Category: Baseball

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Austin Wells stood at his locker in the visitors’ clubhouse at Tropicana Field, still in the uniform he stained while trying to avoid the inevitable at third base Saturday evening. He waited there until the cameras came, ready to atone for the decision that ended the Yankees' only scoring chance in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Rays – but this was not to be an exercise in self-flagellation.

Wells, whose double with two outs in the eighth inning broke up Rays’ starter Drew Rasmussen’s no-hitter, said he was “trying to make something happen” when he took off for third and was thrown out by a damning margin. Given many chances to say he made a mistake, Wells never did.

“In the moment, I was being aggressive,” Wells said. “Like I said, we didn’t really have much going on there in the game. So every 90 feet matters.”

Certainly, if Wells were on second, Boone could have pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon, and maybe the Yankees would have scored. Then again, Wells’ double was not exactly the latest in a long line of hard contact. And while his manager Aaron Boone called the play “a mistake,” he pointed blame for the Game 1 loss elsewhere.

“Just obviously not a good decision there,” Boone said. “… But biggest issue is just Rasmussen shutting us down.”

Boone is not one to bash players publicly, so it should be no surprise that he did not throw the Yankees’ Game 1 loss on Wells’ back. But he was by no means just deflecting when he pointed to Rasmussen as the main reason the Yankees trail this best-of-five series, 1-0.

For the second time in as many weeks – though with far greater stakes this time – Rasmussen carved through the Yankees lineup so effectively that he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Saturday, he took it into the eighth, pounding the strike zone with such effective stuff and command that even as Yankees hitters knew they would get pitches in the zone, they could not adjust to hit many of them well. They worked two walks, though none after the third, and struck out 10 times against him.

“I feel like he's got a lot of different ways to beat you. Starts with great command,” Boone said. “And when he has a presence on both sides of the plate and up and down, and you have to respect the four-seam on him, he was able to freeze us a lot on different sides of the plate, as well.”

Rasmussen generated 23 swings-and-misses, most in a postseason game by the swing-and-miss happy Rays since Statcast started tracking them. The 31-year-old had never generated more. Luis Garcia Jr. said it seemed like Rasmussen didn’t miss a single spot. Jazz Chisholm Jr. said the same thing, brushing off the idea that Wells’ play was decisive.

“If you’re watching him run the bases, you could see out of the box he was hustling like hell and just trying to get there to make something happen,” Chisholm said. “If they threw that ball away, you never know what happens. I feel like, just keep going. Pat him and say, ‘yeah. It happened. But who cares?’”

Wells, for his part, explained he did have good reason for defying the traditional baseball wisdom of not risking the final out of the inning at third base – so advised because generally, a base hit is needed to score with two outs and generally, a runner can score from second on a base hit just as easily as third.

But Wells said on the fast turf of Tropicana Field, which shoots the ball to outfielders more quickly than many surfaces, he felt he was not necessarily guaranteed to score on a base hit with two outs. From third base, he would.

“I thought I had a good chance to get there,” Wells said. “So can’t hang your head too much.”

The Yankees, too, have no immediate reason to sulk. They will throw Cam Schlittler in Game 2 against Freddy Peralta, a matchup that would seem to favor the Yankees, even though Peralta was the American League Pitcher of the Month after the Rays helped him rediscover his form in September.

The real problem they face, however, is that they now need to win three of the next four games – and will face Rasmussen again in one of them, potentially with their season on the line. The Rays have not lost a game Rasmussen started since July 9. That day, the Yankees scored six runs against him in 2.1 innings.

“I think we're due the next time,” Boone said. “We've done it before, and I know our guys are very confident. So the reality is, you know, you want to go deep in the playoffs, you've got to beat probably a great pitcher at some point. So we've got to find a way.”

Drew Rasmussen was so good Saturday night that he even exceeded the ridiculous playoff bar that Yankee arms have established for these playoffs. And it doubtless stings the Yanks that the Rays ace was able to silence their bats so thoroughly in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. 

But Gerrit Cole’s sharp stuff, another strong wave of pitching from the bullpen and the looming spectre of Cam Schlittler in Game 2 (and Game 5) are all evidence that this ALDS is far from over. Yes, even if the Yankees now have to win three times in four games with Rasmussen due for another start in this series.

“We got to get them tomorrow – well, Monday,” Cole told reporters at Tropicana Field afterward, looking ahead to Game 2. “It’s an opportunity to bounce back. We know they’re a tough opponent. Look, they’re going to land some blows and you’ve got to take blows in the postseason and dish them out, too.”

Cole delivered five solid innings, marred only by a terrific swing by the Rays’ No. 2 hitter, Jonathan Aranda. Aranda’s solo home run in the third inning was the game’s only run. Cole allowed five hits, struck out five and walked one and then Ryan Weathers (1.0 IP), Paul Blackburn (1.2 IP) and Brent Headrick (0.1 IP) combined for three scoreless frames of relief.

Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the eighth and got close enough to history that the game broadcast brought up Don Larsen and Roy Halladay. Cole wasn’t that electric. But he did put the Yankees in position to win.

“Gerrit’s had a really good year,” Aaron Boone said at the postgame podium. “I thought he threw the ball well. I thought they took some tough at-bats against him…Being a really tight game, it felt like it was leverage the whole game and he executed some really good pitches against some of their best hitters in the right spot.

