jr. delivered a two-run triple and Chandler Simpson’s infield out scored Mesa.
The Rays broke the game open with a four-run third, all the runs scoring with two outs. Mesa, who had singled and moved up on Chandler Simpson’s fielder’s choice grounder, scored when Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena dropped Jonny DeLuca’s pop-up to shallow left. The Rays made that error much more costly, as Palacios crushed a three-run homer, his career-high-extending 10th of the season.
The Rays kept adding on, building the lead to 11-0 in the fifth.
They got two in the fourth when Aranda hit his 20th homer of the season and Simpson singled in Mesa, who was on base for the third time.
They got two more in the fifth when Nick Madrigal, who made his first big-league appearance at shortstop, led off with a single and Fortes followed with a homer.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM.