The two best teams in the American League are set to meet in … the ALDS. The Rays finished with the top record in the AL, with the Yankees next, but because MLB doesn’t reseed during the playoffs, the two division rivals are forced to face each other now — which figures to give the winner of this series a clear path to the World Series. The two have met just once in the postseason prior to this series, in the 2020 ALDS, when Mike Brosseau of the Rays hit a series-deciding, game-winning homer off Aroldis Chapman. This season, no team had a better home record than the Rays, and the Yankees will have to win at least one game at Tropicana Field to move on — and they’ll likely be without Aaron Judge again.

Let’s take a look at how the two teams match up:

At the plate

Getting on base

Ben Rice has emerged as a star this season — if he wasn’t already — and it’s not just because of the 41 homers he hit during the regular season. Even with Judge sidelined, the DH has shown an excellent ability to get on base and he was especially solid against the Rays this season. While the loss of Judge didn’t hurt the Yankees against the Red Sox, a longer series against a better opponent will be a greater test for this lineup. Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt are among the Yankees who have struggled versus the Rays this season, so there will be pressure on Rice, but the lineup showed some depth from Luis García Jr., Austin Wells and George Lombard Jr. against Boston. Tampa Bay’s offense is driven by Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda. Díaz is the only one to handle Yankees pitching this season. The addition of Liam Hicks at the trade deadline gave the Rays another impact bat.

Edge: Yankees