The ALDS best-of-five between the top-seeded Rays and Yankees opens with Game 1 on October 3 at Tropicana Field, where Tampa Bay’s home dominance and rotation depth, anchored by Drew Rasmussen, face off against a New York lineup missing Aaron Judge due to a calf injury. The Rays finished 98-64 with the AL’s best record and swept the season series edge in key metrics, while the Yankees arrive after a Wild Card sweep of Boston but must navigate a schedule that returns potential Game 5 to St. Petersburg. Bullpen reliability, travel factors after late arrivals, and the competitive regular-season head-to-head results position the series for possible extended play, with pitching matchups and late-inning execution likely determining whether it concludes in three or stretches to five games.