MIAMI -- There’s no doubt about it: This is the best that Drew Rasmussen has looked this season for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Winning games is much easier when the opposing team fails to score, and Rasmussen played the largest hand in Miami’s stalemate at the plate. The right-handed redhead was red hot Saturday afternoon at loanDepot Park, tossing six scoreless innings, while throwing nearly 70 percent of his pitches for strikes as the Rays continued their Citrus Series dominance with a 4-0 victory (they've now won 26 of their last 31 games against Miami).
The outing was a breath of fresh air for both Rasmussen -- who’s been plagued by injuries in recent years -- and Tampa Bay, which needs sustenance in its starting rotation with Shane McClanahan sidelined.
The Rays' offense, meanwhile, broke out against Sandy Alcantara in the fifth inning, plating four runs on as many hits in the frame, and inducing a mound visit for the former Cy Young Award winner before he rebounded to escape a jam.
The Rays got a scare in the ninth when speedy outfielder Chandler Simpson exited the game after cutting his face during a play at the plate. Christopher Morel replaced Simpson in left field for the bottom of the inning, but Rays manager Kevin Cash said postgame that Simpson was OK and would start Sunday.
As for Rasmussen, he was stellar with the bases empty and with runners in scoring position. He escaped the first inning after two men reached base with two outs, striking out Eric Wagaman on a 91 mph cutter. The next seven batters came up fruitless against him, before Kyle Stowers doubled to left in the fourth for his second hit of the game.
But Rasmussen made a nifty play in the next at-bat on a grounder to the mound, throwing to third instead of first to put out Stowers before striking out Ronny Simon to end the inning. He went on to retire six of the next seven Miami hitters, ending his day by striking out Stowers in the sixth. Rasmussen finished with five K’s in all and held Miami to an 0-for-4 clip with RISP.
“I thought we had a really good game plan going in,” Rasmussen said on what worked Saturday. “And then not giving up free passes. … I was incorporating every pitch … and I thought I did a better job executing … and limiting mistakes.”
He credited his defense with giving him the confidence to attack hitters in the strike zone. And it made good on his confidence, getting big plays from the likes of Taylor Walls and José Caballero.
“The defense was unbelievable,” Rasmussen said. “Our defense showed up like they do almost every single night. It’s just one of those things [where] they’re so good, if we can be in the strike zone early and we give them opportunities to make plays, they do.”
Rasmussen has flashed his big-pitch ability in doses for Tampa Bay. He amassed a 4-0 record in 20 appearances (10 starts) after the Rays acquired him from Milwaukee in 2021, shipping Willy Adames to the Brewers in a multi-player deal. He boasted a 2.44 ERA and had the lowest hits-per-nine-innings mark (6.7) of his career in the back half of that year.
The next season, he was arguably better. He was named the American League’s Pitcher of the Month for August after nearly tossing a perfect game, going eight innings unscathed against Baltimore before losing it in the ninth on Aug. 14, 2022. That month, he had a 3-1 record to complement a 1.57 ERA while striking out 33 and walking just four. Rasmussen finished the year 11-7 with a 2.84 ERA in 146 innings pitched.
But injuries derailed his progression the following year. He hit the 60-day IL in May of 2023 following a right flexor strain diagnosis, and began 2024 on the IL as he recovered from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow. He started just four games in ‘24, going 0-2.
Despite beginning the ‘25 campaign with a 1-4 record and entering Saturday with his highest ERA in three seasons (3.38), Rasmussen’s outing is a key indicator that he has the tools to be an effective starter.
“He had everything going, really big fastball, four-seamer, two-seamer,” Cash said of Rasmussen’s performance. “He commanded the ball really, really well, it was a great start by him.”
“We’ll take a 4-0 win every time,” Rasmussen smiled. “One start doesn’t dictate the next, but to go six tonight relatively unblemished, it’s a good foundation.”