CLEVELAND -- Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen extended one impressive streak, but saw a more important one end on a wet Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.
The right-hander absorbed his first loss in 21 starts, allowing three runs, two earned, over five innings as the Guardians beat Tampa Bay 3-1. The Rays had won six in a row prior to the three-game series finale.
Rasmussen did extend his string of starts with four-or-fewer runs allowed to 44 -- the longest active streak in the Majors -- but tasted defeat for the first time since June 19, 2025, against the Baltimore Orioles.
“Minus a pitch here or there, I don’t have any complaints,” said Rasmussen, who had won a career-high six straight decisions. “My preference would be to take away one walk [to Chase DeLauter] and one cutter to [Steven] Kwan, but that’s about all I would do.”
The walk to DeLauter occurred in the third, when Cleveland put up a run on Kyle Mazardo’s sacrifice fly. Kwan’s double came in the two-run fifth, when he drove a 90.9 mph cutter to right field to put himself and Brayan Rocchio in scoring position.
DeLauter followed Kwan with a single to center, plating a pair to extend the Guardians’ lead to 3-0. Rocchio had reached on an error by first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who couldn’t field the ball cleanly.
“I was trying to make a quick out, that’s where my mind was at,” Aranda said through team interpreter Kevin Vera. “Drew always gives us very good innings, but today, my mind was on some things.”
Rasmussen didn’t fault Aranda, pointing out that DeLauter took advantage of a drawn-in infield to find a hole. He permitted a season-high six hits.
“That’s the pressure you get when you put runners on,” he said, taking responsibility for the situation.
Rasmussen threw 65 strikes in 91 pitches, striking out six with one walk. It was his first career decision in seven appearances at Progressive Field.
Aranda also factored into the first run of the game by not racing to the base on José Ramírez’s grounder with one out in the third, instead trying to throw out one of the two men on. The throw was late and everyone was safe.
Mazardo was up next, and his fly to left scored Rocchio.
“I thought Drew threw the ball really well, but there were a couple of plays on defense that we’d like to have back,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.
Despite the loss, Rasmussen has pitched very well in five of his six starts, posting a 1.67 ERA over 27 innings. The lone outlier took place at the Pirates on April 18, when he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 frames.
Rasmussen’s next outing is scheduled for Tuesday in Toronto, where he can break the franchise record of starts with four-or-fewer runs by a non-opener. Current teammate Shane McClanahan also notched 44 in a row from 2021-2022.
“We know he’s always going to pitch well,” Aranda said.