Austin Wells turned the New York Yankees’ only hit into their most painful out.
With two outs in the eighth inning and the Yankees trailing by a run, Wells broke up Drew Rasmussen’s no-hit bid with a double down the right-field line. But the catcher tried to stretch the hit into a triple and was easily thrown out, ending New York’s best scoring opportunity in a 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.
Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. retrieved the ball and threw to shortstop Taylor Walls, whose relay reached third baseman Junior Caminero well ahead of Wells.
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The out prevented Ryan McMahon from coming to the plate with the potential tying run in scoring position and allowed Rasmussen to walk off the mound having completed eight scoreless innings.
Rasmussen limited the Yankees to one hit and two walks while striking out 10 on 101 pitches. He once again tormented a New York lineup he nearly no-hit during Tampa Bay’s division-clinching victory at Yankee Stadium late in the regular season.
Bryan Baker replaced Rasmussen for the ninth and made quick work of the Yankees. Baker struck out pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice before getting Cody Bellinger to ground out, completing the combined one-hitter and giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 series lead.
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Jonathan Aranda provided the game’s only run when he drove a Gerrit Cole pitch 417 feet to right-center field in the third inning.
Cole kept the Yankees within striking distance but received no offensive support. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five over five innings and 82 pitches.
Ryan Weathers, Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick combined to hold Tampa Bay hitless over the final three innings, but New York’s lineup never found an answer for Rasmussen.
The shutout represented a dramatic reversal for a Yankees offense that scored 18 runs during its two-game Wild Card Series sweep of the Boston Red Sox. New York was again without captain Aaron Judge, who was left off the ALDS roster as he continues recovering from a right calf strain.
The best-of-five series resumes Monday night at Tropicana Field. Cam Schlittler, who pitched 6⅓ scoreless innings against Boston in the Wild Card Series, is scheduled to start Game 2 for the Yankees.
