# Marlins–Rays rivalry

The Citrus Series is the name given to the interleague series between the Miami Marlins of the National League (NL) East division and Tampa Bay Rays of the American League (AL) East division in Major League Baseball. The Marlins broke into the league in 1993 as the Florida Marlins, while the Rays had their first season in 1998 as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The first meeting between the two teams took place on June 22, 1998 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida during the Rays' inaugural season. Beginning with the 2012 season, when the Marlins are the home team games are played at LoanDepot Park, formerly known as Marlins Park until the 2021 season. From 1998 to 2011, the games were played at the currently-named Hard Rock Stadium, though it has been known by several names in its existence.
Currently, because the Marlins play in the National League, and the Rays in the American League, the only possible postseason matchup the teams can have is in the World Series, though this has never happened. Both teams have had appearances in the Fall Classic, however. The Marlins have won both of their World Series appearances in 1997 and 2003, while the Rays lost both of their appearances in 2008 and 2020.
Former Rays manager Joe Maddon said he did not consider the Citrus Series a true rivalry. "I really don't honestly believe the fans see it as being a rivalry, I really don't. The best way to get that done is to include us in the same league or the same division. That might stir something up."
Weeks after the Marlins concluded a characteristic fire sale that brought in less expensive players such as Yunel Escobar from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Marlins traded Escobar to the Rays for minor leaguer Derek Dietrich.
Prior to 2013, six games were always played, with the exception of 1998 (four games) and 2003 (three games in Miami). In 2013–2022, the two teams play each other four times each season except during seasons in which the interleague schedule division rotation matched up the teams' two divisions, six games are played between them. In 2023 all MLB teams started playing each other annually. The teams played four games each in 2023 and 2024 and will play six games in 2025.

## Season-by-season results

Miami Marlins vs. Tampa Bay Rays Season-by-Season Results :
1990s (Marlins, 8–2)
SeasonSeason seriesat Florida Marlinsat Tampa Bay Devil RaysOverall seriesNotes
1998
Marlins
3‍–‍1
Marlins, 2‍–‍0
Tie, 1‍–‍1
Marlins, 3‍–‍1
Devil Rays' inaugural season
1999
Marlins
5‍–‍1
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 8‍–‍2 :
2000s ((Devil) Rays, 29–28)
SeasonSeason seriesat Florida Marlinsat Tampa Bay (Devil) RaysOverall seriesNotes
2000
Tie
3‍–‍3
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 11‍–‍5
2001
Marlins
4‍–‍2
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 15‍–‍7
2002
Devil Rays
4‍–‍2
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 17‍–‍11
2003
Marlins
3‍–‍0
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
no games
Marlins, 20‍–‍11
Marlins win World Series Marlins sweep season series for first time
2004
Devil Rays
4‍–‍2
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 22‍–‍15
2005
Marlins
6‍–‍0
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 28‍–‍15
Marlins sweep season series for second time.
2006
Devil Rays
4‍–‍2
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Devil Rays, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 30‍–‍19
2007
Marlins
4‍–‍2
Devil Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 34‍–‍21
2008
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 35‍–‍26
Devil Rays shorten their name to "Rays" and also win AL Pennant
2009
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 36‍–‍31 :
2010s (Rays, 30–20)
SeasonSeason seriesat Florida/Miami Marlinsat Tampa Bay RaysOverall seriesNotes
2010
Marlins
4‍–‍2
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 40‍–‍33
Rays win AL East
2011
Rays
4‍–‍2
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Marlins, 42‍–‍37
Rays win AL Wild Card
2012
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 43‍–‍42
Marlins change name to "Miami Marlins" and Marlins Park opens
2013
Rays
4‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 46‍–‍43
Rays sweep season series for first time. Rays win AL Wild Card
2014
Marlins
4‍–‍0
Marlins, 2‍–‍0
Marlins, 2‍–‍0
Marlins, 47‍–‍46
Marlins sweep season series for third time.
2015
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Rays, 51‍–‍48
2016
Marlins
3‍–‍1
Tie, 1‍–‍1
Marlins, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 52‍–‍51
2017
Rays
3‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Tie, 1‍–‍1
Rays, 55‍–‍52
2018
Marlins
4‍–‍2
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Marlins, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 57‍–‍56
2019
Rays
4‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 61‍–‍56
Rays sweep season series for second time. Rays win AL Wild Card :
2020s (Rays, 20–4)
SeasonSeason seriesat Miami Marlinsat Tampa Bay RaysOverall seriesNotes
2020
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 66‍–‍57
First time both teams qualify for postseason together; Rays win AL pennant
2021
Rays
5‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍1
Rays, 3‍–‍0
Rays, 71‍–‍58
2022
Rays
4‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Rays, 75‍–‍58
Rays sweep season series for third time.
2023
Rays
3‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Tie, 1‍–‍1
Rays, 78‍–‍59
Both teams get swept in wildcard round
2024
Rays
3‍–‍1
Rays, 2‍–‍0
Tie, 1‍–‍1
Rays, 81‍–‍60
2025
Upcoming, June 3‍–‍5
Upcoming, May 16‍–‍18
Return of six-game format with each team hosting a three-game series. :
Summary of Results
SeasonSeason seriesat Miami Marlinsat Tampa Bay RaysNotes
Overall Regular season
Rays
81‍–‍60
Rays, 40‍–‍32
Ray, 41‍–‍28 :
Note: All information for scores come from Baseball Reference.