The Rays–Red Sox rivalry is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

clubs. The rivalry intensified in , after the two clubs had their first postseason meeting in the ALCS. Since then, both teams have won the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL)

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

division a combined seven times between 2008 and 2021. While the rivalry is more recent than the storied

Yankees–Red Sox rivalry The Yankees–Red Sox rivalry is a Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Both teams have competed in MLB's American League (AL) for over 120 seasons and have since developed what is arguably t ...

, it has been called one of the most competitive in modern baseball.

History

1998–2007: First meetings

After years of trying to lure a major league team, Tampa Bay was awarded an American League franchise in . The Devil Rays would become the first expansion team to join the AL East since the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

in . Their record that year was dismal, winning only 63 games. The Red Sox were far more successful, finishing 92–70 and taking a

Wild Card Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

berth; they took the season series against the Devil Rays 9–3. Wade Boggs 1988

One bright spot for Tampa was third baseman

Wade Boggs Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958), nicknamed "Chicken Man", is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Ya ...

who, while batting .280/.348/.400 in 1998, turned out to be one of the most productive players on the team. Boggs' relationship with Boston was complicated; an eight-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

with the Red Sox, his signing with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in earned him the scorn of some Boston fans, who booed him on his return to

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

. Even after leaving New York to sign with the Devil Rays, Boggs continued to be met with boos in Boston. Boggs was also at the center of a controversy when rumors emerged that he had negotiated a bonus with the Devil Rays that would require him to request depiction in the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

wearing a Devil Rays cap (though he denied the claims); he was ultimately inducted on the 2005 ballot wearing a Red Sox cap Boggs' number 12 was retired by the Rays in 2000, and his number 26 was retired by the Red Sox in 2016. The teams' first confrontation came at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

on August 29, 2000, when Devil Rays leadoff hitter Gerald Williams was hit by a pitch thrown by the Red Sox'

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . As of 2023, M ...

. Williams charged the mound and landed a right hook on Martinez, leading to a benches-clearing brawl that ended with the ejection of Williams and manager

Larry Rothschild Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. Rothschild played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1981 and 1982. He has coached for the Cincinnati ...

(while Martínez remained in the game). Over the course of the game, six more Devil Rays were ejected (including three pitchers who threw at Red Sox batters in retaliation). For his part, Martínez would end up taking a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

into the ninth inning. The brawl was not forgotten, however. When Tampa beat the Red Sox on September 29 and eliminated them from playoff contention, Devil Rays closer Roberto Hernandez sarcastically waved goodbye to the struck-out Trot Nixon and the rest of the Red Sox team while the Rays celebrated on the mound. Early into the next season, an incident occurred where Nixon threw his bat at Rays pitcher

Ryan Rupe Ryan Kittman Rupe (born March 31, 1975) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Rupe played in the majors for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Boston Red Sox. Career Rupe made his major league debut in 1999 for the Devil Rays, pit ...

, who had hit the Sox'

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, Third ...

and

Shea Hillenbrand Shea Matthew Hillenbrand (born July 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are a ...

earlier in the inning. Red Sox pitcher

Frank Castillo Frank Anthony Castillo (April 1, 1969 – July 28, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Castillo played for the Chicago Cubs (1991–1997), Colorado Rockies (1997), Detroit Tigers (1998), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Boston ...

would go on to hit Devil Rays batter

Randy Winn Dwight Randolph Winn (born June 9, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and is currently the vice president of player development for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played all or parts of 13 seas ...

, after which the plate umpire issued warnings to both dugouts. Nixon and Castillo were suspended four and five games, respectively, while Rupe got away with a fine. Brawls between the clubs would continue throughout the 2000s, even as the Devil Rays struggled while the Red Sox made four postseason appearances through (including two World Series titles, in and ). In , the Red Sox hit

Aubrey Huff Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, ...

, and the Devil Rays retaliated by throwing at

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played wit ...

and

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...

, causing a melee in which six players and both managers were ejected. The next day, Boston pitcher

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right handed pitcher and commentator for media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance in 1993 World Seri ...

made comments on a radio show criticizing Tampa manager

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals a ...

: "When you're playing a team with a manager who somehow forgot how the game is played, there's problems ..Lou's trying to make his team be a bunch of tough guys, and the telling sign is when the players on that team are saying, 'This is why we lose a hundred games a year, because this idiot makes us do stuff like this.'" Piniella responded by saying, "If we're going to get thrown at, we're not going to tolerate that, either." In , Red Sox pitcher

Julián Tavárez Julián Tavárez Carmen (born May 22, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 11 franchises over the course of a 17–season Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1993 to 2009. Listed at and , he threw right- ...

