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Three takeaways from Rays 1, Yankees 0: Rasmussen's masterclass and a costly dash for third

One hit. One run. One game to nothing in a best-of-five series.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 1–0 at Tropicana Field on Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Jonathan Aranda's solo home run in the third inning was the only scoring. Drew Rasmussen and Bryan Baker made it stand up with a combined one-hitter.

Here is what decided it.

1. Rasmussen beat the Yankees by making them miss

Rasmussen did not allow a hit until two were out in the eighth inning. He struck out 10, tying the Rays' postseason record, walked two and at one stage retired 15 batters in a row.

The number that explains it is 23. That is how many swinging strikes he drew, a career high and the most by any Rays pitcher in a playoff game. The Yankees' lineup is built to punish mistakes with power. It cannot do that while it is swinging through pitches, and for most of the night it did exactly that.

The bid was historic even without the finish. Only seven pitchers in the modern era have carried a no-hitter through seven and two-thirds innings in the postseason, and no Ray had ever taken one that far.

2. The only Yankees hit ended with an out

With two out in the eighth, Austin Wells finally broke the spell, lining a double down the right-field line.

Then he kept running. The Rays relayed the ball from Victor Mesa Jr. to Taylor Walls to Junior Caminero, and Wells was thrown out at third to end the inning. New York's best moment of the night, a runner in scoring position in a one-run game, disappeared on a single aggressive decision.

Baker then pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

3. Cole was good enough to win most nights

It would be easy to blame Gerrit Cole for a playoff loss. That would be unfair. He pitched five innings and allowed one run on five hits, with a walk and five strikeouts.

His one mistake was the pitch Aranda hit out in the third. On almost any other night, one run against the Yankees' ace would leave his team in a strong position. On Saturday it was the whole game.

What it means for Game 2

The series moves to Game 2 on Monday night at Tropicana Field, at 8 p.m. ET. Cam Schlittler starts for New York after a 14–6 regular season with a 1.95 ERA. The Rays counter with Freddy Peralta, who posted a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts after arriving at the trade deadline.

In a 2-2-1 format, the Yankees cannot afford to leave Florida two games down. Schlittler's numbers say he can keep the Rays quiet. The question is whether New York's hitters can do what they could not on Saturday: put the ball in play, and make it count.

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