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Another Yankees season ended in disappointment Wednesday night when the Tampa Bay Rays came to Yankee Stadium and finished off a sweep in the AL Division Series. 

The Rays beat the Yanks, 4-3, in Game 3 of the best-of-five affair, meaning the Bronx Bombers are still without a World Series title since 2009, a drought that equals the 17 years without a title the club endured from 1979 through 1995.

The Yankees rallied from several deficits Wednesday and had seemingly tied the score in the sixth inning, though a flashback to 1996 did not go the Yankees’ way – fan interference made Anthony Volpe settle for an RBI double instead of a tying two-run homer. 

The Rays’ celebration of their berth in the ALCS was their second party of the season at Yankee Stadium – they also clinched the AL East title in the Bronx.

Here are the main takeaways...

-- The Yankee offense was horrid throughout the series, with failure up and down the lineup. They had seven hits in Game 3, but that was more than half their total for the series. The Yanks went 12-for-89 (.135) and scored just five runs in three games. They had a .247 slugging percentage and a .436 OPS. Trent Grisham was 0-for-11. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was 0-for-8, Cody Bellinger was 1-for-12, Luis García Jr. was 1-for-10 and Spencer Jones was 1-for-9. 

-- Manager Aaron Boone made some lineup changes for Game 3 hoping for a spark and he got one, at least from his move of inserting Anthony Volpe at second base in place of Chisholm. Volpe singled and scored in the fourth inning and then hit one of the most impactful balls of the night in the sixth. José Caballero, who started at third in place of Ryan McMahon, was 0-for-2. Boone also moved Grisham to the leadoff spot, but he fizzled, going 0-for-5.

-- In the ninth, the Yankees got the tying run into scoring position, to no avail. Rays closer Bryan Baker struck out Volpe leading off but then walked Jones on four pitches. Baker then got Chisholm, who had entered two innings earlier as a pinch-hitter, to ground into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Chisholm stole second to put the tying run in scoring position, but Baker struck out Grisham to end the game and the Yankee season. 

-- Twice before in best-of-five division series play, the Yankees had lost the first two games and rallied to win the series. The first time it happened was in 2001 against Oakland, the series in which Derek Jeter made the Flip Play, and the other was in 2017 against Cleveland. But it was not to be this time. 

-- With two outs in the sixth, a runner on first and the Yanks down by two, Volpe lofted a ball toward the stands in left field that kept carrying. Fans reached for the ball as Victor Mesa Jr. leapt for it and the play was originally ruled a home run, which would have tied the score. But a lengthy crew chief review determined that there was spectator interference – fans’ hands clearly grabbed for the ball in the field of play. It was reminiscent of ‘96 and the Jeffrey Maier incident, though that one worked out better for the Yanks. Volpe was placed at second and umps ruled that George Lombard Jr. would have scored from first base. Rays manager Kevin Cash came out to argue, but the Rays' lead was trimmed to 4-3. 

-- The Rays snapped a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth inning by scoring with two outs and knocking out Yankee starter Max Fried. First, Junior Caminero hit a single up the middle. Then Mesa, a lefty hitter who enjoyed so much success against lefties this year in a limited sample (.333 in 60 at-bats) that he was moved up to cleanup against Fried, smacked a 401-foot home run to right-center. The blast gave Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead. 

-- Fried threw 5.2 innings and allowed four runs and seven hits while striking out seven and walking none. He was fine, but never seemed to be able to stop the Rays and gave up home runs to Ryan Vilade and Mesa. In 26 postseason games (16 starts) in his career, Fried has a 5.11 ERA. 

-- The Rays broke through against Fried in the third for a 1-0 lead and it could’ve been worse if they had not gambled on the bases. With two outs and runners on first and second, Jonathan Aranda smacked a single to right field. Jonny DeLuca scored and Aranda got hung up between first and second when Jones’ throw home was cut off. Taylor Walls, who had raced to third on the hit, broke for home and was erased in a rundown, 9-3-6-2. The Rays, clearly trying to force the Yankees to make a play, might have built a bigger inning if they had been more cautious. Before Aranda’s hit, the Rays had been 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position in the series. 

-- The Yanks tied the score at 1 in the bottom half of the third thanks to – who else? – Ben Rice. Entering the night, Rice’s pair of solo home runs in Game 2 were the only runs the Yanks had mustered in the series. In the third, he hit a two-out, RBI single to score Jones, who had walked. At that point, Rice had driven in nine of the Yankees’ 21 runs this postseason. 

