On a cool October night in Tampa, Drew Rasmussen came within four outs of joining the rarest company in baseball history, retiring batter after batter in a performance that reminded us how close perfection can come before the game reasserts its stubborn humanity. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS, carried by a near-no-hitter that was undone not by the pitcher but by a baserunner's ambition and a relay throw that arrived one step too soon. In the postseason, where margins are everything, a single hung sinker and a misread signal proved enough to separate
Rasmussen's near no-hitter lifts Rays past Yankees in ALDS Game 1
Wells either did not see the signal or chose to ignore it
Mark
So Rasmussen was four outs away from a postseason no-hitter. How rare is that actually?
Mimi
It's extraordinarily rare. Only two pitchers have ever done it in the postseason—Larsen in 1956, Halladay in 2010. Rasmussen was that close.
Luke
But he didn't do it. Wells got a hit. The question is whether that hit mattered, and it did—but only because Wells made a baserunning mistake.
Mark
Tell me about that mistake.
Mimi
Wells hit a double with two outs in the eighth. The third-base coach was waving him back, telling him to stay at second. Wells either didn't see it or ignored it and kept running for third.
Luke
And he was thrown out on a perfect relay. So the no-hitter ended, but the damage was contained. One hit, one out.
Mark
Did that baserunning error cost the Yankees the game?
Mimi
It's hard to say it cost them the game, because they were already down 1-0. But in a one-run game, every out matters. They needed baserunners, and Wells gave one away.
Luke
The real story is Rasmussen's performance. Cole pitched well—five innings, one run. On most nights that holds up. But Rasmussen was better.
Mark
What made him so dominant?
Mimi
Ten strikeouts, 15 consecutive outs at one stretch. The Yankees had never been held hitless through six innings of a playoff game before this. He was operating at a level they couldn't touch.
Luke
And now the Rays have a 1-0 series lead heading home. That's significant.
Mark
What does the Yankees need to do in Game 2?
Mimi
They need to find a way to score. Schlittler will start for them, but the Rays' pitching has already shown it can shut them down completely.
Le Pouls
- Rasmussen was four outs from becoming only the third pitcher in baseball history to throw a postseason no-hitter, retiring 15 straight batters against a Yankees lineup that had just torched Boston for 26 hits.
- Austin Wells broke the spell with a two-out double in the eighth, but immediately turned his moment of triumph into a critical blunder by ignoring his third-base coach's stop sign.
- A clean relay from right field to shortstop to third base cut Wells down by a step, erasing any chance the Yankees had to capitalize on the only hit they would manage all night.
- Gerrit Cole pitched well enough to win on most evenings, but Jonathan Aranda's solo home run in the third inning proved to be the only run either team would need.
- The Rays take a commanding 1-0 series lead into Game 2, leaving the Yankees to reckon with a pitching staff that has already demonstrated it can make October feel very long.
On a cool October night in Tampa, Drew Rasmussen came within four outs of joining the rarest company in baseball history, retiring batter after batter in a performance that reminded us how close perfection can come before the game reasserts its stubborn humanity. The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS, carried by a near-no-hitter that was undone not by the pitcher but by a baserunner's ambition and a relay throw that arrived one step too soon. In the postseason, where margins are everything, a single hung sinker and a misread signal proved enough to separate history from a very good game.
Drew Rasmussen came within four outs of history Saturday night, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS. The performance tied a Rays postseason record with 10 strikeouts and nearly placed Rasmussen alongside Don Larsen and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers to throw a no-hitter in October baseball.
Rasmussen was relentless from the start. After the second inning, he retired 15 consecutive batters against a Yankees lineup that had just swept Boston in the wild-card round, scoring 18 runs in two games. The Yankees had never been held hitless through six innings of a playoff game before this night.
The no-hitter ended in the eighth when Austin Wells drove a middle-of-the-zone sinker into a double with two outs. What followed made it worse. Third-base coach Luis Rojas signaled Wells to stop, but Wells kept running. Right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. fielded cleanly, the relay reached third in time, and Wells was out by a step. Yankees manager Aaron Boone called it a clear mistake in a one-run game.
Rasmussen finished the eighth on 101 pitches before being pulled. Gerrit Cole had pitched five solid innings for New York, but Jonathan Aranda's solo home run in the third was all the Rays needed. Three innings of hitless relief sealed it.
The Rays carry a 1-0 lead into Game 2 on Monday at Tropicana Field, where the Yankees will send Cam Schlittler to the mound against a Tampa pitching staff that has already shown it knows how to make October feel very small.
Drew Rasmussen came within four outs of history on Saturday night, pitching 7⅔ innings without allowing a hit as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. The performance tied a Rays postseason record with 10 strikeouts and would have made Rasmussen only the third pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason, joining Don Larsen's perfect game for the Yankees in 1956 and Roy Halladay's no-hitter for Philadelphia in 2010.
Rasmussen entered the game as the Rays' ace, having compiled a 2.67 ERA with 174 strikeouts across 172 innings during the regular season. Against the Yankees specifically, he had pitched four times with a 2.68 ERA, striking out 10.6 batters per nine innings. On this October night, he was even sharper. From the third inning through the seventh, he retired 15 consecutive batters against a Yankees lineup that had just swept the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card round, scoring 18 runs on 26 hits across two games. The Yankees had never been held hitless through six innings of a playoff game before Saturday.
The no-hitter lasted until the eighth inning, when Austin Wells broke it up with two outs, driving a sinker that hung middle-of-the-zone into a double. But Wells' moment of success became a disaster. As he rounded second base, third-base coach Luis Rojas signaled him to stop. Wells either did not see the signal or chose to ignore it, continuing toward third. Right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. fielded the ball cleanly and fired to shortstop Taylor Walls, who relayed to third baseman Junior Caminero. Wells was out by a step. Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the mistake after the game, saying he was unsure whether Wells had seen something between first and second that prompted the aggressive decision, but calling it clearly a mistake in a game decided by a single run.
Rasmussen finished the eighth inning and was pulled from the game. He had thrown 101 pitches, 69 of them strikes. Gerrit Cole, the Yankees' starter, had pitched well enough to win most nights—five innings, one run, five hits, five strikeouts. That run came on a solo home run from Jonathan Aranda in the third inning. Three innings of hitless relief from Ryan Weathers, Paul Blackburn, and Brent Headrick kept the Yankees in the game, but it was not enough. Rasmussen's near-perfect outing had set a bar too high to clear.
The Rays now carry a 1-0 series lead into Game 2, scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. The Yankees will start Cam Schlittler, who finished the regular season 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA. The Rays have not yet announced their starter. What is certain is that the Yankees will need to find a way to generate offense against a pitching staff that has already shown it can dominate in October.
Citations marquantes
Just obviously not a good decision there. Not sure if he saw something on his way between first and second that caused him to go there. But obviously, a mistake there.— Yankees manager Aaron Boone, on Austin Wells' baserunning decision
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