Rasmussen's 4th Straight Scoreless Outing Paces Rays to 5-1 Win Over Rangers

TAMPA, Fla. — Nothing can stop Tampa Bay pitcher Drew Rasmussen these days. Not even a very rare rain delay at a home game.

The right-hander pitched five scoreless innings on Tuesday night, helping the Rays beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 in the first game of a three-game series at Steinbrenner Field. It's his fourth straight start without allowing a run, and his scoreless streak is up to 23 innings now. He's won four straight starts for the first time in his career.

He only allowed one hit for the second straight start, too. He's making it look easy, even though we know that it's not.

"He's locked in and he's executing. That fastball command and the action to it has been a big weapon for him,'' Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "He is on one incredible run right now and he did it today with the (rain) delay and that's not easy for any pitcher to sit down, because they are so routine-oriented.

"It took him out of his routine, but it didn't affect him whatsoever.''

Rasmussen outdueled Tyler Mahle, who came into the game with a 5-2 record and 1.64 ERA. They got to him with a Kameron Misner home run in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, and then scored three more runs in the sixth inning with some aggressive base running to go up 4-0.

The four runs were the most Mahle had allowed all year. Junior Caminero hit another home run in the eighth inning for an insurance run. It was his team-leading 14th home run of the season.

The Rays are now 31-29 with the win and are 8-1 in their last nine games at their temporary outdoor home in Tampa. It snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Rangers, and was just their second win against them in 14 regular-season tries.

Rasmussen was a big reason why. He had eight strikeouts — six on called strikes — and didn't walk anyone. The only hit came on a Jake Burger infield single in the third inning.

Rasmussen also had to wait out a rain delay, but thankfully it was a quick one, just 17 minutes. It allowed him to at least go five innings, and pick up the win. He's now 5-4 on the year, and his ERA is down to 2.14. It was at 3.38 on May 11.

"We found a way to be around the edges late in counts and lock some guys up,'' Rasmussen said. "Between the four-seamer and the two-seamer, we are able to ping-pong around a little bit and the cutter's in a good spot too. Between the three of them, it gives me confidence to throw everything in the zone.

"If you have to honor three different firm offerings and they're going in three different directions, it makes it tough on them. It's really cool to be on one of these streaks, but it's also on the heels of one of the worst stretches of my career, too.''

The three-run sixth was a weird inning for the Rays, and they took advantage of some sloppy play from the Rangers as well. Yandy Diaz drew a one-out walk from Mahle, and Jonathan Aranda followed with a single. When Mahle walked Caminero, the bases were loaded.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy went to his bullpen, but lefty Jacob Latz struggled with his command. He threw a wild pitch that Diaz scored on, and the other two runners moved up a base. Jake Mangum then beat out an infield dribber, and Aranda scored to make it 3-0.

With Misner up, Mangum took off for second, but Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka's throw was low and Caminero's quick break from third allowed him to steal home on the late delivery.

"That inning just got ugly,'' said Bochy, who's team — that just won a World Series in 2023 — is now 9-19 on the road and 29-32 overall. "One ball left the infield and they scored four runs. The wild pitch set it up, and that hurt us because it took the force away. It was just an ugly inning that we couldn't get out of.''

The well-rested Rays bullpen did its job too, covering the final four innings. Garrett Cleavinger gave up a run and two hits in the seventh, but Mason Montgomery, Edwin Uceta, Kevin Kelly and Pete Fairbanks covered the other three innings, not allowing any runs and just one hit.