-- A half-inning after he leapt at the wall and just missed Vilade’s Yankee Stadium homer in right field, Jones re-tied the score at 2 with an RBI double. First, the homer – Vilade swatted an outside pitch from Fried 340 feet to right and Jones, who is 6-foot-7, leapt to try to snare it but the ball was out of his reach. It was Vilade’s first career postseason longball in his first career postseason game and it gave the Rays a 2-1 lead. It was also a drive that would have been a home run in only one park – the one the game was played in. Then with two outs in the bottom of the frame, Volpe smacked a 97 mph liner off Rays starter Nick Martinez for a hit. Tampa Bay went to its bullpen for lefty Ian Seymour to face Jones, who is comfortable against same-side pitchers – he batted .389 against lefties during the regular season. Jones hit a liner to the opposite field, past Mesa. Volpe sprinted from first to score and Jones took third on the throw home and was credited with a two-bagger.

-- The Yankees turned a pretty rare 6-5-3 double play in the first inning, thanks to third baseman Caballero being shifted toward the second base bag against Aranda, a lefty. Aranda hit a hard grounder to shortstop Lombard and Lombard flipped to Caballero, presumably because Caballero was so close to the bag and moving in the direction of first base. Volpe, playing second, was there, too. Caballero touched second and threw to first for the twin kill. Nifty collab.

-- After the Yanks used Chisholm as a pinch-hitter for Caballero, he remained in the game to play second base and Volpe moved from second to third. Entering the game, Volpe had exactly one appearance in the major leagues at third. He fielded his first chance cleanly Wednesday. 

-- Boone took a shot with Giancarlo Stanton as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with a runner on first and two out. The Rays brought in righty reliever Kevin Kelly to face Stanton, who was 0-for-1 in the series entering the game. Kelly struck him out on a 2-2 changeup clocked at 85 mph, ending the frame.

Highlights

It's a 6-5-3 double play for the Yankees! Lombard Jr. ➡️ Caballero ➡️ Garcia Jr. https://t.co/eNCkOJu1fZ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

Max Fried fans Junior Caminero and faces the minimum in the first https://t.co/RZKoHpu8FN

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

BEN RICE AGAIN! Tie game in the third! https://t.co/exeyjckPfE

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

George Lombard Jr. with the barehand! https://t.co/dipLQAYq8F

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

WE'RE TIED AGAIN! Spencer Jones brings home Anthony Volpe! https://t.co/66bDHbaWgX

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

Anthony Volpe makes it 4-3 with an RBI double. The play was initially ruled a two-run home run, but was overturned upon review due to fan interference. https://t.co/qGMiKDUrRY

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 8, 2026

What's next

The Yankees will have an entire offseason to try and build another postseason contender as they look for their first World Series win since 2009.

He’s out of there! 

The Yankee fan who brought back flashbacks of the 1996 incident involving Jeffrey Maier was escorted out of Yankee Stadium after he stuck his arms out over the ledge of the wall in left field to catch a ball hit by Anthony Volpe in the bottom of the sixth in ALDS Game 3.

It led to a lengthy review and overturned what would have been a game-tying home run due to spectator interference in what became a season-ending 4-3 loss for the Yankees on Wednesday night.

Video showed the Yankee fan, who was wearing a dark blue bomber jacket, being walked out of the outfield stands by a uniformed member of the NYPD and what appeared to be several members of Yankee Stadium security. 

He was also leaving with another fan, who was wearing a pinstriped Yankees jacket and cap. 

In another clip that circulated online after the controversial moment, security staff was seen approaching the fan in his seat almost immediately after the replay ruled on the fan interference call, which led to Volpe being awarded an RBI double, meaning only one run scored.

Yankee fans around them did not appear to have too much of a reaction toward the spectator as he exited with stadium staff. 

The Rays got out of the inning with a 4-3 lead, the same score as the final. 

The incident had a very close similarity to the infamous Maier incident in the 1996 ALCS between the Yankees and Orioles, when the then-young fan helped get a Derek Jeter home run over the wall in right field of the old stadium. 

In a statement, Major League Baseball said it had “definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play” after looking at “all relevant angles.” 

“The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call is OVERTURNED, there was spectator interference and no home run,” the league said in a statement. “Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at second.” 

Before the Los Angeles Dodgers were ready to pop the bottles of champagne, they had to remind the San Diego Padres they kept the receipts.

