{
  "id": 9181813,
  "title": "Carlos Rodón's stellar outing helps Yankees blank Rays, secure home-field advantage in wild-card round",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/carlos-rodons-stellar-outing-helps-yankees-blank-rays-secure-home",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-22T19:12:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/carlos-rodons-stellar-outing-helps-yankees-blank-rays-secure-home-field-advantage-in-wild-card-round-191220290.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The New York Yankees claimed a decisive 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in a Tuesday doubleheader, securing their position as the American League’s No. 4 seed and home-field advantage in the wild-card round. Cody Bellinger contributed with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, providing ample offensive support from the Yankees. Carlos Rodón delivered a stellar performance, pitching eight innings, limiting the Rays to just three hits, and striking out eight batters, including his 1,500th career strikeout. Although the Yankees clinched a playoff spot last week, they remain a game behind the Rays in the AL East standings. With six games left to play in the regular season, the Yankees are now five games in deficit. However, Tampa must win just one of their final six games to secure their fifth division title. The Yankees, now assured of the top AL wild card team, are likely to face the Boston Red Sox in the opening round for the second consecutive postseason. The 2025 wild-card series between the division rivals was won by the Yankees. The return of Aaron Judge, who has been sidelined with a calf strain, remains uncertain, as the team has not planned to have him available for the playoff series set to start on September 29.",
  "summary": "The Yankees are on pace to meet the Red Sox in the wild-card round for the second straight postseason.",
  "key_points": [
    "Yankees defeat Rays 2-0 in doubleheader, secure home-field advantage",
    "Carlos Rodón pitches eight innings, strikes out 8, including 1,500th career strikeout",
    "Yankees set for AL wild-card series against Boston Red Sox on September 29"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}