ST. PETERSBURG -- As soon as the Rays clinched a postseason berth, manager Kevin Cash made their pitching plan clear: October might change when their starters actually pitch, but it wasn't going to change how many of them they planned to use.
“We know the best version of our pitching staff is having all five of those guys contribute,” Cash said.
Two games into the ALDS against the Yankees, that plan is taking shape.
Tampa Bay has recorded 54 outs while taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, and 47 of them have come from three of Tampa Bay's starters. Drew Rasmussen delivered eight dominant innings in Game 1 before Freddy Peralta and Ian Seymour combined to cover 7 2/3 innings in the Rays’ 5-2 win Monday at Tropicana Field.
That has allowed Tampa Bay to use only two traditional relievers -- Cam Booser and closer Bryan Baker -- while keeping the rest of its bullpen fresh and unseen by the Yankees as the series shifts to New York on Wednesday.
Peralta allowed one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one.
He came within one out of completing five innings, but after Austin Wells doubled and Ryan McMahon walked with two outs in the fifth, Cash turned to Booser. As Peralta made his way toward the dugout, he clapped in the direction of the bullpen and yelled, “Come on.”
“Amazing,” Peralta said. “I feel really good about my outing. If there's something that I wanted, [it was] to finish the fifth. But it is what it is. I had Boos behind me, and he did an amazing job.”
For Peralta, the outing continued a turnaround that began after the Rays acquired him from the Mets on Aug. 2 ahead of the Trade Deadline. The right-hander had a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts with New York before posting a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts with Tampa Bay. He finished the regular season by going 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA in September, earning AL Pitcher of the Month honors.
Peralta reached 97 mph or above 20 times Monday, a career high. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.8 mph, up from his season average of 94.3 mph.
“Probably yes,” Peralta said when asked if the velo came from postseason adrenaline. “I know the team that I was facing. They are very powerful, and they're looking to do damage.”
For all the extra velocity, Ben Rice was the only Yankee who managed to do damage against Peralta, sending an 89.8 mph changeup into the right-field seats in the fourth. It was only the fourth home run Peralta allowed off the pitch this season, and his first since joining the Rays.
“He threw the ball incredibly well,” Cash said. “I felt like the changeup started to work off the edge enough where he wasn't able to get it in the zone. But early on, it was [a] dominant fastball, dominant changeup. It's tough to nitpick anybody that goes through that lineup and gives up a solo homer. So, very pleased with Freddy.”
After Booser escaped the fifth, Seymour took over for the next three innings. The left-hander struck out four -- twice as many as AL Cy Young Award favorite Cam Schlittler -- with Rice's second solo homer of the night serving as the only hit he allowed before Baker worked a perfect ninth for his second save in as many games.
“They’re nasty, man,” Peralta said. “Especially Seymour, how he was able to navigate through the lineup. And then we have Baker closing it out? Amazing.”
For Seymour, who posted a 4.21 ERA this year in his first full Major League season, the playoff assignment offered a different role. But he drew on what he had spent the year learning from the pitchers around him.
“Having those guys, Drew, Nick [Martinez], Shane [McClanahan], [Griffin Jax], Freddy,” Seymour said. “Getting to watch how they go about what they do, getting to watch how they prepare, how they attack lineups, I've been able to learn so much from those guys. And to see the success that they have … I'm a by-product of them and their habits and their routines.
“They elevate you as a player, and I'm really grateful to have those guys as mentors, for sure.”