The Yankees took a brutal 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS, and man, what a way to start a series. It all came down to one guy: Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. He threw the game of his life, absolutely carving up New York. We’re talking 7.2 no-hit innings before Austin Wells finally broke it up with a double in the eighth. Rasmussen finished with eight shutout innings, gave up just one hit and two walks, and fanned 10 batters. Dude broke multiple franchise postseason records doing it. You just had to tip your cap after that.
Rasmussen Was Just Unsolvable
Yankees manager Aaron Boone couldn’t stop praising Rasmussen’s stuff, saying he was “really sharp.” His change-up was good, the cutter was there when he needed it, and he mixed in sinkers off a nasty four-seamer. But the real kicker? That command. “His command is just really good and kind of what sets him apart,” Boone said. “He’s got a great arsenal. The ability to pitch on both sides of the plate and up and down obviously makes him challenging and one we’ve had a hard time solving.” Jazz Chisholm Jr., who drew one of the Yankees’ two walks, summed it up perfectly: “He just hit all his spots today. He was on. He wasn’t leaving anything [over the plate]. He wasn’t giving in. He wasn’t leaving it middle 3-2, he wasn’t scared to walk guys and get the next guy.” Luis Garcia Jr. added that it felt like Rasmussen “never missed a pitch, location-wise and execution-wise” for all eight innings. Sometimes, you just have to hand it to the opposing pitcher.
A Familiar Nightmare for New York
Here’s the kicker, though: this wasn’t even the first time Rasmussen has owned the Yankees this season. Back on September 22 in the Bronx, he gave up just one run on one hit over 6.2 innings, striking out 11. Aside from one rough outing where New York hung six runs on him in 2.1 innings, Rasmussen had tossed 13 shutout innings against the Yankees in his previous two starts this season. Boone pointed out that Rasmussen has “a lot of different ways to beat you,” starting with that incredible command. When he’s got presence “on both sides of the plate and up and down,” and you respect his four-seam, he can freeze hitters with anything else. “His mix was really strong. I thought he kind of used everything against us, and he cut us up again,” Boone admitted. Garcia said the plan was to battle, get into long counts, and make him work, but Rasmussen “kept executing pitches and attacking the zone.”
So, what’s next? It’s a best-of-five series, and the Yankees are almost certainly going to see Rasmussen again. Boone isn’t sweating it yet, though. He’s confident his team can figure out the Rays’ ace. “I think we’re due the next time,” he said. “We’ve done it before, and I know our guys are very confident.” They better be, because one more performance like that and this series could be over before it even really starts.
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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