The Yankees vs Rays score Saturday was 1-0 in Tampa Bay’s favor, and Drew Rasmussen was the reason. The Rays right-hander carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of ALDS Game 1 at Tropicana Field.
Yankees vs Rays score: Rasmussen’s near no-hitter
Rasmussen threw eight innings, allowed one hit, walked two and struck out 10. He needed 101 pitches, 69 of them strikes, according to the AP game story. The 10 strikeouts tied the franchise postseason record.
He retired 15 straight batters before Austin Wells doubled with two outs in the eighth, MLB.com reported. Wells tried to stretch it into a triple and was thrown out on a relay from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. through Taylor Walls to Junior Caminero. MLB.com also noted a career-high 23 swinging strikes for Rasmussen.
“I wasn’t worried about it. I was just trying to execute every pitch,” Rasmussen said, per Yahoo Sports. Rays manager Kevin Cash was blunter: “What wasn’t elite?”
Aranda’s homer decides it
Jonathan Aranda hit a solo homer to right-center in the third inning off Gerrit Cole’s 2-2 changeup. It was the only run of the game and Aranda’s first career postseason hit, per the AP.
Cole gave up that run on five hits in five innings, with five strikeouts and one walk. He was making his first postseason start since the 2024 World Series, MLB.com’s Yankees coverage noted.
Bryan Baker closed it with a perfect ninth. He struck out Giancarlo Stanton, froze Ben Rice with a changeup and got Cody Bellinger on a grounder.
The numbers behind the Yankees vs Rays score
- Rasmussen: 8 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts.
- Cole: 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.
- Attendance: 40,542, the largest crowd at Tropicana Field since 2010, per the AP.
- Yankees offense: one hit, Wells’ eighth-inning double.
Rasmussen also has history against New York. He is 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 10 regular-season starts against the Yankees, according to MLB.com.
What’s next in the series
Tampa Bay leads the best-of-five series 1-0. The Rays went 98-64 in the regular season and the Yankees 93-68, per ESPN. The Yankees vs Rays score also fits the pattern: teams that win Game 1 at home in a Division Series have gone on to win the series 75% of the time, MLB.com noted. Game 2 is Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. Freddy Peralta starts for the Rays, and Cam Schlittler goes for the Yankees, per the AP.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone tipped his cap to Rasmussen. “He’s got a great arsenal… one we’ve had a hard time solving,” he said, per Yahoo Sports. On the loss itself, he told MLB.com: “Every day is important. Every win is an exhale and exciting, and the losses are gut punches.”
For more on the Yankees vs Rays score and the series, read our Yankees vs. Rays preview, our report on the Yankees’ loss, and the story of Aaron Judge’s ALDS roster status.
