ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees arrived at Tropicana Field carrying the momentum of a Wild Card Series that had made October look unusually simple.
They had swept the Red Sox by a combined 18-2 score and collected 26 hits in two games. Ben Rice had been at the center of it, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs in the opener before New York finished Boston off one night later.
That offense disappeared Saturday. Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, struck out 10 and allowed only Austin Wells’ two-out double as Tampa Bay beat the Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Wells was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple. Bryan Baker then worked a perfect ninth for the save.
Gerrit Cole took the loss despite allowing only Jonathan Aranda’s third-inning solo homer over five innings, and the Yankees bullpen followed with three scoreless frames. The one hit was the fewest New York had recorded in any of its 447 postseason games. The Rays, meanwhile, gained the historical edge that comes with winning the opener of a best-of-five series.
The pressure lands heavily on Rice because Aaron Judge remains off the ALDS roster with a right calf strain. Rice finished the regular season batting .264 with 41 home runs, 97 RBIs and an .897 OPS in 154 games, then entered this round as the most productive healthy hitter in the Yankees lineup.
Saturday changed the equation. New York now needs three wins in the next four games, and history says teams taking a 1-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series advance 73% of the time. Home teams that win Game 1 under the current Division Series format have advanced 75% of the time.
Rice’s Rays success hides a Rasmussen problem
Ben Rice’s matchup history gives the Yankees both encouragement and a warning.
Against Tampa Bay in the regular season, Rice hit .356 with a .431 on-base percentage, an .889 slugging percentage and seven home runs in 13 games. He punished a pitching staff that spent much of the year avoiding his favorite pitch, the four-seam fastball.
Rasmussen has been the exception.
Rice entered the ALDS just 1-for-10 with five strikeouts against the right-hander. Rasmussen leaned heavily on cutters and changeups in those meetings while limiting the straight fastballs Rice handled so well during his 41-homer season.
Rice then went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Rasmussen in Game 1. Combining the regular season and Saturday, Rice is now 1-for-13 with seven strikeouts in their matchup.
Rice answers the new pressure
Only after Rasmussen had reduced the Yankees to one hit did Rice put words to the task now in front of them. He did not minimize the difficulty.
“It’s a tall order,” Rice said. “I think we’re built for it.”
The claim carries more weight because the Yankees may have to solve Rasmussen again later in the series. Rice said the possibility would mean New York had done enough to extend the matchup.
“Hopefully, we do get to the point that we see him again, because that means we’re stretching out the series,” Rice said. “Hopefully, we’ll make the adjustments we need to.”
Those adjustments cannot be theoretical. Rasmussen also carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Yankees on Sept. 22 at Yankee Stadium, when Tampa Bay clinched the AL East. He has now allowed two runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 career regular-season appearances against New York.
But the contrast is the clearest challenge inside Rice’s bold response. The Yankees do not merely need their best healthy hitter to remain confident. They need him to solve the pitcher who has repeatedly removed his biggest strength.
Rice has leaned on routine when hitting turns hard
Ben Rice’s confidence is consistent with the approach he described after his two-homer performance against Boston.
He said then that his routines matter most when results become difficult, a mindset that now faces a much harsher test than anything the Red Sox presented.
“When it starts to get hard, that’s all the more reason to be consistent,” Rice said. “You’ve got to lean on your everyday routine, your everyday approach, your preparation. All of that is really for the hard times. You lean on that. That’s the backbone of your season.”
Game 1 supplied one of those hard times.
The Yankees produced no runs despite Cole and the bullpen holding Tampa Bay to one. Rasmussen generated a career-high 23 swinging strikes. New York’s only clean breakthrough ended at third base seconds after it began.
Yankees face another difficult arm in Game 2
The Yankees do not get Rasmussen again Monday, but the immediate assignment is hardly comfortable.
Tampa Bay will start Freddy Peralta in Game 2. The right-hander went 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA over his final six starts and posted a 1.69 ERA in four home starts after joining the Rays. The Yankees will counter with Cam Schlittler, who posted a 1.16 ERA in 17 road starts.
That matchup gives New York another chance to keep the series close with its pitching. It also increases the urgency on Rice and the lineup to prevent another quality Yankees start from being wasted.
The Yankees spent the Wild Card round proving they could score without Judge. One night against Rasmussen reopened the question.
Rice has already supplied the answer he believes is true.
The next test is whether the Yankees lineup can make it true on the field.
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