“I thought he got us off to a good start. They made him work and then our bullpen picked it up from there. So I thought we did a really good job, obviously, on the mound, doing what we needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Yankee pitching has allowed three runs in 26 innings over three playoff games so far. That’s a 1.04 ERA. Opponents are batting .135 against Yankee pitchers, who have allowed only 12 hits.

Schlittler has certainly been the headliner and he will start Monday’s Game 2 at the Trop against Freddy Peralta, who Tampa Bay acquired from the Mets at the deadline. Schlittler overwhelmed the Red Sox for 6.1 shutout innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, a nifty follow-up to what was almost certainly a Cy Young regular season.

Should this series get to a deciding Game 5 in St. Petersburg, Fla., Schlittler would be on regular rest for the assignment.

“He’s been our guy all year,” catcher Austin Wells told reporters. “It was a great game, all around, for the pitchers (on Saturday). So I think we’re going to look forward to continuing that on our side and hopefully get to their guy.”

“It’s the playoffs,” Boone said. “Here we go. Every day’s important. Every win is an exhale and exciting, and the losses are gut punches. But you’ve got to just keep moving and know that you’re going to have some tough days, too.

“We’re obviously always thrilled when we hand the ball to Cam, and hopefully we can go out and put some points on the board to support him and come out of here with a split and head back home.”

We’ll see what Cole’s role will be the rest of the way. With Schlittler booked for two games, and Max Fried and Carlos Rodón pegged to start, in some order, Games 3 and 4, it’s probably in the bullpen or the next series, should the Yanks advance.

Aranda’s home run meant he suffered a hard-luck loss in Game 1. It came on a changeup that Cole wanted down and away. “It got to the edge, but it didn’t get down enough,” Cole told reporters at the Trop. “It’s a pretty steep price to pay. But he crushed it. That’s the way it goes.”

At the time, did Cole think one run could beat the Yanks? “No,” he replied.

As long as the Yanks keep holding opponents to one, this series should have some twists and turns coming. Even if Rasmussen has another start remaining. Even if the Rays have more quality arms beyond him.

“The reality is, if you want to go deep in the playoffs, you got to beat a great pitcher,” Boone said. “Hopefully, we get another crack at him and do better.”  

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On a night perfection was required, mere quality was not enough for Gerrit Cole. 

The third of three Yankees aces, in his first start of this postseason, held down a strong Rays lineup and threw just one pitch he could regret in five innings. 

He was solid. He was not Drew Rasmussen. 

Cole allowed a home run to Jonathan Aranda that ended up being the difference in the game if not the story of the game. Against a Yankees lineup that had scored 18 runs over two wild-card contests against Boston, Rasmussen threw a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 Rays victory in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday. 

Pitching on nine days of rest, Cole betrayed little rust, looked strong against the peskiest lineup in baseball and on most nights would have walked off the mound smiling. 

There was no grin because he blinked. 

With one out in the third inning, Cole aimed a 2-2 changeup down and away. It was away, on the edge of the strike zone. It was not down. 

“It’s a pretty steep price to pay,” Cole said after he allowed five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. “He crushed it. That’s just the way it goes.” 

Cole’s last batter of the game was the most entertaining at-bat of the night. Against Junior Caminero, the two stars battled for 11 pitches before Austin Wells ran to the mound to talk with Cole. After that breather, Cole turned to a 12th-pitch knuckle-curve that grazed the top of the zone to freeze one of the best hitters in baseball. 

One of the best pitchers of his generation walked off the mound believing he would return for the sixth. He did not. 

After 82 pitches, he talked with manager Aaron Boone, who had ridden Cam Schlittler and Max Fried longer in the wild-card series and pulled the plug early on Cole. 

“[Boone and I] left the conversation at the end on the same page,” Cole said, choosing his words carefully, of a move that would have gained more scrutiny if Ryan Weathers, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick had not combined for three scoreless, hitless innings in relief. 

Boone said Cole “got us off to a good start” but said the Rays “made him work,” which is part of the identity of a team that rarely strikes out. 

As early as the beginning of the fourth inning, after Cole gave up a leadoff single to Victor Mesa Jr., Boone began warming up a reliever (Blackburn in that case, and Headrick began throwing as the fifth inning began). On a night Cole allowed just one run but seven balls struck at least 95 mph, Boone may have seen warning signs. 

Cole won many battles Saturday, but not with his manager behind closed doors and not with Rasmussen. 

“That was a lot of fun,” he acknowledged of the battle of aces. “He was unbelievable.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The opportunity for Giancarlo Stanton finally arrived.

His first at-bat in five-plus months just did not turn into a moment, but what Aaron Boone saw in it was one of the few things he liked in the Yankees’ 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday night at Tropicana Field.

With the Yankees trailing by a run in the top of the ninth, and Rays righty closer Bryan Baker entering from the bullpen, Boone sent Stanton up to pinch hit for the left-handed-hitting Ryan McMahon to lead off the frame.

Stanton, who last took an at-bat April 24 because of three separate calf strains, ended up striking out on five pitches. The veteran slugger fouled off the first pitch, took two balls and a strike, then foul-tipped a 96 mph fastball on the inner third into the catcher’s mitt for Strike 3.

