Schlittler says Yankees will feel like they're ‘playing at home' at Trop

Sports admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

Schlittler says Yankees will feel like they’re ‘playing at home’ at Trop

Before the opening game of the American League Division Series was played Saturday night in front of one of the larger and loudest crowds in Tropicana Field history, Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler said that, based on past visits, he expected there to be a lot of support for his squad.

“I wouldn’t say there’s really too much of an away crowd here,” said Schlittler, who will start Game 2 on Monday. “I expect there to be a lot of Yankees fans. In some ways you are, to an extent, kind of playing at home. I feel like the guys are excited to kind of have that atmosphere here.”

Saturday’s announced sold-out crowd of 40,542 was definitely in support of the home team. It cheered starting from pregame introductions and booed the Yankees and/or booed over their fans whenever possible. That was a change from some regular-season visits, when it felt and sounded like there was more support for the visitors. The Rays are expecting another sellout on Monday.

“(Saturday), it felt like the Rays fans were there,” sixth-year Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls said after the 1-0 win. “They were dominating, a majority of the fans that were in attendance. It was awesome.

“The third (deck) being full, it’s electric, dude. That was awesome. … It feels like you’re at a NASCAR track.”

Said Rays Game 1 starter Drew Rasmussen, “It was incredible. Tampa Bay showed out for us (Saturday), and that was awesome to see. The adrenaline was definitely a hair higher than it normally was. This place is as loud as any place is when it’s filled up.”

Rays manager Kevin Cash, who has played, coached and managed for 20 years in the majors, called it “the best crowd noise I’ve ever witnessed in any ballpark.”

The crowd was the fifth largest in Trop history for a postseason game, trailing Game 5 of the 2010 ALDS vs. Texas (41,845), Game 6 of the 2008 ALCS vs. Boston (40,947), and Games 1 (40,783) and 2 (40,843) of the 2008 World Series vs. Philadelphia. Overall, it was the 16th largest, a list led by the 45,369 for the franchise’s inaugural game on March 31, 1998. Capacity was reduced over time by a series of renovations.

The Rays averaged 17,468 fans this season (ranking 28th in MLB) in their return to the Trop, which was closed last season due to repairs from damage by Hurricane Milton in October 2024. They played their 2025 home games at the Yankees’ spring/minor-league stadium in Tampa (averaging 9,712, 29th). They averaged 16,515 fans (28th) in 2024 and 17,781 (27th) in 2023.

Several Yankees said Sunday they enjoyed Saturday’s experience, if not the outcome.

“It was definitely a great atmosphere, and that’s all you can ask for,” reliever David Bednar said. “It’s playoff baseball.”

Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees have an atypical experience, since their games usually are among the Trop’s highest attended, given their spring base and a large number of transplanted fans. Still, he acknowledged, Saturday was different.

“It was a great environment,” Boone said. “Obviously, having the top deck filled, it was loud. Even when we went out for (batting practice) and people were already there, it felt like a big atmosphere. So, I thought they did a great job.

“It was loud. It felt like a playoff game, so it was good to be in that environment, and hopefully we can earn ourselves a split in this next one.”

And, no, he said it wasn’t weird to get booed there.

“We have experience with that,” he said. “Certainly I do.”

Schlittler on the hill

Schlittler is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award after a regular season in which he went 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA. That included three outings against the Rays, when he went 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA, striking out 21 while allowing 14 hits over 16 innings.

Schlittler had a three-inning outing vs. the Rays on Sept. 24 in his playoff tuneup. Cash said he liked the way his team “laid off the fastball at the top of the zone,” forcing some deeper counts. But Cash also noted that the 25-year-old’s switch to throwing more curves vs. Boston in the Wild Card Series opener “speaks to how talented he is.”

Relay complete

The key plays in Saturday’s win were the relay throws from rightfielder Victor Mesa Jr. to shortstop Walls to third baseman Junior Caminero that nabbed Austin Wells after the Yankees catcher broke up Rasmussen’s no-hitter in the eighth inning with a double but made a bad decision to try to stretch it to a triple.

Wells said he was “trying to make something happen.”

“I think you have to take risks,” he said, “but in that situation, obviously, the risk was wrong.”

Mesa said he didn’t want to take too big of a gamble trying to cut the ball off, so he played the carom as the ball rattled around in the rightfield corner. Then he opted to make the longer throw, clocked at 91.7 mph, to get the ball to Walls rather than second baseman Richie Palacios. Walls, who may have deked Wells into a slower turn at second, had a clearer lane to throw to third.

Walls said he “couldn’t believe it in my head” that Wells was going for third and knew “that I had a lot of time and that I just had to make sure I caught the ball clean and made a good throw.”

Caminero had the easy part, catching Walls’ throw and applying the tag in front of the base. “Everything was perfect,” he said.

For starters

Neither team announced pitching plans beyond Monday’s game. Boone said the Yankees would use lefties Max Fried and Carlos Rodon in Games 3 (Wednesday) and 4 (Thursday) but hadn’t decided on the order. Cash said the Rays will continue to keep all available starters in the mix. With Rasmussen able to come back Thursday on full rest, that would seem to leave a choice of Griffin Jax, Nick Martinez and Ian Seymour for Wednesday.

Miscellany

The Rays had an optional workout Sunday afternoon at the Trop with just about full attendance on the field. A couple of others did work in the batting cages, gym and/or with training staff. … The Yankees didn’t go to the Trop, but Boone said “a lot” of their players worked out at their spring complex at Steinbrenner Field, noting they have all of their full baseball and training facilities available, as well as use of a Trajekt machine that simulates balls thrown by pitchers (and typically is only available to the home team). … Caminero had his 13-year-old, not-so-little brother Girardi (named after former Yankees player and manager Joe Girardi) at the workout.

• • •

Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.

This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 11:24 PM.