Rasmussen Sparkles Again, Rays Take Series From Twins With 5-0 Win

Drew Rasmussen allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings on Wednesday, helping the Tampa Bay Rays take the series against the Minnesota Twins with a 5-0 win. He's now pitched 18 scoreless innings in a row.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen allowed just one hit on Wednesday in a 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

TAMPA, Fla. — The pitching matchup had been circled for a week or so. Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen and Minnesota's Pablo Lopez are two of the best right-handers in the game.

So there was no question that runs would be at a premium under the scorching Florida sun on Wednesday afternoon. But it was Rasmussen who stole the show, pitching six scoreless innings for the third game in a row in a 5-0 Rays win at Steinbrenner Field.

He allowed just one hit as the Rays finished a nine-game homestand with a 7-2 mark, winning three consecutive series against Houston, Toronto and Minnesota — three teams that arrived in Tampa with winning records.

“He was pretty dominant today,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Rasmussen. “He's really executing pitches at a very high level over his last handful of starts.”

Rasmussen has now pitched 18 scoreless innings in a row. He gave up a leadoff single to former Oregon State teammate Trevor Larnach in the first inning, and that was it. He hit a batter and walked another, but no Twins got past second base against him. Edwin Uceta, Mason Montgomery and Connor Seabold closed it out, all giving up hits but no runs. It was the Rays' fifth shutout of the season

And just as importantly, the Rays' bats came up big against Lopez, who came into the game with a 2.31 ERA. They scored three runs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie. Brandon Lowe homered to start the inning, and after Jonathan Aranda's one-out single, Junior Caminero hit a two-run blast to left field that carried 408 feet.

Aranda had an RBI single in the fifth to tack on another run, and then scored on a balk in the eighth. The win pushed the Rays back over .500 at 28-27, and they finished their best nine-game homestand since 2018, when they went 8-1. They outscored the Astros, Blue Jays and Twins 47-18 during the run

“I think we have a very good team here. Some of the play early on wasn't representative of what we're able to do,” Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe told reporters after the game. “I think that we're really showing what we can do right now.”

The Rays hit the road for the weekend, playing four games against the Astros, starting on Thursday night. Shane Baz (4-3, 4.94 ERA) will pitch for Tampa Bay. Ryan Gusto (3-2, 4.58 ERA) will pitch for Houston. It's a quick trip for the Rays. They'll be back home on Tuesday for a six-game homestand with Texas and Miami.