“Baker’s obviously had a great year,” Boone said. “Really tough, really reverse [splits] guy. So not that I was going to hit for a lot of my lefties there, but felt the threat of Giancarlo — I thought he had a really good at-bat. I thought he was on all [five] pitches. I thought he was seeing the changeup well. I thought he got a good swing off right out of the bat.

“I liked what I saw. He took the right at-bat. He just didn’t clip it. So yeah, I’m going to take my shot with a hitter there and got [José Caballero] to run for him and we’ll take our shot right there.”

Stanton had been 5-for-7 with one strikeout in his career against Baker, with the potential to tie the game on one swing, though it did not come to fruition.

Ryan Weathers also made his first appearance since Aug. 22, relieving Gerrit Cole in the sixth inning and getting three groundouts to first base against three left-handed hitters.

“I felt super healthy,” Weathers said. “Felt good. Stuff was coming out really good.”

The lefty, who spent the last month-plus rehabbing a left forearm flexor strain, indicated he should be available for Monday’s Game 2, especially because he only needed nine pitches to retire the side Saturday.

The Yankees left Weathers off their roster for the wild-card series to give him more time to build up, hoping it would allow him to be available more often in the ALDS.

The other lefties in the Yankees bullpen are heavily used setup man Brent Headrick and the soft-tossing Ryan Yarbrough. Headrick lost some velocity late in the season, looking like he might be running out of gas, while Yarbrough is mostly on the roster to offer some length if the Yankees get into a tough spot.

To add Weathers, the Yankees took veteran utility player Amed Rosario off their roster to go with 11 pitchers and 15 position players.

The righty-hitting Rosario was on the wild-card roster against the Red Sox, but the Rays have fewer left-handed pitchers and the Yankees already have Paul Goldschmidt, Heliot Ramos and Stanton as right-handed pinch hitting options. Because Anthony Volpe is more of a threat on the bases and offers better defense at second base (and potentially third), Rosario became what Boone described as the “odd man out.”

“Tough call, because of how important he’s been to our team,” Boone said. “But he understands, too, and he’ll be the same Rosie he always is as far as what he means to the team and in that room.”

Following the Yankees' 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS, manager Aaron Boone and the players spoke on the game...

What made Rasmussen unhittable?

Rays ace Drew Rasmussen had the start of a lifetime.

He pitched 7.2 no-hit innings against the Yankees before Austin Wells' double in the eighth broke it up, but the right-hander completely dominated New York, tossing eight shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out 10 batters.

Rasmussen broke several franchise postseason records in the process, and the Yankees could only tip their cap after the game.

"I thought he was really sharp. I thought his change-up was good for him and in play," Boone said. "Obviously, with our left-handed hitters, it looked like he had the cutter going when he needed to. Then the good four-seamer where he mixed in some sinkers off of it. His command is just really good and kind of what sets him apart. He's got a great arsenal. The ability to pitch on both sides of the plate and up and down obviously makes him challenging and one we've had a hard time solving."

"He just hit all his spots today. He was on," Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had one of the Yankees' two walks, said. "He wasn’t leaving anything [over the plate]. He wasn’t giving in. He wasn’t leaving it middle 3-2, he wasn’t scared to walk guys and get the next guy." 

"You just have to give him credit. All night, the pitches had really good effects," Luis Garcia Jr. said through an interpreter. "All eight innings, it felt like he never missed a pitch, location-wise and execution-wise. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the opposing pitcher." 

This isn't the first time Rasmussen dominated the Yankees. Back on Sept. 22 in the Bronx, Rasmussen allowed one run on one hit across 6.2 innings while striking out 11 batters. Aside from one start where New York picked up six runs in 2.1 innings off of him, Rasmussen's previous two starts this season against the Yankees saw the right-hander toss 13 shutout innings. 

"I feel like he's got a lot of different ways to beat you. Starts with great command," Boone said of Rasmussen's dominance. "And when he has a presence on both sides of the plate and up and down, and you have to respect the four-seam on him, he was able to freeze us a lot on different sides of the plate, as well. His mix was really strong. I thought he kind of used everything against us, and he cut us up again."

"When a guy's executing like that, the plan is to keep battling," Garcia said of Rasmussen taking a no-hitter into the eighth. "Maybe getting into long counts, long at-bats, but he kept executing pitches and attacking the zone. We tried to have long at-bats, but he was pretty sharp tonight."

With a best-of-five series, the Yankees will likely face Rasmussen one more time. But Boone isn't concerned with that, and is confident in his team to figure out the Rays' ace.  

"I think we're due the next time," he said. "We've done it before, and I know our guys are very confident. So the reality is, you know, you want to go deep in the playoffs, you've got to beat probably a great pitcher at some point. So we've got to find a way. Hopefully, we're in a position to get another crack at him and execute a little better."

Austin Wells, who got the Yankees' lone hit, acknowledged Rasmussen's past dominance against the team, but likes his team's chances.

"He’s pitched really well against us in his career," Wells said. "Every guy in this lineup likes our chances. He pitched incredible. Made pitches when he needed to. Got outs. Hard contacts, weak contacts, they are all outs. Hopefully, we’ll go out there and face him again in this series. You have to have as much confidence as possible. It was a 1-0 game. It was hard-fought."

