St. Petersburg, FL – Drew Rasmussen delivered 7.2-innings of no-hit ball and when he finally gave up a hit to Austin Wells the Rays defense delivered a perfect relay throw to nab Wells trying to stretch a double to a triple. Jonathan Aranda gave Rasmussen all the offense he would need delivering a solo homer in the third inning. Bryan Baker worked a perfect ninth inning to preserve the shutout as the Rays defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 to win the first of the best of five American League Division Series.
The Rays victory snapped a seven-game losing streak in the postseason, a streak that spanned from October 8, 2021 through October 4, 2023. The shutout was the fourth one the Rays staff has delivered in franchise history and the first since October 7, 2021 when they defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-0. The win pulls the Rays back to .500 at 12-12 in their franchise postseason history.
Jonathan Aranda homered in the bottom of the third inning to put the Rays on top 1-0. The homer was on a 2-2 changeup from Gerrit Cole and left the bat at 107.1 miles per hour and traveled 417 feet. Jayson Stark on X posted that this was the first postseason homer by a Rays player at Tropicana Field since Ji-Man Choi delivered in the 2021 Division Series. The homer accounted for the Rays only run, it marks the first time in franchise history they have won a postseason game with the only run coming on a solo homer.
Drew Rasmussen hadn’t given up a hit until two outs in the top of the eighth when Austin Wells sent a ball into the right field corner. Wells attempted to turn the double into a triple and was thrown out to end the inning.
Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said after the game that the baserunning gaffe was an error of aggression. “I mean, there’s mistakes every now and then and aggression.” Boone said. “Obviously, that was one. He’s usually a little a more risk averse on the bases, but obviously it’s a mistake and it does not happen.”
Drew Rasmussen was impressed by his defense noting that Mesa took a peek at Wells to see if he was going to attempt the extra base. “He [Mesa] threw an absolute seed to Wallsy. And then, you know, we laugh about it. We Joke about it. Anything you can do to get the ball in Number 6’s hands is a really, really good option.” He said. “Taylor had the opportunity to make a relay on the play, and just as he always is, so sure-handed, so accurate with his throws, and it was a great way to end the outing.
Rasmussen worked eight shutout innings allowing just the one out while striking out ten and walking two. He made 101 pitches with 69 for strikes. He retired 23 of the 26 batters he faced. He retired 15 straight batters between a walk to Ben Rice in the third and the 2-out double to Austin Wells in the eighth.
Rasmussen’s 10 strikeouts ties a Rays franchise postseason record also held by Tyler Glasnow who struck out 10 New York Yankees on October 6, 2020.
Bryan Baker earned his first postseason save when he retired Giancarlo Stanton, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger in the ninth. He joins Rafael Soriano as the only Rays relievers to earn a postseason save with a 1-2-3 9th inning.
Gerrit Cole worked 5.0 innings allowing just the one run on Aranda’s solo homer on five hits while striking out five and walking one. It was Cole’s first postseason loss since Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS (October 22 vs the Houston Astros).
Up Next:
The Ray and Yankees will play the second game of the American League Division Series on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. EST. The Rays will send Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA) to the mound. New York will counter with right hander Cam Schlitter (14-6, 1.95 ERA).
Cam Schlitter made some waves in his pre-game presser on Saturday afternoon saying he doesn’t believe there is much of a home field advantage for the Rays. “I wouldn’t say there’s really too much of a (home) crowd here. I expect there to be a lot of Yankees fans. In some ways, you are, to an extent, kind of playing at home.” He said. “I feel like the guys are excited to have that atmosphere here.”
Peralta coming off a stellar September (4-0, 0.96 ERA) which earned him pitcher of the month was told after the game that he would get the nod Monday night. Peralta has mentioned how special he believes pitching in the postseason is and how excited he is to be with the Rays. He felt the energy of the team the day he arrived here from the New York Mets.
“Very special because since I got here I felt something I was looking for, which is the energy, the way the boys play the game.” He said. “Like when I talk about the defense, they are amazing. The way the come into the field, the way they take their bats, too. When I talk aobut the offense. It’s amazing. I just, we need to keep it that way – simple.”