, covering home plate, stepped on the arm of Devil Rays baserunner

Joey Gathright Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Miss ...

and then punched him, inciting another brawl and earning him a ten game suspension.

2008–2017: Playoff meetings

The Devil Rays rebranded themselves as the Rays before the season. That same year, their on-field fortunes would dramatically improve, bringing them into further conflict with the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

-champion Red Sox. The anger between the teams was crystallized by a series of incidents in a June series, after Boston center fielder Coco Crisp slid hard into Tampa second baseman

Akinori Iwamura is a former Japanese baseball infielder, who currently is a manager for the Fukushima Red Hopes in Japan's Baseball Challenge League. He made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2007. He earned the nickname Aki while in ...

; the next night, Rays pitcher James Shields drilled Crisp, inciting a benches-clearing brawl. In September, the Rays would win their first series at Fenway—something

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American media personality and recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early life and education Gammons was bo ...

called "a turning point in franchise history"—finishing the year with a 97–65 record and, displacing the heavily favored Red Sox, their first AL East title. Boston, having secured a wild card berth, met Tampa in the

2008 American League Championship Series The 2008 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the American League side in Major League Baseball's 2008 postseason, was a best-of-seven series matching the two winners of the American League Division Series. The AL E ...

. The Rays gained a 3–1 series lead, including a walk-off

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

by B.J. Upton in Game 2, but Boston came back (winning Game 5 after being down 7-0) to send the series to a seventh game. However the Rays won Game 7 3-1 in St. Petersburg, eliminating Boston and sending Tampa to its first

(which it would lose to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

). Though both teams failed to make deep postseason runs the following year (which saw the shared division rival

win the

), the rivalry remained alive. The Rays recaptured their AL East title in , while the Red Sox would be shut out of the postseason for the next two years. In , Boston and Tampa were tied in a Wild Card race that came down to the last day of the season. Red Sox outfielder

Carl Crawford Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "the Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He ba ...

(a former Rays All-Star) missed a fly ball to lose their game against

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

; Rays star

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbac ...

would go on to hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

against the Yankees to secure the Wild Card berth, and eliminate the Red Sox from playoff contention. Crawford was traded to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

the next year, after which he would call the environment in Boston "toxic." In , though, Boston saw a resurgence headlined by Ortiz and

Dustin Pedroia Any addition of 2018 will be reverted. Only players who were on a winning team's active roster during a World Series are listed as "World Series champions" in this context. Note that this is the same criterion as is used by Baseball-reference.com ...

(as well as former Ray

Jonny Gomes Jonathan Johnson Gomes (; born November 22, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder. He is the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He play ...

). This year also saw several altercations. On June 10, Rays batter Matt Joyce exchanged choice words with Red Sox pitcher

John Lackey John Derran Lackey (born October 23, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2002 through 2017 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Ch ...

after being thrown out at first, and benches cleared after Lackey hit Joyce in his next at-bat. On July 29, after a controversial Rays victory where umpire

Jerry Meals Gerald William Meals (born October 20, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball umpire. After serving as an NL reserve umpire from 1992 to 1997, he became a full-time umpire in 1998. Meals was promoted to crew chief in 2015, and worked ...

incorrectly ruled a tying run out at home plate, the teams traded barbs on social media, with the Red Sox

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account saying it looked forward to playing "home games" at Tropicana Field in September (in reference to the Rays' notorious attendance issues). The teams met in the 2013 ALDS, which Boston won 3-1; the Red Sox would go on to win the

2013 World Series The 2013 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 Major League Baseball season, 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (A ...

against

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Confrontations continued into the 2010s, even as the Rays declined and ceded ground in the AL East to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. Brawls erupted in two games of the season, on May 25 and May 30, leading to several ejections. On July 27 of the same year, Rays pitcher

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Clayton High School ( ...

took exception to a home run celebration by David Ortiz at Tropicana Field, saying the Red sox slugger acted like he was "bigger than the game of baseball" and that Ortiz felt "like the show is all about him." Ortiz dismissed Archer's comments, saying the young rookie was "not the right guy to be saying that" since he had "only two days in the league." In the wake of the episode, manager

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager (baseball), manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing ...

acknowledged the friction between the teams, saying "What did

Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993), nicknamed "Big D", was an American professional baseball pitcher and broadcaster who played in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Do ...

say to the last guy he knocked down on his butt back in 1963? Nothing. He didn't say anything ..Those kind of thoughts are kind of insinuated, put in play. Play the game."