Taking a shot with Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton has not swung a bat in a major league game since April. 

But in Game 1 of the ALDS, Boone saw an opportunity to utilize his slugger off the bench. That's why he was on the ALDS roster, after all. 

Down 1-0 in the ninth, Stanton pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon and took on Rays closer Bryan Baker. Stanton worked the count to 2-2 before the right-handed Baker threw a 96.3 mph fastball inside on Stanton for a foul-tip strikeout.

Stanton, despite being on the Wild Card Series roster, did not get an at-bat, in the two games. After the game, Boone was asked why he used Stanton in that moment.

"Just Baker's obviously had a great year. Really tough, really reverse guy," Boone explained. "So not that I was going to hit for a lot of my lefties there, but felt the threat of Giancarlo -- I thought he had a really good at-bat. I thought he was on all four pitches. I thought he was seeing the change-up well. I thought got a good swing off right out of the bat. I liked what I saw, like he was -- he took the right at-bat. He just didn't clip it. So, yeah, I mean, I'm going to take my shot with a hitter there and got [Jose Caballero] to run for him and we'll take our shot right there."

Stanton slashed .256/.302/.422 with an OPS of .724 to go along with three home runs across 24 regular season games this year before he went down with a calf strain.

The Yankees came into the ALDS riding high, having crushed their archrivals in the Wild Card Series, the lineup coming alive just in time. Unfortunately, just as quickly as they woke up, the bats fell asleep, no match for Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in a 1-0 shutout loss to Tampa Bay.

New York’s downfall started (and in a way ended) when Gerrit Cole gave up a solo home run in the third, the primary blemish in what was a five-inning outing with five hits and one earned run. Cole left a changeup up, and Jonathan Aranda sent a deep fly into the right-field seats:

Cole was replaced by Ryan Weathers, who made his return to the mound after a stint on the injured list with a left elbow injury, and didn’t allow the Rays’ offense to inflict any more damage. Paul Blackburn replaced Weathers in the bottom of the seventh and recorded one walk in 1.2 innings. Brent Headrick followed, who walked one batter before escaping with two runners on to end the eighth.

As for the Yankees offense, well, there isn’t much to speak of, as the lineup Boone sent out simply couldn’t make any headway against the Rays’ elite pitching staff. Rasmussen ended up pitching eight scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and two walks, completely shutting down the Yankees’ ambitions of getting ahead early in the series. Rasmussen kept the Yankees not just out of the run column, but blanked them in the hit column until the eighth, missing a no-hitter by just four outs as Austin Wells broke things up with a two-out double in the eighth.

Yet that moment also brought one of the most notable errors in the Yankees’ decision-making, with Wells attempting to stretch his double into a triple. His speed wasn’t enough to get him to third, and the Yankees’ catcher got thrown out to end the inning. Victor Mesa made the throw to shortstop Taylor Walls, who immediately tagged Wells as he went for the slide. An aerial view showed that third base coach Luis Rojas was trying to hold Wells up, so it really was just Wells inexplicably attempting to get to third base with two outs:

It’s worth noting that Giancarlo Stanton made his first appearance at the plate since April, pinch-hitting for Ryan McMahon, and sadly struck out in four pitches from Rays reliever Bryan Baker as the Yankees’ attempt at a ninth-inning rally went nowhere fast, Baker also striking out Ben Rice and getting Cody Bellinger to ground out to end the game.

Though the Yankees may be on the road and striving for a victory in Game 2, it remains to be seen whether Boone will change the lineup and experiment with other position players to shuffle the order. There wasn’t much to smile about today, with the small exceptions of Stanton’s cameo appearance, and the solid showing from Weathers after a layoff. Sunday will give the Yankees another day of rest to regroup. Hopefully, we’ll see a different result come Monday.

Box Score

LOS ANGELES — It was as if six months of torment, six months of pent-up frustration, and six months of trying to prove himself to a new organization and fanbase, came pouring out of his soul Saturday afternoon with one swing of the bat.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker, or commonly known in Los Angeles as a $60-million-a year bust, swung mightily, stood at the plate, and watched the ball sail high and deep into the Dodgers bullpen, before taking off on a home-run trot as the paid crowd of 50,194 at Dodger Stadium screamed in ecstasy.

When Tucker strolled around the bases, he threw his hands up in the air between first and second, and when he rounded third, broke into a grin that could be seen all the way to Pasadena. His teammates pounded the dugout in euphoria, and when he came towards the dugout, vigorously high-fived teammate Teoscar Hernandez, and received a sunflower seed shower and bear hug from Mookie Betts that was so tight he nearly lost his breath.

“I think I was more excited than him," said Hernandez, who singled ahead of Tucker in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over Atlanta in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. “We've been going through a lot this year, but we stayed together. We have each other's back."

The Dodgers will tell you it didn’t really matter who was their offensive hero, but to a man, they couldn’t have been happier that it was Tucker.

“We were all excited for him," infielder Miguel Rojas said. “Tucker is a superstar, man. He’s a great hitter, a great player, he knows when to turn it on. …There’s no doubt in my mind that he was going to come through in the biggest stage of our season.

