Rasmussen and Baker Combine on One-Hitter as Rays Blank Yankees in ALDS Game 1

Drew Rasmussen and Bryan Baker combined to hold the New York Yankees to a single hit on Saturday night, as the Tampa Bay Rays shut down one of baseball's most dangerous lineups to take Game 1 of their American League Division Series matchup.

Rasmussen set the tone early, neutralizing the Yankees' left-handed hitters for much of his outing and giving Tampa Bay's offense room to build a lead without pressure from the opposing lineup. Baker followed out of the bullpen to preserve the near-perfect effort, closing out the game without allowing New York to find any offensive rhythm.

The near-no-hit performance was especially notable given the Yankees' reputation for power hitting through the middle of their order, a strength Rasmussen in particular managed to neutralize by targeting weaknesses against Yankees left-handed batters throughout his outing.

With the win, the Rays grab early momentum in the best-of-five series, putting pressure on the Yankees to respond in Game 2 or risk falling into a difficult position in the series. Tampa Bay's pitching staff has been a defining strength of the club through the postseason, and Saturday's effort reinforced that reputation on one of the sport's biggest stages.

Attention now turns to the Yankees' response, as New York will look to its own starting pitching to even the series and avoid the kind of deficit that can prove difficult to overcome in a short playoff format.