As manager Dave Roberts was addressing the team following a 4-1 victory against the Atlanta Braves to advance to the NLCS, he was telling them there is no “more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers” and reminded them that they are “smarter, we’re better, and we’re tougher.”

As he was finishing up, a member of the Dodgers organization was heard adding to Roberts’ speech by saying, “And we’re dinosaurs.”

While the member of the organization acknowledged they are a “dinosaur,” it might’ve gone completely over Roberts’ head as he continued to speak to his team.

The term “dinosaurs” was the latest jab added to the Dodgers and Padres rivalry when new San Diego owner, José E. Feliciano, made a statement that some took as a jab at the Dodgers by saying, “The owner of the Dodgers owns a lot of dinosaurs,” just before San Diego played Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs.

While it’s unknown who confirmed the Dodgers are “dinosaurs,” the fans speculated that it might’ve been Miguel Rojas as @JustRay122 commented on X saying, “Was that Miggy Ro with the ‘we’re dinosaurs’ ”

The fans are also embracing being dinosaurs, as “kida_kudz wrote, “We’re smarter, we’re better, we’re tougher, and we’re dinosaurs.”

Other fans are hoping the Dodgers take the dinosaur jab as a new marketing opportunity, as @KennyJ1975 commented, “If the Padres face us, the @Dodgers need to market dinosaur skeletons as much as possible. Make them mean, not friendly.”

While the Dodgers are celebrating the victory, they’re waiting to find out who their NLCS opponent will be as the Brewers currently have a 2-1 series lead over the Padres.

In the end, the Yankees really did run it back. 

From the bulk of their offseason all the way down to a repeat October exit in the ALDS against the division foe who was simply better than them all season. 

For the 17th straight year, the Yankees will not be World Series champions, this time falling woefully short of a 28th title as they were swept out of the ALDS in three games by the Rays in a 4-3 loss Wednesday night at a sold-out Yankee Stadium. 

After the Yankees lineup let them down in Game 1 and their defense joined in to fail them in Game 2, their bats were held in check once again in Game 3 and Max Fried could not limit the damage, resulting in an all-too-familiar feeling in The Bronx. 

“It’s the worst fricking feeling in the world,” said manager Aaron Boone, whose voice was heavy after leaving a clubhouse full of hugs and goodbyes. 

The playoff run ended with Aaron Judge watching from the dugout, the Yankees unable to get deep enough to give their captain a chance to return from a right calf strain that he suffered in mid-September. After they survived the three-time MVP missing over half the regular season with a right rib stress fracture, the Yankees could not do the same in October, so Judge was one of the last ones left in the dugout watching another team celebrate on their field once again. 

“Just hating every single moment of it,” Judge said. “Thinking about the whole year, thinking about missed opportunities in the season, in that series, things we could have improved on, things I can improve on.” 

And so, a year after they bailed out of the ALDS in four games against the AL East champion Blue Jays, the Yankees played their way into another early exit, entering another offseason in which they will face more questions about how they might finally end their drought — if and when baseball is played next year with a labor battle looming. 

Boone, who has guided the Yankees to plenty of regular-season success across his nine years at the helm, has a year left on his contract. But with the repeated playoff failures of his team, will he get a 10th season? 

Brian Cashman’s contract is up, though the longtime GM still seems likely to return barring a stunner from Hal Steinbrenner. 

“[The front office] gives us a winning team every single year, but that’s not good enough here, in New York,” Judge said. “We’re the Yankees. You got to go out and expect championships and go all in every year. So I’m excited to see what they do.” 

After clobbering the Red Sox in a wild-card series in which they never trailed, the Yankees never led against the Rays. They mustered all of five runs across the three games, their lineup outside of Ben Rice coming up small. 

“They outplayed us, plain and simple,” Rice said. “Outpitched us. Outhit us. It’s really that simple. … It’s a failure. We weren’t able to get the job done.” 

Rice was on deck in the ninth inning when Trent Grisham — taking over the leadoff spot for Rice in Game 3 with Boone trying to get men on base in front of Rice — with the tying run on second, chased a pitch well out of the zone to end it. 

Twice after the Yankees had tied the game, Fried gave up a home run to hand the Rays the lead back. The second came in the sixth, when Fried hung a sweeper and by the time Victor Mesa Jr. put a swing on it, the left-hander had dropped to his knee because he knew what was coming. Mesa’s two-run shot sailed high and far into the right field seats, giving the Rays a 4-2 lead. 