“Even if he doesn’t, I really don’t care. He shouldn’t have the weight of the team on his shoulder that he has to carry this team. Just do your job, go out, and enjoy your season.’’

Well, his debut season with the Dodgers just became a whole lot more enjoyable, with his two-run home run not only providing Tarik Skubal all of the support he needed after giving up just two hits and one run in six innings, but it was sweet redemption for Tucker.

“I mean, I was excited," he said, surrounded by a horde of reporters at his locker. “Anytime you can contribute to a win, whether it’s early in the game, late in the game, is huge. So I just try to do my part. Same thing with everyone else in this clubhouse. No one’s going out there putting up selfish at-bats or anything. It doesn’t really matter how you do statistically as long as you’re coming away with a win.

“Everyone’s just trying to help each other get to the end goal of winning a World Series, so it’s a nice start today with the win."

LOS ANGELES – Tarik Skubal walked off the mound after drawing a flyout from Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson to get out of the sixth inning and looked over at Blake Snell once he got in the dugout.

"Has it been this hot all game?" Skubal asked.

"It's amazing what your brain can do," Skubal added as he reflected on a scorching 103-degree day at Dodger Stadium. "In certain circumstances and moments, it's amazing what you can control and kind of eliminate. I actually didn't think it was horrible when I was pitching, ... but yeah, it was a hot one."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made no secret of his preference to play at night when asked about it earlier in the week, but once the San Diego Padres swept the Chicago Cubs in the wild card series on Wednesday, the Dodgers were boxed into a 1 p.m. local start time amid a heat wave fueled by El Niño. It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit when Skubal threw his first pitch Saturday and the temperature continued to rise from there in an eventual 5-3 win that gave the Dodgers a 1-0 series lead in the NLDS.

It was the Dodgers' hottest postseason game on record since Game 1 of the 2017 World Series.

But as Roberts looked back on that day nine years ago, he emphasized that there's nothing anyone can truly do about the weather except to stay hydrated. The Braves felt prepared, with Lane Thomas and manager Walt Weiss noting pregame it actually felt a little cooler than summers in Atlanta due to the humidity.

Teoscar Hernández got the Dodgers on the board with a towering 431-foot, two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth that set the tone offensively for LA; he echoed the sentiment.

"I don't think we were too concerned about the heat or anything like that," Hernández said in Spanish. "We were focused on doing what we needed to do to win, try and win the game."

Like me, no doubt, you feel as though you just had the most wonderful, awful, stressful and joyous 2.5 hours of your baseball fan life.

The actual recap can be quick.

The Rays got five hits. Kudos to Palacios and Hicks for hitting doubles, both of which bounced off the right-center wall just feet away from leaving the park. But they were stranded, as were Diaz and Mesa who hit singles, and Hicks and Caminero, who walked (Cami walked twice).

But only one hit actually resulted in a run; that was Jonathan Aranda’s third inning home run.

So thanks, Johnny, for that!

But otherwise the story of the game was Drew Rasmussen (with assists from some good fielding and a very bad mistake by Yankee catcher Austin Wells).

I have no words to describe Rasmussen’s night. He gave up one hit and two walks while striking out ten, that’s good for sure.

But the numbers don’t do this performance justice. To be focused, efficient, and dominant like this IN A PLAYOFF GAME with no margin for error. To be so efficient that Kevin Cash lets you pitch eight innings, during 7.2 of which the Yankees recorded no hits at all.

To generate TWENTY-THREE (23!) whiffs.

To get major league hitters to do this:

The only hit for the Yankees came with two outs in the eight, and it actually ended in an out. Austin Wells hit the ball well, but for….reasons….the Yankee catcher was so determined to turn this into a triple that he never even looked up to see his third base coach signaling for him to hold at second base.

It took an outstanding throw from Victor Mesa Jr. in right field and a sharp relay from Taylor Walls, of course, but did the Yankees expect any less? So the Yankees only base runner was wiped out at third base to end the eighth inning.

This reminded me a bit of the famous 2019 ALDS relay — Kiermaier to Adames to d’Arnaud. That was more impressive in that there was more distance to cover (deep center field to home), but this one was more significant because of the tight score.

Bryan Baker then polished off the Yankees in the ninth inning, adding two strikeouts of his own.

To be sure, this game was a bit frustrating on the offensive side. Gerrit Cole didn’t seem particularly sharp yet the Rays couldn’t capitalize on the base runners they had (not many strikeouts but lots of weak contact). With the Yankees set to bring out two much better starters on Monday and Wednesday, it would be nice to have some confidence that the Rays hitters were swinging well.

In a five game series, however, winning the first game is a huge boost, and we can celebrate. Until the anxiety starts all over again on Monday.

Heroes, zeros and the inside pitch from the Yankees’ 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS in St. Petersburg, Fla:  

Hero 

If the Yankees are going to win the series, they probably will have to figure out Drew Rasmussen. A Yankee killer all year, the righty took a no-hitter into the eighth and bulldozed a powerful lineup. 

Zero 

Mere seconds after providing the most promising moment of the night for the Yankees, Austin Wells provided the least. The catcher smacked a hit down the right field line to break up Rasmussen’s no-hitter, then was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. 

