By ROB MAADDI AP Sports Writer

The Tampa Bay Rays got new owners, a deal for a “forever home” stadium and finished with the best record in the American League.

That’s quite a year already. Now the real fun begins.

October baseball has arrived and a matchup against the big, bad New York Yankees is next for the Rays.

It’s David vs. Goliath in terms of payroll – the Yankees opened the season with MLB’s third-highest payroll at $302.8 million vs. the Rays ranking 27th at $90.5 million.

But that didn’t stop Tampa Bay from winning the AL East.

“They do a lot of things really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the Rays. “It’s been impressive what they’ve been able to do from the start of the year to the finish. They haven’t had many lulls in the season, and those handful of weeks where they’ve struggled a little bit, they’ve answered it really well. So it’s a confident group, an athletic group, and we obviously have to be at our best to have a chance to win.”

Former UCLA and Orange Lutheran standout Gerrit Cole will start for the Yankees against Drew Rasmussen and the Rays in Saturday’s AL Division Series opener (3:30 p.m. PT, TBS, truTV). Aaron Judge’s status is uncertain due to a calf injury but there’s plenty of star power in both dugouts.

From Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Luis Garcia Jr. for New York to AL MVP candidate Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda for Tampa Bay, both lineups are littered with talent.

“With our two organizations, there are no secrets,” said Rasmussen, who has had success against the Yankees. “They know who I am. They know how I operate. But on the flip side, like I said, I’m a pretty big believer it’s me versus execution, not me versus the New York Yankees. And so, we’re going to have a game plan going in, and we’re going to do our best to execute it to the best of our abilities. And if we have to tweak some things or change on the fly, I’ve got the best pitching coach in baseball, so that makes life a lot easier.”

The Rays, who were 28th in home attendance this season, have even removed upper deck tarps and sold out Tropicana Field for Game 1, though many fans will be wearing navy and rooting for the Yankees whose spring training home is across the bay in Tampa.

No team had a better home record than the Rays’ 55-26 mark in 2026.

“There was no doubt at certain points of the season there was genuine excitement to get back to the Trop, get back to playing in front of our fans,” Cash said. “I don’t think necessarily the ballpark does anything to help our style of play, but there is an energy that the fans bring in, and we’re looking forward to kind of witnessing that energy.”

Bring on the cowbells.

“We worked really hard to get the bye and to start the series here at the Trop means a lot to us,” said Caminero, who hit .276 with 42 home runs and 101 RBIs.

STARTERS MATCHUP

Cole was set to start Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Boston on Thursday, but the Yankees swept their longtime division rival. The 36-year-old right-hander, a six-time All-Star, was 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA in 22 starts this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss the 2025 season.

Rasmussen was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA for the Rays and made the All-Star team for the second straight season. The 31-year-old right-hander twice had surgery for a torn ligament in his elbow in college and needed an internal brace procedure in July 2023 that forced him to miss more than a year.

He is 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 10 starts and one relief appearance against the Yankees, striking out 70 in 59⅔ innings.

ROSTER DECISIONS

Judge, a three-time AL MVP who hasn’t played since Sept. 16 because of a calf injury, took live batting practice on Thursday at Yankee Stadium and worked out Friday at the team’s spring training ballpark in Tampa. New York must submit its 26-man roster to Major League Baseball by Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, 8-9 hours before the opener.

Cash said outfielder Chandler Simpson (foot), right-hander Garrett Cleavinger (forearm) and right-hander Tyler Wells (forearm) should be ready to play.

FRIENDLY RIVALRY

When the Rays had no place to play home games in 2025 following damage to the Trop caused by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, 2024, the Yankees welcomed them into their spring training stadium at Steinbrenner Field.

The teams have only met once in the postseason, when Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 3-2 in a 2020 ALDS and won the franchise’s second pennant.

CHASING A RING

The Rays have never won the World Series, losing to the Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020. They haven’t won a postseason series since 2020 and were eliminated in their first series each year from 2021-23.

The Yankees are seeking a 28th World Series trophy but haven’t won it since defeating Philadelphia in 2009.