Drew Rasmussen’s Strong Outing Puts the Rays on the Brink of the World Series

The Tampa Bay Rays have put together two consecutive road wins over the Cleveland Guardians to take a 3-2 series lead in the ALCS and return home with a chance to claim their spot in the World Series on Monday night.

The Rays scored in each of the first three innings Sunday and got seven quality innings from starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen in a 3-1 victory at Progressive Field.

A bases-loaded walk brought home the game’s first run in the first inning, and singles from first baseman Jonathan Aranda and catcher Liam Hicks extended Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-0 in the second and third innings, respectively.

“I think it allows you to be more aggressive early in the game,” Rasmussen said of the run support. “That’s truly all it is. It allows you to go on the attack and kind of hit the gas pedal from the beginning.”

Rasmussen recorded six strikeouts while allowing four hits and one earned run over seven innings. In Game 1, he allowed eight hits and two earned runs in a loss.

He and manager Kevin Cash pointed to the changeup as a key factor in Sunday’s performance.

“I feel like the changeup was better today than maybe his first outing,” Cash said. “They got a bunch of hits with limited runs, but today, the way he limited anything was really, really impressive. He got into a rhythm with the fastball, a lot of power on everything, and then the changeup from the side … was a big pitch for him.”

The changeup was not part of Rasmussen’s pitching arsenal at this point last season. He added the pitch after being asked to develop it, and he credited that process with improving his effectiveness.

“There might be some hiccups in the development process, but you know, ultimately at the end of the day, what they’re asking you to do is going to pay dividends in the end,” Rasmussen said. “… It helps get it to where it is now, and it’s probably been the single greatest addition I’ve made to my repertoire in the entirety of my career.”

Now, Tampa has the opportunity to clinch the American League pennant in Game 6 on Monday. But if Cleveland wins, the teams will play a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday.