Rays Beat Yankees 1-0 in ALDS Game 1 as Rasmussen Takes No-Hitter Into the Eighth

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, behind eight one-hit innings from Drew Rasmussen. Jonathan Aranda’s third-inning home run off Gerrit Cole was the only run, and the Yankees confirmed before the game that captain Aaron Judge is not on their ALDS roster, so he will miss the whole series. Our Game 1 preview had Judge down as a doubt; the answer turned out to be harsher than that.

How did the Rays beat the Yankees 1-0 in Game 1?

One swing decided it: Aranda drove a 2-2 changeup from Cole over the right-center field wall in the third inning for his first career postseason hit. Cole allowed one run and five hits in five innings in his first postseason start since Tommy John surgery in March 2025, according to the Associated Press, and a trio of Yankees relievers kept it at 1-0 from there.

That single run stood up because New York never solved Rasmussen. A lineup that scored 18 runs and collected 26 hits while sweeping Boston in the Wild Card Series produced one hit all night in front of a sellout crowd of 40,542. Bryan Baker finished the one-hitter with a perfect ninth, striking out Giancarlo Stanton, in his first plate appearance since April 24, and Ben Rice before Cody Bellinger grounded out.

How close did Drew Rasmussen come to a no-hitter?

Rasmussen came within four outs, holding the Yankees hitless for 7 2/3 innings. Reuters reports it was the deepest no-hit bid in Rays franchise history and the longest the Yankees have ever gone without a hit in a postseason game, and USA Today notes Tampa Bay is the first team ever to hold New York to one hit in a playoff game. A completed game would have joined the short list in our guide to the most no-hitters in MLB history.

The line was dominant rather than fortunate: 10 strikeouts, two walks, 69 of 101 pitches for strikes and 23 swings and misses, according to the AP. His 10 strikeouts tied Tyler Glasnow’s Rays record for a postseason game. It was also Tampa Bay’s first postseason win since the 2020 World Series, in the Trop’s first playoff game since Hurricane Milton tore the roof off in October 2024.

What happened on Austin Wells’ eighth-inning double?

Wells broke up the no-hitter and then ended the inning on the same play. His two-out liner landed just inside the right-field line for a double, but he ran through third-base coach Luis Rojas’ stop sign and was thrown out at third on a relay from Victor Mesa Jr. to Taylor Walls to Junior Caminero, according to the AP report.

The base was the tying run with the middle of the order behind him, so the out cost New York its one real chance. Instead of a runner in scoring position for the ninth, the Yankees went to their last inning still hitless in spirit, and Baker closed the door in order.

Is Aaron Judge out for the whole ALDS?

Yes. Judge was left off the Yankees’ ALDS roster, Reuters and the AP both report, which removes him for the entire series rather than game by game. He strained his right calf, has not played since September 16, and was placed on the injured list three days after that, missing the Wild Card round as well.

In a best-of-five series the loss compounds quickly: New York has to beat the AL’s top seed three times without the hitter every opposing plan starts with. The earliest Judge could return is the ALCS, and only if the Yankees get there. How a short series magnifies one absence is a quirk of how the MLB playoffs work, where a five-game round leaves almost no time to wait for a star to heal.

Why does Rasmussen keep dominating the Yankees?

Saturday was a repeat, not an upset of form. Rasmussen entered the game with a 1.81 ERA in 11 career appearances against New York, and on September 22 he held them to one hit over 6 2/3 innings in a 6-1 win that clinched the AL East for Tampa Bay, taking a no-hitter into the seventh that night too, according to Reuters.

His route here explains some of the trust the Rays showed in letting him pitch the eighth at 101 pitches. He had two elbow ligament surgeries in college and an internal brace procedure in July 2023 that cost him more than a year, then returned to make the All-Star team two straight seasons and finish 2026 at 16-5. On current form he belongs in any conversation about the best pitchers in MLB right now.

Why did Boone praise a strikeout, and what did Jeter say back?

The strangest verdict on the one-hitter came from the losing manager. Stanton’s ninth-inning strikeout was his first plate appearance since April 24, after right and left calf strains wiped out his season, and Aaron Boone still called it a positive. He thought Stanton had a really good at-bat, was on the pitches and was seeing the changeup well, DAZN reports. “I liked what I saw,” Boone said. “He took the right at-bat. He just didn’t clip it.”

Boone had nearly used him an inning earlier: he said Stanton would have pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon in the eighth if Wells had stayed at second on the double that broke up the no-hitter, DAZN reports. The role is the one the Yankees built for him, a roster spot judged against the history of the best MLB pinch hitters rather than a stat line: one swing, high leverage, no rhythm to fall back on. Boone doubled down before Game 2, saying he watched the at-bat and liked where Stanton is at, and that he will continue to be a threat in the series, Heavy reports.

Derek Jeter, on the FOX panel, gave the colder read. Game 2, he said, is a must-win, and Stanton’s situation proves why: “Stanton, you can’t even count Stanton, the one at-bat. He hasn’t played since April,” Heavy reports. Between Judge’s absence and Stanton’s five months out, Jeter argued, New York is trying to beat the AL’s best team with its two biggest bats effectively removed. Pinstripes Nation noted the gap between the two verdicts: the manager saw a building block in a strikeout, the franchise’s defining winner saw a lineup running out of margin. Game 2 will grade both takes.

What happens next in the series?

Game 2 is Monday night at Tropicana Field, and it is close to a must-win for New York. A loss would send the Yankees home needing three straight wins, while a win levels the series before it moves to Yankee Stadium for Games 3 and 4.

Cam Schlittler, the Yankees’ Game 2 starter, shut Boston down in the Wild Card round and now faces the lineup that strikes out less than any other in baseball. The Rays had not named their starter after Game 1, with Griffin Jax and Freddy Peralta reported as options. The series winner advances to the ALCS, one round from adding to the list of most World Series wins. In the other ALDS, the road team also won the opener: White Sox Beat Guardians 3-0 in ALDS Game 1 behind a Munetaka Murakami homer and a combined three-hitter.

Series update, October 6: Game 2 graded both takes, and neither was kind to New York. The Yankees committed four errors, three in a first inning no team had produced in a postseason game since 1909, and lost 5-2 to fall 2-0 behind in the series. The full breakdown is in Yankees Make Four Errors in ALDS Game 2, Three in a First Inning Not Seen Since 1909.