ST. PETERSBURG - Drew Rasmussen will take the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, the only confirmed starting assignment as both clubs finalize their pitching plans for the best-of-five series.
Rasmussen, who finished the regular season 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA - fourth-best in the AL - also posted the league’s best WHIP (0.91) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.44). His track record against New York makes the assignment unsurprising: in 11 career games against the Yankees, including 10 starts, he is 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA and 0.86 WHIP.
For New York, manager Aaron Boone said Gerrit Cole is “lined up for” the Game 1 start, though the assignment has not been formally confirmed. Cole went 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in three starts against Tampa Bay this season but struggled with home runs in September. Left-hander Carlos Rodón is the likely Game 3 starter, though there is a case for flipping him and Cole in the rotation: Rodón threw eight scoreless innings against the Rays on Sept. 22 and had been preparing to start Game 1 if the AL Wild Card Series against Boston went the distance.
Cam Schlittler, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner, is set for Game 2 after finishing the regular season with a 1.95 ERA and shutting down the Red Sox in the Wild Card opener. “If we keep pitching the way we’re pitching, we can be able to dominate the World Series,” Schlittler said after the Game 2 clincher against Boston. He last faced Tampa Bay on Sept. 24 in an abbreviated three-inning playoff tuneup.
Beyond Rasmussen, the Rays have not announced their rotation. Manager Kevin Cash is expected to deploy his full quintet - Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta, Griffin Jax, Nick Martinez and Ian Seymour - creatively across the series. Peralta, the AL Pitcher of the Month for September, went 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA over his final six starts and posted a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in four home starts at Tropicana Field. Jax, a converted reliever, allowed just one run on nine hits and three walks across 18 innings in his final four starts, with notably stronger strikeout numbers at home - 77 in 60 innings - than on the road, where he struck out 39 in 52 1/3 innings.
Martinez, an All-Star, went 22-9 for Tampa Bay this season and posted a 2.38 ERA and 1.00 WHIP on the road, compared to a 3.90 ERA and 1.20 WHIP at home, making him a logical option if the series shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3.
Game 1 is scheduled at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with the series shifting to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5.