The Tampa Bay Rays swept the New York Yankees on Wednesday with a 4-3 win in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, and the ending hinged on a replay review that wiped out Anthony Volpe’s apparent game-tying home run. What looked like a loud drive to left field in the bottom of the sixth became a spectator interference call, turning the play into an RBI double instead of a two-run homer.
That reversal mattered because the Yankees had been carrying momentum from their Wild Card Series win over the Boston Red Sox, and this one was tight enough to hinge on a single ball near the wall. Volpe sent his drive toward left field and a spectator in the first row reached over and touched it before it went over the fence, giving officials enough to review the play and change the call. The ball never counted as a home run, and the score stayed at 4-3 in a game the Rays were trying to close out.
Max Fried took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits, including two home runs. Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr. each went deep for the Rays, and Mesa’s two-run shot in the sixth helped shape the final margin before Volpe’s swing briefly threatened to turn the game. The call was not made on the spot; it came after video replay and a long deliberation, the kind of pause that can leave one dugout waiting to celebrate and the other waiting to argue.
There was no late escape for New York. Bryan Baker got the final three outs for the Rays and struck out Trent Grisham to end it, sealing the sweep and bringing the Yankees’ season to a close. The Rays advanced because they did more than survive the controversy; they made it irrelevant by finishing the game themselves.