Unsung hero 

The Rays did little against Gerrit Cole and a trio of Yankees relievers apart from Jonathan Aranda, who crushed a home run to deep right-center for the only run-producing swing of the night. 

Key stat 

1: Hit by the same Yankees team that collected 26 in two games against the Red Sox. 

Quote

“You have to take risks. But in that situation, obviously the risk was wrong.” 

— Austin Wells

Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen nearly made postseason history, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and Jonathan Aranda smacked a solo home run Saturday night as the Rays beat the Yankees, 1-0, in Game 1 of the Division Series at Tropicana Field.

Rasmussen, the Rays’ ace, threw eight shutout innings, allowing only one hit. He struck out 10 and walked two.

The Yanks had a chance to get to Rasmussen when they finally got a hit against him with two outs in the eighth inning. But Austin Wells tried to stretch an easy double into a triple and was thrown out by a large margin.

Gerrit Cole threw five good innings for the Yankees. But even coming off an offensive splurge in the previous series against Boston, the Yanks couldn’t get anything going. Aaron Judge might’ve helped, but he is still managing that calf injury and is not on the roster for the Division Series.

Here are the takeaways...

-Wells, who had a terrific Wild Card Series against Boston, finally got the first hit off Rasmussen, with two outs in the eighth inning. But the play ended in a way that’s sure to be dwelled upon, at least by Yankee fans. Wells laced a ball that just stayed fair down the right-field line for an extra-base hit. But Wells tried to stretch a gimme double into three bases but was easily thrown out at third. The Rays’ really sharp relay went from right fielder Victor Mesa to shortstop Taylor Walls to Junior Caminero at third.

-Rasmussen will get another chance to pitch in this series, which could be alarming news for the Yankees. Saturday, he got 23 swings-and-misses all told, including 10 on 18 cuts at his baffling changeup. Rasmussen, who boasts an arsenal similar to Cam Schlittler in that he, too, uses three fastballs, averaged 96.2 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball and also featured a cutter and sinker. He threw 101 pitches, 69 for strikes and had retired 15 straight before Wells’ hit.

-There have only been three no-hit games in postseason history – Don Larsen’s perfect game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series, Roy Halladay’s Division Series no-no for the Phillies in 2010 and a combined no-hitter by the Astros in the 2022 World Series.

-The Rays did not have Rasmussen, who’s had three arm surgeries in his career, start the ninth, instead choosing closer Bryan Baker. Baker converted 41-of-44 save chances during the regular season, including a streak of 30 in a row and had a 1.44 ERA. He faced pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who had not played since April because of injury. Baker struck out Stanton for the first out of the inning, caught Ben Rice looking at a changeup for strike three and Cody Bellinger grounded to first.

-Cole threw five strong innings, allowing only that one run on Aranda’s homer, and gave up five hits while striking out five and walking one. He threw 58 of his 82 pitches for strikes and got 11 swings-and-misses. There were a couple of moments of loud contact beyond Aranda’s homer – Richie Palacios missed a home run by only a few feet in the second inning. His drive to right-center hit the top of the wall, good for a double. Liam Hicks doubled off the right-center wall one out after Aranda’s homer, but Cole stranded him. Cole had an entertaining battle with Caminero to end the fifth inning, a dramatic 12-pitch encounter that resulted in a strikeout as Caminero looked at a breaking ball. That was Cole’s last batter.

-Cole has a 2.73 ERA now in 23 career October starts and has allowed one earned run or less in 11 of those outings. In five career postseason starts against Tampa Bay, Cole has a 1.69 ERA.

-Aranda’s home run was his first career hit in the postseason and it traveled 417 feet and left his bat at 107.1 miles per hour. Aranda had been 2-for-10 lifetime against Cole before the tater.

-Ryan Weathers, who had not pitched since Aug. 22, relieved Cole and threw a scoreless sixth inning, getting three groundouts to first base. Paul Blackburn threw 1.2 scoreless frames and Brent Headrick got the final out of the eighth for the Yankees.

-How vital can an ABS challenge be? One might have helped the Yankees get out of a sticky second inning. Wells challenged a 1-2 pitch to Chandler Simpson that was called a ball with two runners on base. It was reviewed and overturned, resulting in an inning-ending strikeout that stranded two. During the regular season, Wells was successful 82 times in 131 challenges, or 62.6 percent. Overall in MLB, catchers succeeded on 59 percent of their challenges. Only two catchers had more successful challenges than Wells.

Game MVP: Drew Rasmussen

He’s now the owner of the longest no-hit bid in Rays postseason history and was really never in trouble. He brought a career 1.81 ERA against the Yankees into the start and was even more remarkable than usual against them. 

Highlights

On the Yankees’ first hit of the night, Austin Wells is thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple pic.twitter.com/drWf58P2Bg

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) October 4, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Rays continue their best-of-five series Monday at 8 p.m.

Cam Schlittler will take the mound while Tampa has yet to announce a starter.

It was so hot at Dodger Stadium on Saturday...

How hot was it?

It was so hot a team that averaged nearly 50,000 fans for occasionally meaningless regular-season games beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in its first postseason game before thousands of empty seats — some of which were literally too hot to sit in.

