Rays ride small ball, Drew Rasmussen gem past Yankees to secure AL East, No. 1 seed

With the AL East title on the line Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees offered up a pitchers' duel.

Drew Rasmussen did his part with 6 2/3 one-hit innings to lead the Rays to a 6-1 win over Max Fried and the Yankees . With the victory, the Rays clinched the AL East and sent the Yankees to the wild-card round, where New York is planning to play without Aaron Judge .

The Rays also clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs. Whoever wins the AL Central and AL West can't catch Tampa Bay , which improved to 96-61, far and away the best record in the AL.

The Yankees — at 90-67 with the loss — are the second team in the AL standings. They're relegated to the wild-card round, but they're locked into the No. 4 seed and home-field advantage once there, thanks to a win over the Rays in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader.

Rasmussen delivers with division on the line

Rasmussen had dominated the Yankees in four career starts at Yankee Stadium prior to Tuesday, with a 0.72 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 25 innings. He brought more of the same his fifth time out.

Rasmussen set the tone early by striking out the first three hitters he faced.

Rasmussen's signature cutter repeatedly perplexed Yankees hitters and accounted for strike-3 on seven of his 11 strikeouts. New York didn't log a hit off Rasmussen until a leadoff double by Heliot Ramos in the top of the seventh.

Rasmussen got two more outs before a walk of Jazz Chisholm ended his night. Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled him one out short of finishing the seventh due to Rasmussen's career-high pitch count of 114. Ramos came around to score, but the Yankees failed to mount a threat from there.

When it was done, Rasmussen had secured a line to remember, with 1 hit, 3 walks, 1 earned run and 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings on the night Tampa Bay clinched the AL East over the rival Yankees.

Small ball gets the job done again for Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay's offense did its part in typical Tampa Bay fashion, with small ball and smart baserunning.

After an infield single and a walk to lead off the top of the third inning, Taylor Walls and Cedric Mullins both tagged up on a Yandy Diaz fly ball to put runners on second and third with one out. That allowed Walls to score on a Ryan Vilade ground ball that otherwise could've resulted in an inning-ending double play.

In the seventh, the Rays added insurance with a safety squeeze. Chandler Simpson tagged up to third base on a Nick Fortes fly ball, then scored on a bunt by Walls, who reached first when the Yankees failed to cover the base.

It was the type of thoughtful, efficient offense that Tampa Bay hopes to ride through the playoffs to a World Series title.

The Rays tacked on four insurance runs that weren't necessary, thanks to Rasmussen's gem. When All-Star closer Bryan Baker finished off the Yankees in the ninth, the Rays were off to pop champagne in the visitor's clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.