Game 1 of the MLB Division Series kicked off Saturday, and for the New York Yankees, it was a brutal start, losing a tight 1-0 battle to the Tampa Bay Rays. This loss stings even more because it came down to a baffling baserunning decision from Yankees catcher Austin Wells, right after he delivered a massive hit. You just can’t make those kinds of mistakes in the postseason, especially with the odds already stacked against you. The team that wins Game 1 in a best-of-five series goes on to win the whole thing 73% of the time, and a sweep happens 32% of the time. The Rays now lead the series 1-0, just like the White Sox after their 3-0 win over the Guardians and the Dodgers after beating the Braves 5-3. Tonight, it’s Padres at Brewers, but the real talk is all about what went down in St. Pete.
Rays Ace Drew Rasmussen Just Showed Why He’s a Cy Young Finalist
Let’s be real, while Wells’ play was a gut punch for the Yankees, you have to hand it to Drew Rasmussen. The Rays’ 31-year-old ace, who’s been the linchpin of their rotation for two seasons, absolutely carved up the Yankees. He’s had a career-best year, rocking a sub-3.00 ERA, a sub-2.00 FIP, and an AL-leading K/BB ratio of 5.44 across 172 innings. He’s totally deserving of that high finish in the AL Cy Young vote. And in his first postseason start ever, he showed why. Rasmussen threw an absolute gem, going 8 innings, giving up zero runs on just one hit, striking out 10, and walking only two. Those 10 strikeouts tied a Rays postseason record, and he got a jaw-dropping 23 whiffs on 54 swings, a 43% swing-and-miss rate. He set the tone early, even shutting down the Yankees in the fourth after Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with a homer. Rasmussen retired 15 batters in a row and was rolling, carrying a no-hitter all the way into the eighth inning.
Austin Wells’ Wild Baserunning Decision That Broke the Yankees’ Back
Then came the eighth, and for a split second, Austin Wells looked like a hero. With two outs and Rasmussen still holding that no-hitter, and the Rays clinging to a 1-0 lead, Wells ripped a 1-0 sinker for a 107.8 mph double down the right field line. Boom! No-hitter gone! That’s a huge moment, right? But what happened next? Wells, instead of stopping at second base, where he might have even chased Rasmussen from the game, foolishly tried to stretch it into a triple. The man got thrown out attempting to make third. Are you kidding me? An ill-timed, over-aggressive baserunning decision completely erased a potential rally and ended the inning. Rasmussen, despite the double, escaped clean, his incredible Game Score of 88 holding strong. That’s a brutal way to squander a breakthrough hit, especially in a game where every single run matters.
This kind of play can just suck the air out of a team, and now the Yankees are already facing an uphill climb, down 1-0 in the series. They’ve got to regroup fast for Game 2, because falling behind 2-0 is a hole they definitely don’t want to be in. The pressure is on, big time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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