Just For Starters: Breaking Down Drew Rasmussen's Start vs. Blue Jays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the fourth straight outing, Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen was exceptional on Friday night. He allowed just one run, and in his last four starts, he has allowed just a total of three runs and 11 hits.

He left with a 2-1 lead, getting a surprisingly early hook from Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash. Rasmussen had thrown only 78 pitches when he was removed with two outs in the sixth inning. (UPDATE: The Rays scored three runs in the eighth inning, and won 5-2. Here's the complete game story. CLICK HERE)

Here's what Rasmussen did Friday night, along with the cumulative numbers of the starters this season:

Rays' Starters By The Numbers

Starter: Drew Rasmussen
Game: Friday (May 13) vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Decision: None
Team result: Rays won, 5-2.
Innings pitched: 5 2/3
Total pitches: 78
Strikes: 51
Runs allowed: 1
Earned runs: 1
Hits allowed: 3
Walks allowed: 1
Total strikeouts: 1
Status upon departure: Drew Rasmussen left with two outs in the sixth inning. He got the first two outs, but then allowed an infield single and a walk. Vladmir Guerrero Jr. singled to right to drive in a run to make it 2-1 Rays. He was replaced by Ryan Thompson, who got the final out of the inning.
The skinny: Rasmussen was outstanding for the fourth straight start. He had just the one strikeout, but he was getting a lot of soft contact instead, gettin a lot of easy ground ball outs. I was a little surprised he got the hook when he did, because he was pitching well and the count wasn't very high.

Season Totals for Rays Starters

Starters: Shane McClanahan (7), Drew Rasmussen (7), Corey Kluber
(6), Josh Fleming (2), Ryan Yarbrough (2), Jeffrey Springs, Luis Patino, Tommy Romero,
Games: 27 (6 openers, not included in numbers)
Decisions: 8-9 through Friday
Team result: 20-13 through Friday
Innings pitched (avg.): 123.1/4.57
- Season high innings: 7.0, Shane McClanahan (April 24, May 11)
- Season low innings: 2/3, Luis Patino (April 11)
Total pitches (avg.): 1,976/73.9
- Season high pitches: 100, Shane McClanahan (May 11)
- Season low pitches: 13, Luis Patino (April 11)
Total strikeouts (avg.): 128/4.74
- Season high strikeouts: 11, Shane McClanahan (April 30, May 11)
Runs allowed (avg.): 60/2.3
Earned runs (avg.): 56/2.1
Hits allowed (avg.): 110/4.07
- Season most hits allowed: 11, Corey Kluber (April 22, May 10)
Walks allowed (avg.): 36/1.3
Starter ERA: 4.09