2018–present: Division battles and alternating postseasons

Boston won another

title in , while Tampa again failed to make the postseason (despite posting a 90-win season). This was because the Red Sox had 108 wins for the division title, while the Wild Card spots went to the Yankees (with 100 wins) and the Athletics (with 97). The next season, the situation was reversed. Tampa secured a Wild Card berth while Boston, the reigning WS champion, was shut out of the postseason. The Red Sox also failed to make the postseason in the shortened season, while the Rays won the division and the

American League Pennant Every Major League Baseball (MLB) season, one American League (AL) team wins the pennant, signifying that they are the league's champion and have the right to play in the World Series against the champion of the National League (NL). The pennant ...

. ''Boston Globe'' sports columnist

Dan Shaughnessy Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for ''The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 1980s Boston Celtic ...

openly rooted against Tampa in the

, arguing that their small-market approach was "bad for baseball." Shaughnessy also accused the Rays of having "no diehard fans," saying that their success in the pandemic-altered postseason landscape was because "no big league team has had more practice playing in an empty ballpark." The Rays eventually lost to the Dodgers, headlined by former Red Sox outfielder

Mookie Betts Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder, shortstop, and second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. ...

, in six games. The Rays again won the division in , with Boston defeating New York in the Wild Card game to meet Tampa in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...

. Several controversies erupted during the series. including after rumors emerged that the Rays, having won the first game at home 5–0, had ordered champagne for an expected series victory at Fenway Park. The Red Sox's

Alex Verdugo Alexander Brady Verdugo (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees. ...

said the move was disrespectful. Another controversy emerged in Game 3, when a batted ball from Ray Kevin Kiermaier was misplayed by Boston outfielder

Hunter Renfroe Dustin Hunter Renfroe (born January 28, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewer ...

(who formerly played for the Rays) and knocked into the bullpen, out of play. The play, which otherwise would have resulted in a go-ahead run for Tampa in extra innings, was ruled a

ground rule double A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter (baseball), batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a cond ...

; Boston walked it off in the bottom of the inning. Boston also won Game 4 with a walkoff sacrifice fly to move on to the ALCS. The last two games of the series were Boston's first set of back-to-back walk-off wins in the postseason since the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. Chaim Bloom, formerly of the Rays front office, was hired as Boston's chief baseball officer in 2019, after the firing of

Dave Dombrowski David Dombrowski (born July 27, 1956) is an American baseball executive who serves as the president of baseball operations for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Dombrowski also previously served as the general manager of ...

. Bloom was expected to restructure Boston's team along the same

sabermetric Sabermetrics (originally SABRmetrics) is the original or blanket term for sports analytics in the US, the empirical analysis of baseball, especially the development of advanced metrics based on baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. ...

philosophy that guided Tampa's front office. However, the expectation to turn the Red Sox into "Tampa Bay North" was not immediately successful, as the team endured dismal seasons in 2020 and 2022. Bloom's tenure has been criticized as relying on the same "small-market" philosophy as the Rays, especially given the departures of key players like

Xander Bogaerts Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992; ) is an Aruban professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. He represents the Neth ...

. ''Globe'' columnist Shaughnessy summed up the situation: "I hate the Rays because the Red Sox are trying to become the Rays." Bloom also missed out on free agent starting pitcher

Zach Eflin Zachary Adams Eflin (born April 8, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays. The San Diego Pad ...

in the 2022 offseason, who declined a three-year, $40-million deal with the Boston before signing the exact same deal with the Rays.

Season-by-season results

, - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 93 , style=";" , Red Sox, 42 , style=";" , Red Sox, 51 , style=";" , Red Sox
93 , Devil Rays' inaugural season , - , , style=";" , Devil Rays , style=";" , 94 , style=";" , Devil Rays, 43 , style=";" , Devil Rays, 51 , style=";" , Red Sox
1312 , Devil Rays' only season-series win between 19982007. , - , , Tie , 66 , style=";" , Devil Rays, 42 , style=";" , Red Sox, 42 , style=";" , Red Sox
1918 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 145 , style=";" , Red Sox, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox, 73 , style=";" , Red Sox
3323 , MLB changes to an unbalanced schedule in 2001, resulting in 1819 meetings per year. , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 163 , style=";" , Red Sox, 100 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
4926 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 127 , Tie, 55 , style=";" , Red Sox, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox
6133 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 145 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox, 82 , style=";" , Red Sox
7538 , Red Sox win

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Le ...