It was so hot the Dodgers set up pallets of bottled water near the gates and anyone brave enough to enter the stadium was given a plastic 16-ounce Dasini bottle. Gatorade also set up a cooling tent under the right-field pavilion.

Read more:'He's a competitor.' Tarik Skubal's dominant outing stakes Dodgers to NLDS Game 1 win

It was so hot Nicolas Gonzalez, a fan sitting in the shade of the reserved level, saw a stadium attendant, overcome by heat, stretchered before the game even started. She wasn’t the only one. By the later innings, other fans on the reserved level were reportedly seeking medical attention on the concourse.

The Dodgers declined comment.

So how hot was it?

The game started 45 minutes after the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning, cautioning against “extremely dangerous heat conditions” as the temperature reached 100 degrees at first pitch. By the third inning, the temperature reading atop the left-field scoreboard peaked at 103 degrees, matching the highest first-pitch temperature at 64-year-old Dodger Stadium.

“I’ve been coming to games my whole life and this is easily the hottest game I’ve ever been to,” said Gonzalez, 38, of Culver City. “Having a game in these conditions feels like we’re flying too close to the sun, both literally and figuratively.”

Around him, fans tried to cool themselves by waving makeshift fans. It didn’t work.

But the weather didn’t just affect the way the game was watched. It affected the way it was played too. The cloudless skies made every pop-up an adventure and the warm, dense air reduced drag, allowing batted balls to travel farther. As a result, the teams combined for five homers, accounting for all eight runs.

“That’s probably one of the hottest games that we’ve ever had here. And so shout-out to the Dodger fans; they were amazing,” said Max Muncy, who hit one of those five homers.

“My feet were hot. Really hot.”

The Dodgers wound up with an early afternoon game in the middle of a historic heat wave because MLB and the TV networks — in this case Fox and TBS — set conditional start times for the four Division Series games before the teams and matchups were known. When the San Diego Padres eliminated the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round, Saturday’s early NL game went to the Dodgers.

Left-hander Tarik Skubal, who gave up just a run on two hits in six innings to get the win in his Dodger postseason debut, said he didn’t really notice the heat until he came out of the game.

“I walked back into the dugout, and I asked — I forget who, I think it was [Blake] Snell — I was like, ‘has it been this hot all game?’ It’s amazing what your brain can do in certain circumstances and moments,” he said.

“I actually didn’t think it was horrible when I was pitching.”

But then Skubal pitched in much hotter conditions as a kid growing up in northern Arizona.

“I played a Little League game in 127 [degrees]. Lake Havasu,” he said. “[Saturday’s] up there with as hot a baseball game that you can play in.

“Every team’s playing in it, right? They’re playing in the same conditions we are. It shouldn’t really impact how you are mentally or how it’s going to impact how you pitch. Just go out there and play baseball and try to drink water. That’s really it.”

At least Skubal got to drink his water in the relative cool of the dugout between innings. Umpire Roberto Ortiz, wearing 10 pounds of protective gear and a black-and-gray uniform, got no such relief. He had to stand behind the plate for 2 hours, 44 minutes and all 290 pitches, one of which smoked him in the seventh inning.

Read more:Plaschke: Kyle Tucker becomes unlikely NLDS hero with Dodgers poised for series sweep

That’s why his five fellow umpires made a point of patting him on the back or shoulder before jogging to their positions for the first pitch.

“He stayed tough,” Dodger catcher Will Smith said of Ortiz. “I’m sure he’ll rehydrate and be ready for tomorrow.”

Speaking of tomorrow, the Dodgers, Braves and the umpires will all get some relief for Game 2. At first pitch Sunday afternoon the Weather Channel is forecasting a temperature of just 97 degrees.

“The dark silver lining,” Gonzalez, the heat-weary fan said in a nod to global warming, “is this might be the coolest October of the rest of our lives.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Austin Wells spared the Yankees the infamy of being no-hit in Game 1 of the ALDS. 

What he did next was almost worse and all but guaranteed that Saturday night still ended miserably for the Yankees. 

Wells recorded the Yankees’ first hit off Drew Rasmussen with two outs in the top of the eighth, but then was thrown out easily trying to stretch a double into a triple, delivering one more gut punch on the way to a 1-0 loss to the Rays and a 1-0 deficit in the best-of-five series in front of a rowdy sellout crowd of 40,542 at Tropicana Field. 

“We didn’t really have much going on there in the game, so every 90 feet matters,” Wells said in a quiet visiting clubhouse. “I was committed to being there and thought I had a good chance to get there. Can’t hang your head too much. They pitched incredible tonight and just trying to make something happen.” 

The Aaron Judge-less Yankees lineup that beat up on the Red Sox for 18 runs in the wild-card series went missing in the first game of the series against their other divisional rivals. Their bats might as well have, too, because they could hardly touch Rasmussen. When they did, the balls found gloves every time. 

With the Yankees four outs away from becoming the fourth team in postseason history to be no-hit, Wells got them off the schneid, ripping a line drive that landed on the right field line. He thought he saw the ball kick off the wall more than it did and was just over halfway to second base when third base coach Luis Rojas threw up a stop sign. But by the time Wells saw him after he passed second, “I was already committed,” he said. The slow-footed catcher was thrown out easily at third base on a relay from right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. to shortstop Taylor Walls to third baseman Junior Caminero. 

