1. The last meaningful game the Yankees and Rays played during the regular season foreshadowed what unfolded on Saturday. On September 22, Drew Rasmussen no-hit the Yankees until the seventh inning in the win that clinched the Rays the division and on Saturday, Rasmussen no-hit the Yankees into the eighth inning in a win that gave the Rays a 1-0 series lead in the ALDS.
2. The Yankees went 1-for-24 with two walks and 10 strikeouts against Rasmussen. Rasmussen does to the Yankees what Cam Schlittler does to the Red Sox, and if not for the Yankees getting to him in July, I would say what he does to them is even more impressive than what Schlittler does to the Red Sox (and even with that July start, it still might be).
3. It was a bad game. It was both frustrating and miserable to watch. The Yankees had one hit in the game on an Austin Wells double with two outs in the eighth, and Wells was immediately erased by idiotically trying to stretch an easy stand-up double into a triple.
“I felt like if I got to third there, I was almost guaranteeing that if we got another ball on the turf there, we were going to score a run and tie the game,” Wells said.
I have no idea what that means. Wells believes if he got to third then the next batter would have put the ball in play on the turf and that would have led to a run? Not a groundout?
4. “I was committed to being [at third] and thought I had a good chance to get there,” Wells said, despite being thrown out by 10 feet.
“I think you have to take risks,” Wells said, “but in that situation, obviously the risk was wrong.”
I believe Wells forgot how many outs there were, which wouldn’t be the first time he has done so. Because there was no value in getting to third there. The only reason standing on third there makes a difference is if the following plate appearance includes a wild pitch or passed ball, or if there is an infield single. The risk greatly outweighed the reward and it was a foolish mistake for a player who has two triples in 1,414 plate appearances as a major leaguer (regular season and postseason). Based on that, there was a 0.14 percent chance of him hitting a triple.
5. I don’t think it would have mattered if Wells had stopped at second or somehow made it to third. Does anyone think the next hitter, whether it was Ryan McMahon or a pinch hitter, would have come through? Either Rasmussen would have easily retired the next batter or Kevin Cash would have gone to Bryan Baker to retire the batter. It likely wouldn’t have mattered with the way those two looked in Game 1, but I sure would have liked to find out.
6. TBS showed that it was the first time in Yankees history that the team was no-hit through six innings, so it was also the first time they were no-hit for seven innings and for 7 2/3 innings. It was a dismal offensive performance for a lineup featuring eight left-handed bats against Rasmussen. But maybe that’s part of it. Rasmussen was able to stay with what was working for every hitter other than George Lombard Jr., and unsurprisingly, Lombard Jr. had the best at-bats against Rasmussen of the game. It was too reminiscent of the Yankees’ approach and performance against righties Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavages in the first two games of the ALDS last year.
7. I advocated for Carlos Rodon to start Game 1, but understood why he was held back to start either Game 3 or 4. The Game 1 loss wasn’t on Gerrit Cole, who has a penchant for not performing in the postseason unless there aren’t fans allowed at the game or unless he’s facing an AL Central opponent. Cole pitched fine. One earned run (on a solo home run, of course) over five innings was fine. But it’s not like he was dealing outside of one Jonathan Aranda swing. He gave up two balls off the wall and only had one 1-2-3 inning in his outing.
8. Before Game 1, I wrote the following:
The Yankees could lose both Rasmussen starts and still win the series.
This still holds true. The Rays had to win Game 1. If they lost Game 1, they could potentially be swept. They have to win the Rasmussen starts and one more start, just like the Yankees have to win the Schlittler starts and one more game.
I believe that many more things have to go right for the Rays to win three games than need to go right for the Yankees to win three games.
I still believe this.
The Rays are going to get good-to-great starting pitching and superb managing and will play exceptional defense.
They got the great starting pitching and superb managing and played flawless defense.
But they have to win the Rasmussen starts and win one of the non-Rasmussen starts and get production from their Big 3 at the top of the order and get shutdown performances from their bullpen.
They won the first Rasmussen start, the only run of the game came from their Big 3 and Baker — the only reliever to appear in the game — was unhittable in the ninth.
9. I also wrote:
The Yankees could lose both Rasmussen starts and still win the series.
The Rays need to win both Rasmussen starts (Game 1 and Game 4) and one other game. The Yankees need to win both Cam Schlittler starts (Game 2 and Game 5) and one other game. That one other game for both teams is Game 3. The Yankees have to win Game 2 and Game 3. Rasmussen will pitch for a second time in the series (Game 4) before Schlittler does (Game 5). The Yankees can’t go into Rasmussen’s next start down 2-1 in the series.
10. If the Yankees lose on Saturday, that will be a wrap on the series. This isn’t going to be like 2001 or 2017 where the Yankees came back down 2-0 in the ALDS. Not with Rasmussen waiting. He’s their kryptonite, just like Cliff Lee was with the Phillies and Rangers against the Yankees. As a fan, you have to plan to lose Rasmussen’s starts, and because of that, the Yankees now have to win the next two games. In order to win the next two games, the Yankees will need to win the next game first. And in the most important game of the season, they have the best pitcher in the league going, and I believe he will send the series to the Bronx tied at 1.
Last modified: Oct 5, 2026
