Every so often in a 162-game schedule, a series takes on outsize importance, even if the players involved are reluctant to admit it. One game at a time, they’ll say, bypassing the buildup of two powerhouses meeting head on.

On cue, the Yankees have insisted that there is nothing special about their series this weekend at the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, despite all the signs that point to something much larger.

The Rays, after all, have replaced the Boston Red Sox as the Yankees’ No. 1 threat in the division: Despite their $64 million payroll, the Rays entered Thursday with the American League’s best run differential and, on the strength of their major league-best 2.87 E.R.A., had allowed the fewest runs. Tampa Bay is tied with Baltimore for the league’s youngest pitching staff, but unlike the Orioles, the Rays are hardly rebuilding.

To the contrary, after a 90-win season in 2018, Tampa Bay has proved it belongs in the same conversation with the Yankees and Red Sox. As Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said on Thursday, “You could tell they believed in themselves and how much confidence they had. So, I’m not surprised at how well they’re playing now.”