ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Drew Rasmussen walked into the interview room while manager Kevin Cash was showering him with praise.
“That's the nicest you've ever been about me,” Rasmussen said after greeting Cash.
The powerful right-hander deserved all the superlatives.
Rasmussen didn't allow a hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning, Jonathan Aranda homered off Gerrit Cole and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 1-0 in their AL Division
Series opener Saturday night.
“He was dominant before the break,” Cash said about Rasmussen. “He’s elite all season long. He’s really done that since he’s been a Tampa Bay Ray, coming over here, and his contributions. Feels like he continues to get better.”
Rasmussen retired 15 consecutive batters before Austin Wells doubled with two outs in the eighth, ripping a line drive just inside the right-field line on an inside sinker.
Wells tried for a triple but was easily thrown out on a relay from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to shortstop Taylor Walls to third baseman Junior Caminero. Wells ran through a stop sign from third base coach Luis Rojas, who raised both arms before Wells rounded second.
Rasmussen dominated a lineup that scored 18 runs in a two-game Wild Card Series sweep of Boston and was still missing three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, sidelined since Sept. 16 by a calf injury.
“You say the word dominate. Man, I feel like I’m grinding out there,” Rasmussen said. “I mean, it’s the same thing regardless of the lineup. If you execute on a day, hitting’s really hard. And so it’s just one of those things that, can I go out and throw strike one and can I execute at a zone with two strikes?”
The 31-year-old Rasmussen struck out 10 and walked two in eight innings. He threw 69 of 101 pitches for strikes, getting 23 swings and misses against a batting order that started eight left-handed hitters.
“I thought he was really sharp,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought his changeup was good for him and in play. Obviously, with our left-handed hitters, it looked like he had the cutter going when he needed to. Then the good four-seamer where he mixed in some sinkers off of it. His command is just really good and kind of what sets him apart. He’s got a great arsenal. The ability to pitch on both sides of the plate and up and down obviously makes him challenging and one we’ve had a hard time solving.”
Bryan Baker pitched a perfect ninth for the save, finishing the one-hitter. He struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, in his first plate appearance since April 24 after recovering from calf injuries, froze Ben Rice with a changeup for a called third strike and retired Cody Bellinger on a grounder to secure Tampa Bay’s first postseason win since 2021.
The Rays haven't won a postseason series since losing the 2020 World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Baker converted 41 of 44 save chances in the regular season, including his last 30.
Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Monday night at Tropicana Field.
Aranda drove Cole’s 2-2 changeup several rows deep into the right-center stands for his first career postseason hit.
“We know the rival we have against the Yankees and the opponent that they are," Aranda said. “It’s important to get the first game, but we feel really good and I felt really good with that base hit.”
In his first playoff game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2025, Cole allowed one run and five hits in five innings with five strikeouts. It wasn't good enough, as the Yankees lost a 1-0 postseason game for the first time since Hall of Famer Don Drysdale threw a three-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.
A loud, boisterous crowd rang cowbells and drowned out Yankees fans in the quirky Trop, which hosted its first postseason game since Hurricane Milton blew the roof off in October 2024. The Rays were forced to play their 2025 season across the bay at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees.
“That’s the best crowd noise I’ve ever witnessed in any ballpark,” Cash said.
Rasmussen was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA for the Rays and made the All-Star team for the second straight season. He twice had surgery for a torn ligament in his elbow in college and needed an internal-brace procedure in July 2023 that forced him to miss more than a year.
His 10 strikeouts tied Tyler Glasnow's franchise record for the most in a postseason game.
Rasmussen has had success against the AL East rival Yankees throughout his career. He entered with a 1.81 ERA in 10 career starts and one relief appearance against New York, and on Sept. 22 took a no-hit bid into the seventh against the Yankees in the win that clinched the AL East title for the Rays.
“What wasn’t elite? I mean, he was just incredible and he did that in Yankee Stadium the night that we were fortunate enough to clinch,” Cash said. “It seemed like he went out and doubled down tonight. Made it pretty easy to sit back and watch and take some decisions out of our hands.”
RHP Cam Schlittler, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, will start Game 2 for the Yankees. RHP Freddy Peralta will take the mound for the Rays.
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