ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen wasn’t going to threaten perfection for a second straight start, as he walked Kansas City catcher MJ Melendez to open Saturday’s game at Tropicana Field.
Instead, he made a run at a no-hitter, blanking the Royals into the sixth inning in a second straight dominant outing that led to a Rays win.
The final was 5-2, as the Rays improved to 64-55, held on to the second American League wild-card spot and (while in third place a game behind Toronto) moved to within an intriguing eight games of the slumping AL-East leading Yankees.
Last Sunday, Rasmussen took a perfect game into the ninth inning before allowing a double, on his first pitch of the inning, and a run on a wild pitch. The start before that, pre-planned to be abbreviated to three innings, he allowed only one baserunner, who reached on an error.
Over the three starts, Rasmussen is 2-0 with a 1.58 ERA, allowing three hits and one walk over 17 innings while striking out 17.
Saturday, the Rays gave him an early lead, scoring three runs in the second off Royals lefty starter Kris Bubic.
Francisco Mejia’s leadoff infield single and Isaac Paredes’ double set them up. A single by Yu Chang, a Bubic wild pitch and a double by a warmed-up Taylor Walls led to three runs.
The Rays made it 4-0 in the fourth when Walls drew a leadoff walk and Yandy Diaz, who also has has gotten hot again, doubled him in.
Rasmussen allowed his first hit when Melendez singled to center with one out in the sixth. He then gave up a double to Bobby Witt Jr., and a Salvador Perez sacrifice fly got the Royals a run. Perez’s plate appearance ended the day for Rasmussen, who had the extended outing six days earlier.
Reliever Brooks Raley gave up a single to allow the Royals within 4-2.
The Rays added another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Chang.
