ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have gone out of their way this season, right up through the beginning of the World Series, to make sure that Drew Rasmussen makes as many starts as possible with extra rest.
But this is Game 5 of the World Series, and Tampa Bay’s season is on the line. So, the Rays are playing their ace.
Four days after starting Game 2 in Milwaukee, Rasmussen will be on the mound to start Game 5 for the Rays at Tropicana Field, the team announced Wednesday afternoon. It will be his first time pitching on three days’ rest since he was working as a multi-inning reliever/opener down the stretch in 2024.
Talks about this assignment began during Game 4, when pitching coach Kyle Snyder checked in with both Rasmussen and fellow starter Nick Martinez about their availability for Game 5.
Unsurprisingly, both said they would do whatever they can to keep the Rays’ season alive. That means Martinez is available out of the bullpen on Wednesday night, and Rasmussen is starting. Cash called Rasmussen to confirm the decision around 1 a.m., not too long after the game ended.
“He was 100% on board, wanting the ball,” Cash said.
It was not immediately clear how much the Rays are expecting from Rasmussen, who threw 89 pitches over 3 2/3 innings while permitting three runs on six hits in Saturday’s defeat at American Family Field. He had been lined up to pitch a potential Game 6 in Milwaukee on Friday, when he would have been working on five days’ rest, but he didn’t throw his usual between-starts bullpen session on Tuesday.
“Knowing him, he's pretty motivated to get back out there and give us what he can,” Cash said.
Could Rasmussen possibly treat Game 5 like a bullpen day, work an inning or two, then return to start Game 6 if the Rays send the Series back to Milwaukee?
“I wouldn't tell you if I had that answer, regardless,” Cash said. “Ras is going to take the ball and give us what he can give us.”
Rasmussen has made 34 starts this year between the regular season and the postseason, and 27 of them have come with five days’ rest or more. He has only made seven starts on what was once considered “regular” (four days’) rest. That was one of the reasons that Tampa Bay opted to start Martinez in Game 1 of the Fall Classic and push Rasmussen back to Game 2.
This modification to the plan, pushing Rasmussen into duty to start Game 5, is just the product of the Rays being one loss away from elimination.
“There's a lot of people that have contributed to why we're here right now. Ras might be at the top of that list,” Cash said. “It just shows a lot about him, knowing the situation. … He can make our decisions very easy by being there to take the ball, and we're going to give it to him.”
There was also plenty of logic and careful consideration behind the Rays’ more cautious handling of Rasmussen leading into the Fall Classic. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery twice before beginning his professional career, and he underwent an internal brace procedure -- a third major elbow surgery -- in 2023 that also sidelined him for much of the ‘24 season.
But they didn’t have much of a choice heading into another win-or-go-home game on Wednesday night.
Martinez seemed to be in line to start Game 5, but he was needed to pitch two innings out of the bullpen on Tuesday. Fellow starter Freddy Peralta pitched Game 3 on Monday, and Griffin Jax worked in Game 4 on Tuesday. Peralta and Jax might be the only ones unavailable for Game 5, but even that could change.
Approximately five hours before first pitch on Wednesday night, Martinez was in the clubhouse getting treatment on his throwing arm, preparing to pitch in back-to-back games. Cash figured he’d see a similar level of enthusiasm from the rest of the staff as Rasmussen’s first pitch drew closer.
“I think I'm going to hear from all of them at some point throughout the day that they're good to go and eager to help in whatever way possible,” Cash said.