“Just obviously not a good decision there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But the biggest issue is just Rasmussen shutting us down. Obviously, a handful of guys hit some balls on the screws, Austin being one of them a couple times there. But we just didn’t generate enough, obviously.” 

Instead of Ryan McMahon, or possibly a pinch hitter, coming up with a man on second base — which would have been only their second at-bat all night with a runner in scoring position — the inning was over, and soon the game was, too. 

The play sent the packed house — unlike plenty of games here against the Yankees, the Rays fans actually drowned out the swaths of visiting fans — into a frenzy, as Rasmussen continued his dominance of the Yankees with a whale of a game: eight shutout innings, 10 strikeouts and two walks. 

“I feel like he was just not giving in,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who walked and stole second with two outs in the second inning but was stranded there when Trent Grisham struck out looking at a changeup, a pitch that fueled Rasmussen’s big night. “He didn’t miss his spots today, he was all over the corners, he didn’t leave much pitches middle.” 

Boone gave Giancarlo Stanton a chance for a dramatic moment in the top of the ninth, pinch hitting him for McMahon against righty closer Bryan Baker for his first at-bat since April 24. But Stanton struck out on five pitches, as Baker retired the side in order to finish the one-hit shutout. 

The Yankees will try to rebound in Game 2 on Monday, with Cam Schlittler on the mound, though their ace won’t matter much unless their bats wake up. 

Gerrit Cole gave them a chance to win in Game 1, allowing only a solo shot to Jonathan Aranda across five innings before Ryan Weathers, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick combined to keep it a one-run game the rest of the way. But other than a handful of hard-hit balls — two on deep flyouts by rookie George Lombard Jr. — the Yankees’ offense was nonexistent, save for Wells’ double that was instantly erased by his baserunning blunder. 

“That wins and loses games,” Wells said. “You have to take risks, but in that situation, obviously the risk was wrong.”

And now we present the forecast for the Atlanta Braves, brought to you by Yogi Berra: It gets late early out there.

The Dodgers can cloud the outlook for anyone. The Braves left Dodger Stadium in an uneasy spot Saturday, with one big decision to make: Do they risk putting themselves in the uncomfortable position of facing three consecutive elimination games without using their best pitcher in the first two games of this National League Division Series, or do they start Chris Sale on Sunday?

“We’re expecting to see him,” Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman said.

The Dodgers have four aces. The Braves have one.

“We’ve got the ace of all aces in Chris Sale,” Braves pitcher Brent Suter said.

So why were the Braves publicly noncommittal about using him?

Read more:Plaschke: Kyle Tucker becomes unlikely NLDS hero with Dodgers poised for series sweep

The Braves deployed him Thursday, for the final four outs of the deciding game of the wild-card round. He started and pitched into the seventh inning on Tuesday.

The four days between starts is traditional — as is throwing once between starts, albeit generally in a pregame workout — but the 37-year-old Sale has not done that since April.

“The deciding factor is always going to be how Chris is feeling,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “When we came in the other night, the first words out of his mouth were ‘I feel amazing.’ If he were to come in [Sunday] morning and say ‘I feel amazing,’ there’s a chance he pitches.”

Sale, a 10-time All-Star, posted a 2.16 earned-run average this season, trailing only projected Cy Young winners Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler. In two appearances against the Dodgers, he posted a 1.13 ERA, with no walks and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings.

“He’s the ace over there, and we’re ready to see him two times this series, regardless of whether he is starting or coming out of the bullpen,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said. “We all know he is going to be out there at some point.

“If it’s [Sunday], we will be ready. If it’s Game 3, we will be ready. If it’s [Sunday] out of the ‘pen, we will be ready.”

Weiss should be concerned. If he is, he would not publicly admit to it.

“To me, it’s not that big a deal when he pitches,” Weiss said. “He’s going to pitch in this series.

“Dodgers can’t win it in two.”

The Braves risk overthinking this. If Sale starts Sunday, he also could start on traditional rest in a potential Game 5. If the Braves hold him back until Game 3, he presumably would not start a potential Game 5 on two days’ rest.

So, if the Braves get that far, would they want to limit Sale to, say, four outs?

“Even if he throws Game 3, I think he’s still available for Game 5 in some way, shape, or form,” Weiss said.

The Dodgers could push Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Game 3 because they had Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell to start the first two games. Money buys you the best of options.

The Braves’ most likely options for Game 2, if Sale does not start: a second consecutive bullpen game, or Grant Holmes, 30, a Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2014, and three years later, part of a three-prospect package sent to the Oakland Athletics for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick.

Read more:'He's a competitor.' Tarik Skubal's dominant outing stakes Dodgers to NLDS Game 1 win

The way Weiss looks at it, he can win three out of the next four games with his top two starters (Sale and Tyler Mahle) yet to be used, and all his high-leverage relievers fresh.

The way we look at it, who says the series extends to four or five games? The Braves either try to win with Sale on Sunday, or risk needing to sweep three games started by Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Skubal, in that order. Wouldn’t be prudent.

“We know Sale is their best pitcher,” Rojas said. “So we are ready for him, at some point.”

That point should be Sunday, a little after 5 p.m.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.