ST. PETERSBURG -- Drew Rasmussen gave up a hit to the first Guardians batter he faced Sunday at Tropicana Field.
From there, his day on the mound couldn’t have been smoother. Or quicker.
Rasmussen made short work of Cleveland’s lineup through seven innings on just 87 pitches as Tampa Bay triumphed, 1-0, in just 1 hour, 58 minutes to complete a three-game sweep.
“Just a well-executed, masterful performance,” manager Kevin Cash said of his two-time All-Star right-hander.
“He's a dawg,” outfielder Chandler Simpson added. “Every time he goes out there, we know it's going to be a good showing.”
Rasmussen didn’t allow a hit after Steven Kwan’s leadoff double and permitted only two baserunners on a walk and a hit-by-pitch afterward. He retired the final 12 batters he faced. He allowed just one hard-hit ball. En route to nine strikeouts, Rasmussen induced 18 whiffs, the most from any Rays pitcher this season, trailing only his 20 swings-and-misses against the Red Sox on June 10.
“[Catcher Nick Fortes] did a great job behind home plate,” said Rasmussen, never one to put the spotlight on himself. “It's just one of those things where his ability to keep them guessing and set up to locations in which we could get off of barrels was huge.”
Of course, Rasmussen had to be almost perfect because Guardians All-Star rookie Parker Messick was also working swiftly. The Plant City, Fla., native, whom Rasmussen lauded as “unbelievable” on Sunday, struck out six and walked none over 7 2/3 innings in the Rays’ quickest home game in terms of minutes since 2022.
“I think it definitely helps keep you locked in,” Rasmussen said. “It helps keep you in a rhythm, and it just gives you the opportunity to get back out there and continue.”
“If you like pitching,” Cash said, “that's about as well-executed a game as you're going to see.”
The Rays got the only run they needed in the fifth inning. Simpson opened the frame by slapping a single to left past a drawn-in José Ramírez at third base. After Simpson moved up 180 feet on a wild pitch and a groundout, Cedric Mullins popped up a bunt that landed about 30 feet in front of home plate toward the first-base side.
Mullins indicated that there was a slight moment of trepidation when he saw the ball go into the air, but it deadened once it hit the turf and gave first baseman Kyle Manzardo no chance to make a flip home in time to catch the speedy Simpson, who slid safely head-first across the dish.
If there was a tense moment in the contest, it came with one out in the top of the ninth, when closer Bryan Baker matched up against the Guardians’ leader, Ramírez. He fouled off four-seamers and changeups left and right before Baker finally got the feared switch-hitter to hit a 98.7 mph lineout to center on the 12th pitch of their duel.
“I would prefer to [get outs] in a quicker fashion and without the ball being hit so hard,” Baker said. “But sometimes, you take outs any way you can get them. If he's going to hit the ball right on the screws at somebody, I'll take that as well.”
The All-Star recorded his 28th save of the season once he struck out Brayan Rocchio to end the series, which marked Tampa Bay’s MLB-leading 10th sweep of the season. The win improved the Rays’ record to 62-43, 2 1/2 games in front of the Yankees in the AL East standings ahead of New York's Sunday night matchup against the Phillies.
As for Baker, he has secured 17 consecutive save opportunities dating back to May 17. He has allowed just one run across 22 innings during that span.
“He’s been pretty automatic for us,” Cash said.