ST. PETERSBURG -- As of Monday afternoon, Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen thought he would be able to make his scheduled start against the Cubs on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Those plans changed, and for a good reason, but Tampa Bay felt his absence on the mound.
Rasmussen was scratched from his starting assignment to be with his wife, Stevie, who is due to give birth to their second child. The Rays had to roll with a bullpen game, and the Cubs capitalized on the opportunity by racking up 16 hits as they dealt Tampa Bay a 9-2 defeat.
The Rays officially placed Rasmussen on the paternity list on Wednesday morning, recalling right-hander Jesse Scholtens from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move.
The Rays managed to get through Tuesday's game using only three pitchers: right-handers Mason Englert (3 2/3 innings), Cole Sulser (2 1/3 innings) and Yoendrys Gómez (three innings). But that may have been the only encouraging aspect of the loss, because it set them up to have a relatively well-rested bullpen behind starter Joe Boyle in Wednesday night’s series finale.
“Today was a little unique. We extended some guys, knowing that -- with Ras not being there -- we were gonna have to lean heavily on the bullpen,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Appreciate their efforts.”
The Rasmussens’ news came as somewhat of a surprise, although they’ve been on baby watch since he made his first career Opening Day start. (Rasmussen occasionally noted that the family’s first child, Rhett, came 10 days early.) The baby girl’s due date is Saturday, but head athletic trainer Joe Benge received word Tuesday morning that the Rasmussens were expecting her ahead of schedule.
Thus, the Rays changed their plans and made Tuesday a bullpen game.
“Of course we want Drew out there, but any time you're welcoming a life into this world, I think that that trumps everything,” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said. “I think we're just extremely happy for him. At the end of the day, today's a win.”
Scholtens gives the Rays a fresh arm in addition to the five relievers who didn’t pitch Tuesday night: Griffin Jax, Bryan Baker, Hunter Bigge, Kevin Kelly and Ian Seymour.
The Rays will wait for Rasmussen -- who posted a 1.80 ERA with 10 strikeouts over 10 innings in his first two starts -- to rejoin the club before figuring out when and how to slot him back into the rotation. In the meantime, they turned to Englert, Sulser and Gómez to each work multiple innings against the Cubs’ patient and powerful lineup.
“Those guys won't be available tomorrow, but it saves a lot of other people [who are] ready to go,” Cash said.
Englert said he got a text message from pitching coach Kyle Snyder around 11 a.m. informing him he'd be making his third starting assignment in the Majors. The righty, who threw a career-high 65 pitches in a career-long outing, said it didn’t affect his approach or preparation.
“It's the same information you carry over,” Englert said. “Just know I might need to go a little longer.”
Englert gave up two runs on three straight hard-hit balls in the second inning, then Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong reached on consecutive hits to lead off the third. The Cubs put up two more runs on a stolen base by Crow-Armstrong, a throwing error by catcher Nick Fortes and a sacrifice fly by Moisés Ballesteros.
“Some of the mistakes that happened in counts where I was ahead, with two strikes, I could have executed better,” Englert said.
Sulser gave up a run in the sixth and Gómez allowed four runs on six hits, including two homers, increasing Tampa Bay’s MLB-worst bullpen ERA to 7.49 after 11 games. Meanwhile, the Rays couldn’t offer them much offensive support while the Cubs deployed a backup pitching plan of their own.
Starting in place of the injured Matthew Boyd, Chicago right-hander Javier Assad allowed just one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 innings.
After a powerful performance in Monday’s home opener, the Rays didn’t have a baserunner until Junior Caminero worked a leadoff walk in the fifth, then Chandler Simpson immediately recorded the Rays’ first hit with his MLB-leading eighth infield single.
“Felt like he got in a good rhythm, and then we didn't have much of an answer,” Cash said.