Rays Will Face Yankees in ALDS After New York Sweeps Red Sox

The Tampa Bay Rays now know who they will face in the American League Division Series. 

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 9-2 at Yankee Stadium to sweep the AL Wild Card round and advance to the ALDS, which begins this weekend at Tropicana Field. 

Here's what you need to know from the contest. 

It was a close game between the Yankees and the Red Sox until the home run ball opened things up in a big way. Cody Bellinger hit a three-run, two-out homer in the sixth inning to cap off a six-run bottom of the sixth for the Bronx Bombers. 

Overall, the Yankees picked up 14 hits, two home runs, and were 6 for 9 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox pitching staff just didn't have an answer in the back half of this ballgame. 

The Yankees went with left-hander Max Fried on the mound for Game 2, and he did exactly what was needed of him to help the team move on. Fried recorded six strikeouts across six innings of work and only allowed one earned run off three hits across 98 pitches. 

Fried and the rest of the Yankees' bullpen held Red Sox hitting to just four hits on the day, an impressive feat that Tampa Bay's batting order will probably want to pay attention to. At the end of the regular season, the Rays struggled with strikeouts and had very limited hits in their series against the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. 

With the Yankees sweeping the Red Sox, they now have a little bit of rest before having to travel to Tampa and play another game for the ALDS series opener. That means they'll have a full pitching staff ready to go for Game 1 and the entire series at Tropicana Field. It's an advantage you are hoping to have from getting a bye, and now it doesn't seem too advantageous after all. 

The Yankees can also manipulate their rotation differently to help them be more prepared for the beginning of the series. Gerrit Cole, who has won Cy Youngs in the past, still isn't the same after coming off Tommy John surgery this past offseason. He was scheduled to be the Game 1 starter, but because of how the Yankees' series went with Boston, he could be pushed another day to Game 2. 

Regardless, the best-of-five series will begin on Saturday, and the winner will go to the American League Championship Series with a chance at going to the World Series. Drew Rasmussen is set to get the start for Game 1 for the Rays. First pitch on Saturday, game 1 is scheduled for 6:30 pm Eastern.