Rays beat Yankees 4-3 for 3-game Division Series sweep behind Mesa homer, fan interference call

NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Mesa Jr. didn't bother to watch his home run land in Yankee Stadium's right-field seats, instead turning to his Tampa Bay teammates in the third base dugout.Rays manager Kevin Cash waved an arm and pointed toward first base, urging Mesa to start the type of trot the 25-year-old yearned of when he defected from Cuba in 2018.“That’s the moment that you want to live when you’re growing up,” Mesa said after his tiebreaking, two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning lifted Tampa Bay over the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who got help from a fan interference call and reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020. They host the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the opener on Monday.“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Vilade said. “We don’t care who’s on the other side. We’re going to go out and compete and do our thing.”Mesa, 25, was d