In the bottom of the frame, the Yankees briefly thought they had tied it on a two-run homer from Anthony Volpe that had the building shaking. But replays showed a fan reached over the left field wall to interfere with the ball that was not going to clear the fence, and after a crew-chief initiated video review, the play was ruled an RBI double to make it a 4-3 game. Spencer Jones then struck out to strand Volpe at second. 

A few innings later, it was the same song and dance inside the Yankees clubhouse. 

“This is my fourth season, it’s been four too many times having this taste in my mouth,” Volpe said. “At this point, I don’t even think ‘motivated’ is the right word. I think it’s just pissed off. … I just feel like there’s too many chips added to your shoulder that it just feels like enough’s enough.”

San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo home run off a pitch by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Robert Gasser in Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

It was Tatis' eighth postseason career home run in 22 games.

The home run served as a quick response to the Brewers' run scored earlier in the inning. The game is tied at one.

The Padres find themselves in a must-win situation for a second consecutive night after losing in the first two games in the series in Milwaukee.

Super El Niño 🔥 pic.twitter.com/K5ev3Y1CDA

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 8, 2026

Moments before the Padres and Brewers started Game 4 of the NLDS, San Diego had a former legend kick things off.

Former Padres pitcher Jake Peavy was joined by former infielder and coach Tim Flannery on Wednesday night, and the two opened the game by performing the national anthem.

As Flannery kicked off the anthem, started strumming his guitar and singing, Peavy was standing right beside him and was participating in the song.

When the two were nearing the end and sang, “O say does that star spangle, banner yet wave,” they received a large round of applause from the San Diego fans who sold out Petco Park.

For Peavy, playing music has become a passion he’s fully embraced in his post-playing career, as he performs in a band called “Jake Peavy & The Outsiders.”

It’s also not the first time Peavy has combined baseball and music at the same time, as he was spotted playing an electric guitar during a live broadcast between the Mariners and Padres last May.

Peavy played eight seasons in a Padres uniform until he was traded by the team in the middle of the 2009 season to the Chicago White Sox.

In 2007, Peavy had a Cy Young season for the Padres, when he won 19 games and pitched with a 2.54 ERA, while having 240 strikeouts.

Peavy was a back-to-back World Series champion when he played for the Red Sox in 2013 and the Giants in 2014.

In 2023, Peavy was inducted to the Padres Hall of Fame.

As San Diego is taking on Milwaukee, they are hoping to even the series at after avoiding elimination in Tuesday night’s 4-3 win.

The on-field celebration was so brief you could have missed it, as appropriate for Game 62 in Phoenix as a clinching Game 4 of the National League Division Series. The clubhouse histrionics were soggy, the words from Miguel Rojas and Dave Roberts poignant as ever, befitting a journey that’s now reached 166 games. Yet the booze fountain slowed after a 10-minute burst.

When you win your eighth consecutive postseason series, are aiming for your third consecutive World Series championship, all part of 14 consecutive trips to the playoffs, there’s a certain mastery in toeing the fine line between “act like you’ve been there” and appreciating just how very hard it is.

The Dodgers know. And this particular romp through October is about to get much more difficult.

The Atlanta Braves made the Dodgers aware of their own mortality for about 36 hours of this National League Division Series. And then a Braves team that was outmanned in the best of times but significantly diminished after surviving a wild card series folded in the face of all that deluxe Dodgers depth.

This NLDS ended Wednesday, Oct. 7, when the Dodgers pushed across three runs in the final three innings to register a 4-1 victory and eliminate Atlanta in four games.

It was workmanlike, “grindy,” as they like to say, in some ways an ideal level of rigor to begin this playoff run. Yet the Braves’ ample resistance was, due to their three-game survival of their wild-card series against Philadelphia, compromised.

To steal a metaphor from Atlanta’s exurban ballpark, the Dodgers Beat the Freeze. But in the National League Championship Series and, perhaps, World Series to come, they’ll no longer have a head start.

“We understand that the job’s not done. We have eight more wins. Stay focused,” Roberts told his team. “There’s no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’re smarter, we’re better and we’re tougher.”

Probably all true. Yet it’s fair to wonder if “better” applies when it matters most – right now.

The Dodgers won 100 games, yet a bevy of injuries and ailments that dogged them in the latter portion of the season seemed evident against Atlanta.