Drew Rasmussen Takes No-Hitter Into Eighth as Rays Edge Yankees in ALDS Opener

Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and struck out 10 as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night at Tropicana Field.

Rasmussen allowed only one hit across eight scoreless innings, walked two and retired 15 consecutive batters during the most dominant postseason start in Rays history. Jonathan Aranda supplied the game’s only run with a third-inning home run off Gerrit Cole.

Rasmussen comes within four outs of history

The Yankees did not collect a hit until Austin Wells doubled down the right-field line with two outs in the eighth. Even that play ended without a runner on base: Victor Mesa Jr. started a precise relay to Taylor Walls, who threw to Junior Caminero to retire Wells as he tried to reach third.

Rasmussen became the seventh pitcher in the Modern Era to take a postseason no-hit bid through 7 2/3 innings. No pitcher had gone that deep into a playoff game without allowing a hit since Aníbal Sánchez did it for Washington in the 2019 National League Championship Series.

The performance was also the longest postseason no-hit bid in Rays history and the deepest any pitcher has taken one against the Yankees in a Modern Era playoff game.

Ten strikeouts and a Rays postseason record

Rasmussen generated a career-high 23 swinging strikes, the most by a Tampa Bay pitcher in a postseason game. He mixed cutters, changeups, four-seam fastballs and sinkers while repeatedly working ahead of New York’s lineup.

He struck out 10, issued two walks and faced only one batter above the minimum. The Yankees’ lone hit was erased immediately on the eighth-inning relay play.

Rasmussen has now been central to two major victories over New York in less than two weeks. On September 22, he took a no-hitter into the seventh and struck out 11 as Tampa Bay clinched the AL East at Yankee Stadium.

Aranda’s homer stands up in 1-0 win

Aranda broke the scoreless tie in the third inning, sending a solo home run off Cole over the wall. Tampa Bay did not score again, but Rasmussen ensured it did not need to.

The victory was the Rays’ first in the postseason since Game 1 of the 2021 ALDS. It also gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-five series before Game 2 on Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Teams winning Game 1 at home in the Division Series’ current 2-2-1 format have advanced 75 percent of the time. After Rasmussen’s near-historic night, the Rays will enter Game 2 needing two more wins to return to the American League Championship Series.