Game result and context
Tampa Bay Rays beat Athletics 10-1 as clinched division leaders improve to 93-59
A six-run fourth inning broke open a scoreless game, and the Tampa Bay Rays rolled to a 10-1 win over the Athletics. Drew Rasmussen earned his 15th win, and the division champion Rays moved to 93-59 while the eliminated Athletics fell to 61-92.
Final result
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Athletics 10-1 on September 17, 2026, at Tropicana Field. The game went nine innings before a crowd of 12,305.
Tampa Bay improved to 93-59. The Athletics dropped to 61-92.
How the game changed
Neither team scored through three innings. Then the Rays sent the game in one direction, putting up 6 runs in the bottom of the fourth.
The Athletics got on the board in the top of the sixth when Lawrence Butler hit a solo home run. Tampa Bay answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth and added 2 more in the eighth to close out the scoring.
Key performances
Drew Rasmussen started for the Rays and worked 5.0 innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out 3 and picked up the win, improving to 15-5.
Chandler Simpson had 2 hits in 5 at-bats, scored 2 runs and drove in 2. Liam Hicks added 2 hits and 2 RBIs. Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls each drove in 2 runs as well, with one hit apiece.
For the Athletics, Butler went 2 for 4 with the home run, a run scored and the team's lone RBI. It was the only home run of the game.
Season and playoff context
As of September 17, the Rays sat first in their division and had already clinched it. The win pushed their record to 93-59, a .612 winning percentage.
The Athletics are fourth in their division, 16.0 games back, and 11th in the wild-card race, 17.0 games back. They have been eliminated from both division and wild-card contention.
Series context
This was the third and final game of a three-game regular-season series between the teams in Tampa Bay.