The New York Yankees fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday night.
They remained no-hit deep into the eighth inning and only produced one hit on a play that saw Austin Wells try to stretch a double into a triple before the Rays threw him out.
However, prior to the game, MLB legend and five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter made a bold prediction about his former team and what he believes they’ll accomplish this postseason.
Derek Jeter Makes His World Series Prediction
During the MLB on Fox pregame show ahead of the second Divisional Series game of the day Saturday between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, Jeter revealed his World Series prediction.
It wasn’t much of a shock coming from a Yankees homer, as he predicted that New York will win the World Series over, interestingly enough, the San Diego Padres. The Padres are a somewhat surprising National League pick given that they’re the lowest remaining seed in the NL.
Jeter’s former Yankees teammate and Fox Sports colleague Alex Rodriguez also predicted that New York will win the World Series, but he picked the Yankees to defeat the defending back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Via Anthony Rieber of Newsday Sports: “On the Fox pregame before Atlanta-Dodgers on Saturday, Derek Jeter picked the Yankees to win the World Series over the Padres and Alex Rodriguez picked the Yankees to win the World Series over the Dodgers.”
On the Fox pregame before Atlanta-Dodgers on Saturday, Derek Jeter picked the Yankees to win the World Series over the Padres and Alex Rodriguez picked the Yankees to win the World Series over the Dodgers.
— Anthony Rieber (@AnthonyRieber) October 3, 2026
Looking at the Yankees
New York will now enter Game 2 with its back against the wall, trailing 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
They’re sending out their ace, right-hander Cam Schlittler, so a loss that puts them down 0-2 would make it extremely challenging to rally and win three straight games against a Rays team that doesn’t make many self-inflicted errors.
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday night at 8 p.m. ET and will follow the other ALDS matchup between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians.
Derek Jeter Makes Bold New York Yankees Prediction During MLB Playoffs