Fan interference overturns Anthony Volpe tying homer as Rays sweep Yankees

Victor Mesa Jr. hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night with the help of a f an interference call for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.

Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020 and host the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the opener on Monday.

After Mesa’s homer gave the Rays a 4-2 lead, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two-run shot against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom half as a fan reached over the left-field wall and caught the ball over the glove of a leaping Mesa.

A video review determined the ball would not have cleared the fence but would not have been caught by Mesa. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr. was allowed to score from first base. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.

Baseball’s adaptation of video technology was key to the inning.

Lombard reached with a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an ABS challenge. Austin Wells then walked on full-count changeup but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks ruled the pitch caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.

Quite a change from 1996, when umpires did not have technology to assist and Derek Jeter’s homer for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite young fan Jeffrey Meier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco was set to catch the ball. MLB began using video replay for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball/strike decisions starting this year.

Ian Seymour pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth and Bryan Baker pitched the ninth for his third save of the series.

Seeking its first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on Sept. 22. New York opened the season with MLB’s third-highest payroll at $303 million while the Rays were 26th at $91 million.

Swept in a best-of-five postseason matchup for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th straight season without a World Series crown. That equaled their longest drought since winning their first championship in 1923, a gap between titles in 1978 and ’96.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed the postseason after straining a calf on Sept. 16. The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after May 31 because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team couldn’t overcome.

New York batted .130 in the series and was outscored 10-5.

After sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series, New York never led against the Rays and has not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.

Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with an RBI single in the third and Ben Rice tied the score against Nick Martinez with a single in the bottom half, his eighth RBI of the postseason.

Vilade, a 27-year-old getting extensive big league playing time this year with his sixth major league organization, hit an opposite-field, 340-foot drive into the right-field short porch in the fourth. The ball, just over the glove of a jumping Jones, would not have been out of any other big league ballpark.

Volpe, starting at second base in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr., hit a 96.6 mph liner off Martinez’s back with two outs in the fourth for an infield single, and Seymour relieved. Jones’ opposite-field double landed beyond Mesa, driving in Volpe.

Junior Caminero singled in the sixth and Mesa sent a sweeper deep into the right-field seats to chase Fried. It was the first home run he allowed to a left-handed hitter since August 2025.

维克托·梅萨二世在第六局击出两分全垒打，帮助坦帕湾光芒队在周三晚上以 4-3 击败纽约洋基队，并凭借一次妨碍比赛的判罚横扫了美联分区系列赛。

瑞安·维拉德也为光芒队贡献了一支本垒打。光芒队自 2020 年以来首次晋级美国联盟冠军系列赛，将于周一的揭幕战中主场迎战芝加哥白袜队或克利夫兰卫士队。

梅萨的全垒打让光芒队以 4-2 领先之后，安东尼·沃尔普在下半局两出局的情况下，面对格里芬·贾克斯，似乎击出了一记两分全垒打，一名球迷越过左外野墙，在跃起的梅萨的手套上方接住了球。

视频回放显示，球不会飞过围栏，但梅萨也接不到。沃尔普被判击出二垒安打，并送回一分打点，乔治·隆巴德二世从一垒得分。杰克斯随后三振了斯宾塞·琼斯。

棒球对视频技术的应用是该局比赛的关键。

隆巴德在一出局的情况下保送上垒，当时主裁判丹·贝利诺判罚3-1好球，但经棒球裁判组挑战后改判为内角球。随后，奥斯汀·威尔斯在满球数的情况下保送上垒，但光芒队捕手利亚姆·希克斯挑战后改判为内角球三振出局，接下来轮到沃尔普打击。

这与1996年的情况截然不同。当时裁判没有技术辅助，尽管年轻球迷杰弗里·迈尔越过右外野墙，试图接住巴尔的摩金莺队托尼·塔拉斯科准备接住的球，但德里克·基特的本垒打仍然帮助洋基队扭转了美联冠军赛首战的局势。美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB）从2008年开始使用视频回放辅助本垒打判罚，并从今年开始允许对好坏球的判罚提出挑战。

伊恩·西摩投了 1 又 1/3 局无失分，赢得了比赛；凯文·凯利在第八局三振了代打吉安卡洛·斯坦顿，让垒上留有一名跑者；布莱恩·贝克在第九局投球，获得了他在该系列赛中的第三次救援成功。

坦帕湾光芒队在9月22日锁定美联东区冠军后，两周内第二次来到挥金如土的纽约洋基队的主场庆祝，力争队史首个世界大赛冠军。纽约洋基队本赛季的薪资总额为3.03亿美元，位列MLB第三，而光芒队的薪资总额为9100万美元，排名第26位。

自1980年美联冠军赛负于堪萨斯城皇家队以来，洋基队首次在五局三胜制的季后赛中被横扫，连续第17个赛季无缘世界大赛冠军。这追平了他们自1923年首次夺冠以来最长的冠军荒，此前他们曾在1978年和1996年两次夺冠。

洋基队队长阿隆·贾奇在9月16日拉伤了小腿，错过了季后赛。这位三届美联MVP在5月31日之后只打了7场比赛，因为他肋骨骨折和腿伤，球队最终未能克服他的缺席。

纽约队在该系列赛中的打击率为 .130，总比分 5-10 落后。

在外卡系列赛中横扫波士顿之后，纽约队在与光芒队的比赛中从未领先过，并且自 2020 年以来，他们在季后赛中从未战胜过排名更高的球队。

乔纳森·阿兰达在第三局凭借一支打点安打帮助光芒队取得领先，本·赖斯在下半局凭借一支安打将比分扳平，这是他在季后赛中的第八次打点。

维拉德今年27岁，效力于他的第六支大联盟球队，获得了大量的出场时间。第四局，他击出一记反方向的340英尺（约104米）的本垒打，球飞入右外野的短墙。这球险些被跃起的琼斯接住，如果放在其他任何大联盟球场，它都不会飞出场外。

沃尔普顶替小贾兹·奇泽姆首发镇守二垒，第四局两出局后，他击出一记时速96.6英里的平飞球，球擦过马丁内斯的背部，形成内野安打，随后西摩接替投球。琼斯随后击出反方向二垒安打，球飞过梅萨的头顶，将沃尔普送回本垒得分。

小卡米内罗在第六局击出一垒安打，梅萨随后轰出一记深远的右外野本垒打，将弗里德打下场。这是他自2025年8月以来首次被左打者击出本垒打。