MIAMI — Drew Rasmussen fired first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 22 batters he faced and struck out nine over seven innings of one-hit ball as the Tampa Bay Rays shut out the Miami Marlins 6-0 in a series opener at loanDepot park, improving their American League-leading record to 37-23.
The dominant outing came after the Rays had lost eight of their past 10 games, a stretch in which their starters allowed at least five runs in five of their past seven games. Rasmussen himself had given up five runs in four innings against the Angels in his previous start. Looking back at that rough outing earlier in the week, Rasmussen was blunt about the problem.
“If we get that sorted out, I think we’ll be in a good spot again,” Rasmussen said of throwing more first-pitch strikes.
Manager Kevin Cash had identified the same issue plaguing his club — Tampa Bay had scored first only four times in the past 10 games overall. “Let’s see if we can get some early runs,” Cash told reporters Friday afternoon. “See if we can kind of repay the favor with batting first and get our offense going for our pitchers.”
The lineup obliged immediately. Junior Caminero doubled with one out in the first inning, Jonathan Aranda walked and Yandy Díaz beat a potential double-play grounder to keep the rally alive. Richie Palacios then lined a two-run triple that kicked off right fielder Owen Caissie’s glove, and Ryan Vilade followed with an RBI single off Marlins opener Ryan Gusto to make it 3-0 before Rasmussen even took the mound. The Rays improved to 26-7 this season when scoring first.
Rasmussen needed nothing more but got it anyway. He retired the final 17 batters he faced after allowing a one-out single to Javier Sanoja in the second inning, breezing through a perfect first inning on just six pitches. His nine strikeouts — three on his cutter, three on his changeup, two on his two-seamer and one on his four-seam fastball — were tied for the second most of his career, his highest total since a career-high 10-strikeout performance against the Yankees on Sept. 9, 2022. It was only the seventh time Rasmussen has worked seven innings, tied for the second-longest start of his career, and the second time in his past three outings after he also threw seven scoreless against the Yankees on May 24.
Tampa Bay kept adding on. In the fifth, Caminero doubled for the second time and scored on a single by Aranda, who snapped an 0-for-14 stretch with his team-leading 44th RBI. Cedric Mullins homered for the second straight game in the sixth, his fifth of the season. Vilade — who moved to left field after Chandler Simpson exited with left thumb discomfort — added another RBI single in the seventh. Caminero reached base five times on the night with two doubles, two walks and a single in the eighth.
The Rays continue their series against the Marlins at loanDepot park with games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.