Austin Wells broke up Drew Rasmussen’s no-hit bid with a two-out double in the eighth inning Saturday night, but the Rays still led the Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
In St. Petersburg, Fla., Tampa Bay’s two-time All-Star right-hander had the New York lineup on lock for most of the night. Then Wells ripped an inside sinker just inside the right-field foul line and ended the no-hit watch with two outs in the eighth.
News reporting described the hit as the first crack in a dominant outing that had kept the Yankees hitless deep into Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
Wells did not stay on the bases long. He tried for a triple, ran through third-base coach Luis Rojas’s stop sign, and was thrown out on a relay. Right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. started the play, shortstop Taylor Walls handled the relay, and third baseman Junior Caminero applied the tag.
The Rays’ 1-0 edge came from Jonathan Aranda. He homered in the third inning off Gerrit Cole and that run still stood when Wells finally got the Yankees’ first hit.
New York played without Aaron Judge. The three-time AL MVP was not on the roster because of a calf injury, leaving Rasmussen to work against a Yankees lineup missing its biggest bat.
Before Wells connected, Rasmussen had retired 15 hitters in a row. He struck out 10, walked two, and threw 69 of 101 pitches for strikes. He generated 23 swings and misses.
It was not his first time mowing down the Yankees. On Sept. 22, Rasmussen threw six hitless innings against them before Heliot Ramos led off the seventh with a single. That night he worked a career-high 114 pitches and helped Tampa Bay clinch the AL East title.
Postseason no-hitters remain rare. Don Larsen threw one for the Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. Roy Halladay threw one for Philadelphia against Cincinnati in the 2010 NL Division Series. Four Houston pitchers combined for one against the Phillies in the 2022 World Series. Rasmussen was chasing that short list until Wells’s liner found grass.
Wells did his job by ending the no-hit bid. The baserunning mistake that followed cut short any rally. Rojas had both arms up before Wells rounded second. Wells went anyway and the Rays’ defense closed the play cleanly.
At the moment the no-hitter ended, Tampa Bay still led 1-0. Rasmussen had the strikeouts, the chase rate, and the command. New York had one hit and no runs to show for it.
October baseball rewards execution over reputation. Rasmussen brought the execution; the Yankees were still looking for answers.
