The Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight season but they have to deal with a Wild Card series this year.
After winning the American League East in each of the last two seasons, the Tampa Bay Rays are back in the playoffs but this time, they are the third AL Wild Card team with a record of 86-76.
As a result, they will face the Cleveland Guardians in a best-of-three Wild Card series in Cleveland to determine who will advance to the ALDS to face the New York Yankees.
Tampa Bay Rays playoff schedule
Since the Rays do not have a bye in the aforementioned Wild Card round, they will play their first playoff game on Friday Oct. 7. The games will be played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with all three games in Cleveland.
Due to the lockout to start the season, the regular season schedule was altered slightly to accommodate all 162 games and the postseason is no different.
If the Rays make it to the ALDS and play in all five games, they will play on Oct. 11, Oct. 13, Oct. 15, Oct. 16, and Oct. 17. It will still follow the 2-2-1 format but there will be no travel day between Games 4 and 5, as there was in previous years. For the AL, they will have off days after Game 2 and Game 3.
If the Rays reach the ALCS, they would start play on Oct. 19 through Oct. 26, if they play all seven games. They would have a travel day between Games 2 and 3 but not between Games 5 and 6, unlike previous years.
If they make it to the World Series, the regular 2-3-2 schedule will stay the same and the travel days would as well (after Game 2 and after Game 5). The World Series starts on October 28 and would end no later than November 5.
How to watch the Rays on TV
For the Wild Card series, the Rays will be playing their games on ESPN (Friday and Sunday) and ESPN2 (Saturday). Friday and Saturday will be at 12:07 PM E.T. and Sunday (if necessary) will play at 4:07 PM E.T.
If they make it to the ALDS, the games will be on TBS and they will also be on TBS if they make it to the ALCs. If the Rays make it to the World Series, then all of the games will be on FOX.
How to live stream Rays playoff games
For Tampa baseball fans in North America, MLB.TV will not be available as a live option for watching the games. However, you can sign up for a free trial with fuboTV and watch Rays playoff games there.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
