Drew Rasmussen No-Hits Yanks into 8th. Tampa 1 NY 0

October 4, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Austin Wells, who is quite fast -- for a catcher especially -- in full flight around 2nd after breaking up the no-hitter with 2 outs in the 8th. He was gunned down at 3rd by a mile.

The headline of this game was that Drew Rasmussen no-hit the Yankees until 2 outs in the 8th inning — an utterly masterful performance — with Bryan Baker coming in for a 1-2-3 save and a Rays 1-0 win on a Saturday night in Tampa — taking Game 1 of the best-of-5 ALDS.

But the subhead is that Austin Wells broke up the no hitter by Ripping a shot down the right-field line just fair with 2 outs in the 8th — and then inexplicably tried to leg an easy double into a triple — and was gunned down by a mile at 3rd base. A play every little leaguer and kid in the schoolyard knows not to do.

Wells went from hero to goat in about 3 seconds, and became the talk of irate Yankee fans afterwards.

Rasmussen outdueled Gerrit Cole and the Yankee bullpen of Ryan Weathers, Paul Blackburn, and Brent Headrick — who were all exceptional. Cole pitched 5 strong innings and made 1 mistake — allowing a HR to Jonathan Aranda in the 3rd inning — the only run of the game.

“I thought it kicked off more than it did,” said Austin Wells afterwards. “(They) made a good play on the ball; 2 outs there, trying to make something happen — be aggressive without much going on in the game. But obviously would love to be safe there or standing on 2nd base.”

Yankee 3rd base coach Luis Rojas had thrown up the stop sign, and Wells saw it but blew through it. “After I was passing 2nd base I did see his hands up — (but) I was already committed. They made some good throws and they got me.”

Jazz Chisholm had Austin’s back: “He’s just trying to make something happen; it’s the playoffs. If you were watching him run the bases, out of the box, he was hustling like hell…if they threw that ball away, you never know what happens. Just keep going.”

“Obviously not a good decision there,” said manager Aaron Boone. “The base issue is just Rasmussen shutting us down. A handful of guys hit some balls on the screws — Austin being one of them a couple of times there — but we just didn’t generate enough obviously.”

“I thought he was really sharp,” continued Boone about Rasmussen. “His change up was really good for him and in play with our lefthanded hitters; he had the cutter going when he needed to, and then the good four-seamer where he mixes some sinkers off it. His command is just really good and what sets him apart. He’s got a great arsenal but the ability to pitch on both sides of the plate and up and down makes him challenging and one we’ve had a hard time solving.”

1. Cole Great — Made 1 Mistake

Matched against Drew Rasmussen was Gerrit Cole, and he had his work cut out for him, as Rasmussen has been lights out this year with a 16-5 2.67 record and just shut down the Yanks with 11 strikeouts 2 weeks ago. Cole came through with a gutsy performance, navigating the tough Rays lineup for 5 innings of 1-run ball.

  • Cole allowed a single to Yandy Diaz to lead off the game, and then walked Junior Caminero with 1 out — but got a fly out and strike out to end the 1st.
  • Cole then motored through the 2nd — allowing but a 2-out double to Richie Palacios but getting Taylor Walls to ground out to end the inning.
  • With 1 out in the 3rd, however, Jonathan Aranda hit a 2-2 changeup 417 feet to right center for a 1-0 Tampa lead.

  • Cole got the first 2 outs of the 5th, then got engaged in an epic 12-pitch at bat against Junior Caminero — with Caminero fouling off 4 straight 3-2 pitches — before Cole struck him out looking at a knuckle curve.

2. Rasmussen Tremendous — Even Some Hard-Hit Balls Were At Someone

Drew Rasmussen was absolutely dominant — even better than he was 2 weeks ago when he struck out 11 in beating the Yanks to finish the 16-5 2.67 season.

Rasmussen struck out 10 with 2 walks while holding the no-hitter until 2 outs in the 8th.

The walks were to Jazz Chisholm Jr. with 2 outs in the 2nd, and to Ben Rice with 2 outs in the 3rd. After that, Rasmussen retired 15 in a row.

Rasmussen was throwing lots of vicious 88-MPH changeups, 89-MPH cutters, 97-MPH fastballs, and 94-MPH sinkers.

The Yankees did hit some balls hard on him — 7 balls were hit at least 99 mph — but they were line drives right at someone.

3. Wells Hero to Goat

And then finally, with 2 outs in the 8th — with Rasmussen having retired 15 in a row — Austin Wells Ripped a shot just fair down the rightfield line — and sprinted … past 2nd and headed to 3rd — and was gunned down by a mile.

4. Weathers to Blackburn to Headrick = Great

The Yankee bullpen did it’s job.

Ryan Weathers — who was shut down in early September with a left forearm flexor strain — was back and looked great — pitching an easy 1-2-3 shutout 6th with 3 straight groundouts.

Paul Blackburn then pitched a 1-2-3 shutout 7th, then got the first 2 outs of the 8th before walking Junior Caminero.

Brent Headrick came in and walked Liam Hicks to put runners on 1st and 2nd, but got Chandler Simpson to ground out to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at 2nd (again) to end the inning.

5. Baker Shuts NY Down in 9th

And so it was to the 9th with big 6’6 righty Ace Reliever Bryan Baker in — the Yanks a HR away from tying it.

But Baker was lights out — throwing lots of 81- to 85-MPH change ups offset by his 96-MPH fastball — in striking out pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton, striking out Ben Rice, and getting Cody Bellinger to ground out to 1st for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401907985

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