NEW YORK -- Playing in perhaps baseball's toughest division, the Tampa Bay Rays were the class of the field this season. The thrifty Rays clinched their fifth American League East title with a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the second game of a day-night doubleheader Tuesday as Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit in 6⅔ innings and Yandy Diaz hit a pair of two-run singles.

Tampa Bay took the AL East for the first time since 2021 and surpassed that team by three days with the earliest division clincher in team history. The club also won division crowns in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season along with 2010 and 2008.

"It means a lot," Díaz said through a translator. "It's a tough division. It's a competitive division almost every single year. With this group we knew that from the beginning, but we still believed in ourselves every single way. So here we are in Yankee Stadium celebrating."

Tampa Bay (96-61) opened a six-game lead over the second-place Yankees (90-67) with five to play and will be the No. 1 seed with home-field advantage in the AL playoffs. The Rays have led the division since June 27 and spent 128 days in first place. The Rays secured this AL East title after getting approval on a financing plan that will allow them to build a new stadium in Tampa, Florida, expected to open in 2029.