The Tampa Bay Rays are staying with the same outfield look for Game 2 of the American League Division Series, and that means Cedric Mullins is again starting on the bench.
After opening the series with a 1-0 win over the Yankees, Tampa Bay will try to carry that momentum into Monday night with Freddy Peralta on the mound against Cam Schlittler. The Rays already grabbed the kind of October game that usually swings a series: a tight pitching duel, Gerrit Cole against Drew Rasmussen, decided by one swing. Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer was the difference, and Rasmussen made it stand up.
Now the Rays are facing another demanding pitching matchup, and Kevin Cash has kept the lineup aligned with what he used in Game 1. Tampa Bay is going with DeLuca over Mullins again, even with a right-hander on the mound. Mullins, one of the bigger additions for the club this offseason, remains out of the starting group.
DeLuca didn’t do much in the opener, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Cole. Still, the Rays are sticking with him rather than turning to Mullins for the righty-lefty edge against Schlittler.
It’s a notable choice on the surface, but the numbers help explain it. DeLuca has gone 1-for-3 against Schlittler, while Mullins is 1-for-5.
The gap has been bigger over the course of the season, too. DeLuca posted an OPS 100 points higher than Mullins, and Mullins’ overall year has been well below what Tampa Bay was hoping for. With those numbers in mind, and with the Rays already leaning into DeLuca in Game 1, Cash is clearly comfortable keeping him in place until something changes.
That doesn’t mean Tampa Bay won’t continue to mix and match as the series goes on. But for now, DeLuca is the guy, and Mullins is watching from the bench again.
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It was the kind of postseason decision that can define a series before it really starts, especially for a Rays team that has long been built around pitching judgment and nerve. After Rasmussen finished his job, Bryan Baker was asked to finish it off, and he did just that by striking out a key Yankees hitter to seal the 1-0 win and give Tampa Bay an early edge. [Read more 🡒]
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Rays Have A Chance To Put The Yankees In Serious Trouble
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For Tampa Bay, the opportunity is obvious: protect home field, keep the pressure on a Yankees club that is already trailing, and make New York chase the series from an uncomfortable position. The crowd should be a big part of the evening at Tropicana Field, where the Rays know another sharp performance could push the Yankees into serious trouble before the matchup shifts again. [Read more 🡒]