Drew Rasmussen Dominates Yankees Leading Rays To Game 1 Win
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After five days off, the reward for winning the American League East and being the No. 1 seed, the Tampa Bay Rays were back on the field for Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.
The Yankees dominated the Boston Red Sox in their Wild Card Round series, outscoring them 18-2 in a two-game sweep. They entered the series with the Rays with a ton of offensive momentum, but starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen quickly cooled them off.
If there were any doubts about him being an ace, he put them to rest with a historic performance in Game 1, leading his team to a victory. Rasmussen was dominant all evening, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
New York catcher Austin Wells broke up the no-hitter with a hard-hit ball down the right field line, but he attempted to stretch what was an easy double into a triple and was thrown out on a great relay from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to shortstop Taylor Walls, throwing Wells out by a healthy margin.
Drew Rasmussen leads Rays to Game 1 win over Yankees
In the outing, Rasmussen threw eight innings, allowing only that one hit and issuing two walks to go along with 10 strikeouts. That tied Tyler Glasnow for the most strikeouts in a playoff game in franchise history. He also accomplished the feat against the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2020 ALDS.
It was as good a performance as Tampa Bay could have hoped for from their ace. Given the ALDS schedule, he will assuredly take the mound again at some point in this series, either in Game 3 on short rest in the first game at Yankee Stadium or in Game 4, if necessary.
Take a bow, Drew Rasmussen.#ForTampaBay | #Postseason pic.twitter.com/wubmSHY5id
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 4, 2026
With a 1-0 lead, it was All-Star closer Bryan Baker who was called upon to finish the game. He put together a historic performance of his own this regular season, leading the MLB with 41 saves, and got the job done once again.
Baker faced pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, designated hitter Ben Rice and left fielder Cody Bellinger. They proved to be no match for the hard-throwing righty, who struck out Stanton and Rice and got Bellinger to ground out to first baseman Jonathan Aranda to end the game.
FIRST HOME RUN BELONGS TO JONATHAN ARANDA#ForTampaBay | #Postseason pic.twitter.com/WeB6rT8b8o
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 3, 2026
Speaking of Aranda, the only scoring in the game for either team came off his bat. In his second plate appearance of the game against Gerrit Cole, he took him deep to right-center field for the first postseason hit of his career.
The Rays now hold a 1-0 lead heading into Game 2, which is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.