The Rays held Drew Rasmussen back for Game 1 of the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Kevin Cash’s choice was clear: save his ace for the next night. Game 2 didn’t go the way Tampa Bay planned.
With an extra day of rest, Rasmussen still couldn’t find his usual rhythm. He was knocked out after 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out four and walking two.
That was the shortest outing Rasmussen has had in 97 days. As Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted on X, formerly Twitter, his last shorter start came on July 9, when he managed only 2.1 innings against the New York Yankees. It was also the last time he failed to get through at least five innings.
Tampa Bay gave Rasmussen an early cushion, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of Game 2, led off with a huge Liam Hicks home run. But Milwaukee quickly chipped away, and Rasmussen gave back half of that advantage by allowing two runs.
He never really settled in after that. Cash turned to Cam Booser before the end of the fourth, with the Rays hanging on to a 4-3 lead.
The rough night stood in sharp contrast to what Rasmussen had done earlier in the postseason. He dominated the Yankees in the ALDS with eight shutout innings, then followed that with another strong showing in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, when he allowed one run over seven innings. The start before that wasn’t as clean, but he still worked six innings and gave up just two runs.
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