Braves, Rays jockeying for position in playoff races

Two division leaders will try to further solidify their postseason positions when the Atlanta Braves host the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series beginning Tuesday night.

The Rays (85-58) remain in first place in the American League East, four games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees.

Tampa Bay is coming off a four-game road split against the Texas Rangers and holds the best record in the AL.

The Braves (85-59) just split their four-game series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, losing the finale 1-0 on Monday, and hold a four-game lead over the second-place Phillies in the National League East.

The teams with the best record in the AL and NL will have home-field advantage throughout their league's postseason and will have a bye in the wild-card round.

"It would have been great to take three out of four," Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said of the set against Philadelphia. "You want to win series, but all things considered, not a bad outcome."

This will be the first meeting between the Rays and Braves this year. Tampa Bay won two of three last season after the Braves won the series in 2023 and 2024.

A pair of right-handers will start the series opener on Tuesday: Freddy Peralta (7-11, 4.96 ERA) for the Rays and A.J. Smith-Shawver (0-1, 7.13) for the Braves.

Peralta is coming off back-to-back quality starts. He threw six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 26 and allowed one run over six innings against the New York Mets last Tuesday, capturing a 6-2 win.

He was acquired from the Mets at the trade deadline last month after posting a 5-9 record and 4.99 ERA in his only season in New York.

"I feel really happy right now, but I know it's a business," Peralta said after the emotional win against his former team this month. "I just enjoyed the game the same as any game, and I'm happy because we got the win."

Peralta faced the Braves twice this season before being traded. He was 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA, allowing a combined four runs (two earned) over 9 2/3 innings. In 11 career appearances (10 starts) against Atlanta, Peralta is 6-2 with a 3.83 ERA.

"I have my confidence back," he said. "I think that's a more important thing for a pitcher, when you trust your stuff again."

The Braves with the most success against Peralta are Michael Harris II (.444 batting average), Austin Riley (.353, two homers) and Matt Olson (.313, two homers).

Smith-Shawver, who missed last season because of Tommy John surgery, has made four MLB starts this season. In his most recent outing, he allowed five runs over four innings in a 9-5 loss to the Washington Nationals last Tuesday.

"Coming back from Tommy John, you look at the team and how they're doing," Smith-Shawver said. "The end goal for me was to get healthy and see if I can help them win. It's really nice we've had the season that we've had. It's been fun to watch these guys. I'm excited to be a part of it."

Smith-Shawver, still just 23, has the type of electric stuff that plays well in the postseason. The Braves hope he can pitch that way from the rotation.

"Whatever they want," Smith-Shawver said. "They tell me where and when. I'll take the ball and try to go give you as many outs as I can. However they want to use me, I'm here."

He has made one career appearance against Tampa Bay. He allowed two runs over five innings and didn't figure into the decision in a 5-4 road win in April 2025.

Although Smith-Shawver made his debut in 2023 at age 20 and has pitched in parts of four seasons for Atlanta, he has appeared in just 20 career games (19 starts).