The Yankees and Rays open their American League Division Series on October 3, 2026 at Tropicana Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Here’s everything you need — start time, where to watch, and who’s starting for each club.
Game Info
- Matchup: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
- Series: American League Division Series — Game 1 (best of 5)
- Date: October 3, 2026
- Venue: Tropicana Field
- First Pitch: 6:30 p.m. ET · 4:30 p.m. Mexico City · 6:30 p.m. Caracas · 6:30 p.m. Santo Domingo
Where to Watch
🇺🇸 United States
- Yankees fans: YES Network / YES 2 · stream on Gotham Sports App
- Rays fans: RAYS (MLB Local Media) · over-the-air on WMOR · stream on RAYS.TV · available without local blackout inside the MLB app
- Spanish-language: FOX Deportes (simulcast of FOX postseason coverage, including the Division Series, Championship Series and World Series) · ESPN Deportes (30-game linear package) · Telemundo Deportes · Universo · UniMás / TUDN · Peacock (Sunday Night Baseball en español)
🇲🇽 Mexico — 4:30 p.m.
- Canal 5 — 55 regular-season games; deal runs 2026–2028
- NU9VE (Canal 9) — Sunday game of the week
- ESPN / Disney+ — ~6 games per week; Disney+ also streams ESPN simulcasts plus 6 additional games weekly
- TUDN
- Canal FOX — 5-game weekly package (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and two Saturdays)
🇻🇪 Venezuela — 6:30 p.m.
- Televén (free) — Primarily weekends; free streaming on their mobile app
- 1BASEBALL — 24-hour baseball channel, up to 3 games per day; available on Simple, Inter and NetUno GO
- ByM SPORT — 6 days a week via Inter and Simple
- IVC — Tuesday through Sunday
- ESPN / Disney+
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic — 6:30 p.m.
- Teleantillas Canal 10 (free) — 7 games per week, one per day, free to air. This is their seventh consecutive season of MLB coverage, running from Opening Day through the full World Series, including the Futures Game, Home Run Derby, All-Star Game and entire postseason
- ESPN
- 1BASEBALL — via Altice
- FOX / FS1 / FS2 / FOX Deportes
- teleantillas.com.do (free stream)
- MLB.TV
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico — 6:30 p.m.
- WAPA Deportes (free) — Regular season, typically Friday–Sunday; exclusive island broadcast of the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby
- MLB.TV
A Note on MLB.TV
MLB.TV remains an out-of-market product. For 22 of 30 clubs, there is a separate in-market local subscription sold inside the MLB app (~$19.99/month or ~$99.99/season) that is blackout-free locally. Games that air exclusively on national partners — Netflix, NBC/Peacock, Apple TV, FOX, ESPN — are not included in MLB.TV; that’s not a blackout, they simply aren’t part of the package. There is no public MLB.TV blackout map for Latin American countries.
How Both Teams Enter
- New York Yankees: 0-0 in this series
- Tampa Bay Rays: 0-0 in this series
Starting Pitchers
- Yankees — Gerrit Cole (RHP): 10-9, 3.61 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 131 strikeouts in 127.0 innings
- Rays — Drew Rasmussen (RHP): 16-5, 2.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 174 strikeouts in 172.0 innings
Game 1 Breakdown
The pitching matchup leans Tampa Bay’s way on paper. Drew Rasmussen had a standout regular season — 16 wins, a 2.67 ERA and 174 strikeouts — while Gerrit Cole posted solid but less dominant numbers at 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA and 131 punchouts. Whoever wins Game 1 takes an early edge in this best-of-five.
This article will be updated after the final out with the result, key plays and a video recap.
