The Tampa Bay Rays opened their ALDS with exactly the kind of outing that can tilt a series: Drew Rasmussen shoved the Yankees around for eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win, carrying a no-hitter into that frame and piling up 10 strikeouts along the way.
Now Tampa Bay is turning the page to Game 2 at Tropicana Field, and the choice on the mound is Freddy Peralta, not Nick Martinez. According to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times on X, the Rays will give Peralta the start on Monday against the Yankees.
At first glance, the move might catch some people off guard. But it fits.
Peralta hasn’t pitched since Sept. 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies, so he enters the postseason outing with 10 days of rest. If Tampa Bay had pushed him back to Game 3, he would have been sitting on nearly two full weeks without game action.
For a pitcher who thrives on routine, that’s a real consideration.
Martinez, meanwhile, is also dealing with a long layoff. His last start came on Sept. 27 in the regular season, and he’s slated to be the presumed starter for the first game at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7, which would leave him with nine days between starts.
The recent form matters too, and that’s where Peralta gets the edge. Martinez put together an excellent 2026 campaign, but he gave up at least two earned runs in each of his last three starts, including four earned runs in just 2.2 innings in his final outing against the Phillies.
Peralta has been rolling. Over his last six starts, he’s allowed only three earned runs, and the Rays won all six games. During that stretch, he posted a 0.79 ERA across 34 innings with 27 strikeouts.
The Rays’ staff has also clearly helped him settle back in after his struggles with the New York Mets before the trade deadline, when Tampa Bay acquired him. His first four starts with the club were rough, but over the final weeks of the regular season he looked like the ace he was with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025.
So with the series lead in hand and Rasmussen already setting the tone, Tampa Bay is trusting Peralta to keep the momentum moving in Game 2.
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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 🡒]
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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
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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 🡒]