Peterson struck out a career-high 10 against the Braves last Saturday.___More AP baseball: apnews.com/MLB and twitter.com/AP_Sports, (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. Martinez, was a smashing success, and gave the Sox the masher they needed in Ortiz's absence. American League AL East. Cash said all three players are progressing and he hopes they are available for the playoffs. “It feels great to win the division, no matter what division you’re in,” Kiermaier said. Randy Arozarena homered twice and the Rays clinched their first AL East title in 10 years Wednesday night with an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets. Each Major League Baseball (MLB) season, one American League (AL) team wins the pennant, signifying that they are the league's champion and have the right to play in the World Series against the champion of the National League (NL). “We still have a shot with the four games left and we’re competing,” manager Luis Rojas said. “So I was ecstatic to see this shirt in my locker and I wore it,” he said. Where did the best offense in baseball disappear to? The likelihood was always that these late September games with the Yankees would mean something. The Tampa Bay Rays, long accustomed to doing more with less, figured out a way to maximize the division-clinching celebration they were allowed to enjoy during a 2020 season shortened by the coronavirus. We didn’t want to see it come down to them losing a game.”. The Red Sox clinched the division Saturday after defeating the Houston Astros 6-3 at Fenway Park. “I hate to look ahead, but I did before the season,” Cora said. Even as the Sox won a second straight East title in 2017, a lot was left unclear. “But to do it on a win — everybody’s kind of riding the high of winning the game along with the division. The American League East Division Champion is the team leading the AL East Division at the end of the 162 game MLB regular season. Rays: After a day off Thursday, Morton (2-2, 4.64 ERA) is scheduled to get his postseason tuneup in the opener of a series against the Phillies on Friday.Mets: Rookie LHP David Peterson (5-2, 3.80 ERA) opens a four-game road series against the Nationals. Since 2012 the benefit that goes along with winning the AL East Division championship is an automatic placement into the ALDS, bypassing the single elimination game league playoff. In 1994 the AL East was reduced from seven to five teams with the creation of the new AL Central Division, the addition of a third division created an extra playoff round pitting the three division champions against the best second place team, known as the wildcard team. adult swim, sealab 2021, east side, sealab, stormy waters # adult swim # sealab 2021 # east side # sealab # stormy waters. Rafael Devers drove in another run with a double to center field. John Farrell became the first Red Sox manager to lead the team to three division titles. The White Sox and Padres have already clinched playoff spots and a winning record, while the Marlins are in second place in the NL East.New York made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016 and went 86-76 last year. Tampa Bay, which began play in 1998, also won the AL East, home of two big-spending powers in the Yankees and Red Sox, in 2008 and 2010. Tampa Bay Rays' Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, right, of Japan, celebrates with teammates after a baseball game against the New York Mets Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in New York. Meanwhile, Dombrowski’s first nine-figure acquisition in Boston, David Price, led the charge down the stretch and painted a new picture of how dominant he could be in a Sox uniform. Alex Cora spearheaded the environment of change and comfort that a modern-day clubhouse needs, and did so with remarkable speed. Hanley Ramirez got the Sox on the board first with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning. He pointed to not only the Yankees, but the expected dominant pitching from the Mets, whom the Sox just faced in Boston. It was unclear what to expect entering this year. “The stable shirt?” Morton said. It came in an unprecedented season, but there’s a new Beast in the East, and it resides in St. Petersburg. The Rays won 8-5. How much of a clubhouse shakeup did the Sox need? This championship began when expansion forced the American League split from one 10-team league in 1968 into two six-team divisions for 1969.