The Tampa Bay Rays face the New York Yankees with a chance to clinch the AL East and evaluate their postseason pitching. Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta will test their October readiness at Yankee Stadium as Kevin Cash prepares his rotation for the MLB playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Rays have put themselves in a great position heading into the final week of the regular season, and their upcoming series against the New York Yankees could provide some important answers before the postseason begins.
After finishing their final home stand with an 8-1 record, the Rays will travel to the Bronx for four games in three days against a team they could see again in October.
And although Tampa Bay has an opportunity to clinch the AL East, I think there is something else Kevin Cash and his staff should be paying close attention to.
How will their pitching hold up at Yankee Stadium?
The Rays have found plenty of different ways to win over the last few weeks. They have won close games, put together blowout victories, and received some impressive performances from their starting rotation.
But pitching in the Bronx presents a different challenge.
Nick Martinez is scheduled to start the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, with Drew Rasmussen expected to take the mound for the nightcap.
Martinez has been one of Tampa Bay's most reliable pitchers this season, but his ability to generate contact could make things interesting at Yankee Stadium.
The short right-field porch can turn a fly ball into a home run pretty quickly, and that's something the Rays will need to account for if Martinez gets another opportunity to pitch there in October.
On the plus side, Martinez has already shown he can handle the environment, throwing six innings of one-run baseball at Yankee Stadium earlier this season.
Rasmussen has also enjoyed success against New York, including a pair of scoreless starts earlier in the year.
But there is a difference between having success in April or May and delivering when the postseason arrives.
That's why I think this series could be valuable for Tampa Bay, regardless of how quickly it clinches the division.
The Rays are coming off a home stand where they swept the Houston Astros and Athletics before taking two of three against Boston.
They didn't need their offense to score 10 runs every night, either.
On Sunday, Tampa Bay jumped on the Red Sox for four runs in the first inning, giving Griffin Jax an early lead and allowing Cash to use several different relievers throughout the game.
That flexibility has become one of this team's biggest strengths.
Now the Rays get an opportunity to see how it translates against another potential postseason opponent.
And with Martinez, Rasmussen, and Freddy Peralta expected to pitch in New York, Tampa Bay could learn quite a bit about its October plans before the regular season even ends.
