The Tampa Bay Rays just locked up the AL East crown behind an absolute gem from Drew Rasmussen, and honestly, the dude’s performance should have the entire league shaking their heads. In the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, Rasmussen put on a show, letting up just one run on one hit while striking out 11 batters across 6 ⅔ innings. This was the kind of outing the Rays needed from their best arm to secure the division title, but the real shocker? His pitch count hit a whopping 114.
Rasmussen’s Arm Is Throwing Baseball Back to the Future
Think about that 114-pitch count for a second. In much of baseball history, nobody would bat an eye. But nowadays, letting a starter get anywhere near that number is practically unheard of. The trend over the last three decades is wild. In 1996, starters hit 114 pitches or more 803 times. By 2006, that was down to 374. In 2016, it dropped to 167. And this season? Only 8 times has *any* starter reached that mark. Yet, Rasmussen went out and did it to clinch the division, setting a career-high for himself. He’d never thrown more than 97 pitches in an outing before this year, and now he’s done it six times!
This longer leash has been completely earned, though. Rasmussen has been cruising as one of the most dependable starters in the majors, a true metronome of run prevention. He’s battled injuries earlier in his career but has been super durable over the past two seasons. His numbers speak for themselves: among 89 arms with at least 500 innings pitched since the start of the 2022 season, Rasmussen’s 2.74 ERA ranks fourth, just behind Tarik Skubal (2.66), Blake Snell (2.69), and Chris Sale (2.71). He’s got a deep arsenal, rocking three fastball variations (29 percent cutter, 28 percent four-seam, 24 percent sinker), making it a nightmare to game-plan against him. Plus, he’s throwing more strikes than ever, with a career-low 4.8 percent walk rate that only his teammate Nick Martinez beats among qualified starters. The dude might not get the big headlines, but Rasmussen is unquestionably one of the best pitchers atop any postseason rotation, and he’s a huge reason the Rays are comfortably perched in the American League.
The Yankees Have Their Own Pitching Puzzle For October
While the Rays were celebrating, the Yankees did manage to take that series, winning three of the four games. But they’ve got their own questions bubbling as the postseason gets underway. The biggest one? Who exactly is New York’s third-best starter? There’s been talk, believe it or not, that AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler might not even get the ball in Game 1 of their wild-card series next week. Most folks assumed he’d be the guy, but hints suggest otherwise. What’s the plan here, New York?
This final week of the regular season was basically a sneak peek at the postseason matchups heading into the October tournament. These games were the last tuneups, and it’s clear these teams are still figuring things out. It’ll be wild to see how these pitching questions for both the Rays and Yankees play out when the real stakes hit.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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