Rays finish Yankees sweep after Volpe home run overturned on review

Tampa Bay eliminated the New York Yankees from the playoffs on Wednesday, winning 4-3 at Yankee Stadium to complete a three-game American League Division Series sweep. Victor Mesa Jr. broke a sixth-inning tie with a two-run homer against Max Fried, while a review later in the inning denied New York an apparent equaliser, Field Level Media reported.

Watch the highlights:

Anthony Volpe initially received credit for a two-run home run against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. A spectator had reached beyond the left-field fence and made contact with the ball. Following the review, Volpe was sent to second base with a run-scoring double instead, leaving the Yankees trailing by one.

Tampa Bay protected that margin through the remaining innings. According to Field Level Media, Cam Booser recorded the first two outs in the eighth before Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton. Bryan Baker then left a runner on base in the ninth, striking out Trent Grisham to finish the game and collect his third save of the series.

The Associated Press reported that replay umpire Malachi Moore determined Volpe’s drive would neither have cleared the wall nor been caught by Mesa. George Lombard Jr. was allowed to score from first on the play. Jax struck out Spencer Jones to end the inning, preventing New York from turning the revised decision into a tying rally.

Mesa had arrived in Tampa Bay after Miami designated him for assignment ahead of spring training and subsequently traded him, according to AP. His fellow home-run hitter on Wednesday, Ryan Vilade, was with his sixth major league organisation. Their contributions helped send the Rays to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020.

Tampa Bay will host either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS opener on Monday, AP reported. For the Yankees, the defeat ended a postseason in which captain Aaron Judge was unavailable after a calf strain. New York hit .130 across the three games against Tampa Bay and scored five runs while conceding 10.