Drew Rasmussen spent most of Saturday night making the Yankees look like they were chasing shadows.
The Rays right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning of Game 1 of the American League Division Series before Austin Wells finally broke through with a two-out double to right. Even then, New York couldn’t turn it into anything bigger. Wells was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple, and the inning ended with Tampa Bay still ahead 1-0.
That was the story all night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg: one clean escape after another for Rasmussen, and almost nothing from the Yankees to show for it.
Rasmussen finished with one hit allowed, two walks and 10 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings. He needed 101 pitches, 69 of them strikes, and didn’t give way until after Wells’ double became his final pitch. Bryan Baker handled the ninth, but Rasmussen had already done the heavy lifting for Tampa Bay.
Jonathan Aranda gave him the only run he’d need with a third-inning home run, and that slim edge forced Rasmussen to work with almost no cushion. He never blinked.
New York’s first few chances came and went quickly. Rasmussen opened by retiring the first three hitters he faced, then navigated around a second-inning walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a third-inning walk to Ben Rice. From there, the Yankees’ lineup kept missing.
Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. struck out in the fourth. Chisholm and Trent Grisham went down on strikes in the fifth. Cody Bellinger was caught looking in the sixth, and Jones struck out swinging again in the seventh.
By the time the Yankees came up in the eighth, they still didn’t have a hit.
Chisholm grounded out to first and Grisham grounded out to second before Wells finally sent a ball into right field. The double ended the no-hitter chase, but New York still couldn’t cash in. Wells was thrown out at third, and the Rays escaped with the shutout intact.
Tampa Bay’s offense didn’t exactly light it up, either. The Rays had five hits through seven innings and were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, which made Aranda’s homer all the more important.
Gerrit Cole was charged with the loss after allowing five hits and one run over five innings. He struck out five and walked one, and his lone real mistake came in the third when Aranda sent a 417-foot shot to right-center. Ryan Weathers and Paul Blackburn each followed with a scoreless inning, but the Yankees never found enough offense to back them up.
In the end, Rasmussen turned one run into a full-night command performance. Eight scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts and a lineup left empty-handed for most of the evening - that was enough to put Tampa Bay up 1-0 in the series. Game 3 comes Monday.
In Other News...
Ben Rice Suddenly Carries A Yankees Problem He Still Hasn't Solved
The Yankees opened their American League Division Series with a night that offered little room for optimism, and Ben Rice was right in the middle of it. Tampa Bays Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 1-0 Rays win, while New York was held to one hit, the fewest in the clubs postseason history, and Gerrit Cole took the loss in a game that quickly turned into a grind.
Rice, who has been an important part of the Yankees offense, could not find any traction against Rasmussen, finishing 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. For a lineup that already looked out of sync, his struggles underscored just how tough the matchup was, and how much pressure now sits on New Yorks bats to answer before this series gets any deeper. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Lineup Just Faced A Game 1 Problem That Changes Everything
The Yankees opened the ALDS facing exactly the kind of problem October can turn into a series-defining headache. Tampa Bay took Game 1 behind Drew Rasmussen, who worked eight dominant innings, scattered one hit and struck out 10, while Jonathan Arandas home run supplied the only run the Rays needed. Bryan Baker closed it out, leaving New York with an immediate uphill climb in a series where every early inning matters.
For the Yankees, the concern is less about one loss than the way the game was lost. Rasmussen controlled the lineup from start to finish, and the Rays paired that kind of pitching with just enough offense to put New York in chase mode right away. In a short series, a night like this can change the feel of everything, especially when the opponent has already shown it can win with one swing and a lockdown bullpen finish. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Have A Matt Blake Decision Fans Should Be Watching
Matt Blakes future is one of the quieter Yankees storylines worth watching as the season winds down. The pitching coach has been in the role since 2020, and the club has already exercised its option for 2026, a sign the organization wants to keep the current structure in place after years of stability on the mound.
The bigger question is what comes after that, because the Yankees are reportedly looking to retain Blake beyond next season as well. With this years staff producing strong results and both the rotation and bullpen ranking among the best in the league, Blake has built the kind of track record that usually leads to a longer stay, even if the final call still has to get sorted out. [Read more 🡒]