Drew Rasmussen continued an incredible late-season run of dominance by making history against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS.
The 31-year-old baffled New York’s lineup for eight shutout innings and carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 1–0 victory. It marked the first time the Yankees had been held hitless beyond six innings in a postseason game. It was also the longest no-hit bid in Rays postseason history. It was the deepest no-hit bid in an MLB playoff game since Anibal Sánchez lasted 7 2/3 no-hit innings for the Nationals in Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS against the Cardinals.
Over those eight masterful innings, Rasmussen allowed only one hit, a double from Austin Wells with two outs in the eighth. Wells was erased attempting to stretch it into a triple, meaning New York recorded its first hit and final out against Rasmussen on the same play. Tampa’s ace also walked two and tied the franchise’s postseason record with 10 strikeouts.
Rasmussen kept the Yankees off balance by deploying his changeup far more than he usually does. He threw 101 pitches and, as usual, his cutter led the way, accounting for 34 of them. But he used the changeup 28 times, more than doubling its 13% usage rate during the regular season. Against the Yankees’ lefty-heavy lineup, he peppered them with it, throwing the pitch 26 times against lefties and twice against righties. New York’s hitters whiffed 10 of their 18 swings against it. Rasmussen had plenty of swing-and-miss stuff all afternoon, posting a 43% whiff rate, far higher than his regular season mark of 25.1%.
Saturday’s start didn’t come out of nowhere. Rasmussen dominated in September, going 2–0 with a 1.05 ERA and 25 strikeouts on five walks in 25 2/3 innings over four starts.
Rasmussen has quietly been one of MLB’s best pitchers when healthy over the past few seasons. Since returning from an internal brace procedure on his pitching elbow in August 2024, Rasmussen is 26–12 with a 2.72 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 350 2/3 innings. He has been an All-Star in each of the past two seasons. Since 2021, Rasmussen has been stellar when healthy. That’s evidence by his 2.76 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in taht time.
While he fell short of a no-hitter, Rasmussen made a clear statement. If this is the version of him Tampa Bay gets in October, the Rays have an ace capable of matching anyone.
Gerrit Cole was solid for New York in his five innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out five. A third-inning home run by Johnathan Aranda was the only damage against the former Cy Young winner, but it proved to be enough.
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The issue for the Yankees was the offense, which looked toothless with Aaron Judge sidelined. The top five hitters in the lineup, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Luis García Jr., Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr., combined to go 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts and one walk. Without Judge in the middle of that lineup, it looks much weaker and far more beatable. Then again, any lineup missing a three-time MVP would probably look just as disappointing. But it’s clear the New York doesn’t have the depth of its past championship teams.
With their star player in the lineup this season, the Yankees am OPS and averaged 5.12 runs per game while going 41–25. Without him, the team’s OPS fell to .690, and their runs per game dropped to 4.22, while New York went 52–43.
A team that outscored the Red Sox 18–2 in the wild-card series suddenly looked vulnerable at the plate. Boston showed the Yankees can survive without Judge. Tampa Bay showed how precarious that can be against elite pitching.