, their first since 1918. , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 136 , style=";" , Devil Rays, 54 , style=";" , Red Sox, 91 , style=";" , Red Sox
8844 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Devil Rays, 73 , style=";" , Red Sox, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox
9853 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 135 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox
11158 , Red Sox win

2007 World Series The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American ...

. , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 108 , style=";" , Rays, 81 , style=";" , Red Sox, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox
11968 , Devil Rays change their name to the Rays, Rays lose

2008 World Series The 2008 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 season. The 104th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...

, - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" , 2008 ALCS , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 43 , Tie, 22 , style=";" , Rays, 21 , style=";" , Red Sox
12272 , First postseason meeting between the two teams. , - , , Tie , 99 , style=";" , Rays, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
13181 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 117 , style=";" , Rays, 54 , style=";" , Rays, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
13892 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 126 , style=";" , Rays, 54 , style=";" , Rays, 72 , style=";" , Red Sox
144104 , Rays secure a Wild Card berth by virtue of winning their final game of the season and the Red Sox losing their final game. Red Sox miss playoffs despite having 9-game lead in September. , - , , Tie , 99 , style=";" , Red Sox, 54 , style=";" , Rays, 54 , style=";" , Red Sox
153113 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 127 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox, 64 , style=";" , Red Sox
165120 , Red Sox win

Both AL and NL having balanced teams leads to a balanced schedule of 19 games per season. , - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" , 2013 ALDS , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 31 , Tie, 11 , style=";" , Red Sox, 20 , style=";" , Red Sox
168121 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Rays, 73 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
177131 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 109 , style=";" , Red Sox, 54 , style=";" , Rays, 64 , style=";" , Red Sox
186141 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 127 , style=";" , Red Sox, 64 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
198148 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 118 , style=";" , Red Sox, 54 , style=";" , Red Sox, 64 , style=";" , Red Sox
209156 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 118 , Tie, 55 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
220164 , Red Sox win

2018 World Series The 2018 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 Major League Baseball season, 2018 season. The 114th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League ( ...

, - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 127 , style=";" , Red Sox, 64 , style=";" , Rays, 81 , style=";" , Red Sox
227176 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 73 , Tie, 33 , style=";" , Rays, 40 , style=";" , Red Sox
230183 , Season shortened to 60 games (with 10 meetings) due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

.
Rays lose

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los An ...

. , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 118 , style=";" , Rays, 73 , style=";" , Red Sox, 54 , style=";" , Red Sox
238194 , , - style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;" ,

2021 ALDS The 2021 American League Division Series were the two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2021 postseason that determined the participating teams of the 2021 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winn ...

, style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 31 , Tie, 11 , style=";" , Red Sox, 20 , style=";" , Red Sox
241195 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 127 , style=";" , Rays, 91 , style=";" , Red Sox, 63 , style=";" , Red Sox
248207 , , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 112 , style=";" , Rays, 61 , style=";" , Rays, 51 , style=";" , Red Sox
250218 , New schedule structure started this season to allow every team to play one series against every interleague team, shortening interdivisional meetings from 19 to 13 games. , - , , style=";" , Rays , style=";" , 76 , style=";" , Red Sox, 42 , style=";" , Rays, 52 , style=";" , Red Sox
256225 , , - , , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 82 , style=";" , Red Sox, 21 , style=";" , Red Sox, 61 , style=";" , Red Sox
264227 , ''Upcoming at Rays, September 1921'' , - , Regular season games , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 255221 , style=";" , Rays, 122117 , style=";" , Red Sox, 13899 , - , Postseason games , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 96 , Tie, 44 , style=";" , Red Sox, 52 , , - , Postseason series , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 21 , Tie, 003 , style=";" , Red Sox, 21 , ALDS: ,
ALCS: , - , Regular and postseason , style=";" , Red Sox , style=";" , 264227 , style=";" , Rays, 126121 , style=";" , Red Sox, 143101 ,

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rays-Red Sox rivalry Tampa Bay Rays Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball rivalries