Drew Rasmussen on Tuesday allowed his only hit in the seventh inning and struck out 11 as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 6-1 in the second game of a day-night doubleheader to clinch their fifth American League East title.
The Rays (96-61) secured home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs and took their first division crown since 2021, when they won 100 games. Tampa Bay also earned AL East championships in the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season along with 2010 and 2008, when the team had its first winning season after entering the league as an expansion franchise in 1998.
Yandy Diaz hit two-run single off reliever John Schreiber in the seventh and had another two-run single in the ninth for his AL-leading 175th hit. Tampa Bay opened a six-game lead over the second-place Yankees (90-67) with five to play.
Photo: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
In the opener, Carlos Rodon allowed three hits in eight sharp innings as New York delayed Tampa Bay’s division celebration with a 2-0 victory.
Taylor Walls started the three-run seventh with a bunt single against Max Fried (5-5) when first base was left uncovered. Ryan Vilade hit an RBI groundout in the third after Diaz’s flyball moved runners to second and third.
Rasmussen (16-5) was nine outs from joining Matt Garza as Tampa Bay pitchers with a no-hitter when he gave up a leadoff double to Heliot Ramos on his 97th pitch. Garza held the Detroit Tigers hitless at Tropicana Field on July 26, 2010.
After allowing Ramos’ hit to left field, Rasmussen got the next two outs before walking Jazz Chisholm Jr on a full count. Kevin Kelly entered and permitted rookie George Lombard Jr’s RBI single before retiring Austin Wells on a groundout.
Rasmussen threw a career-high 114 pitches, 72 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of 24 hitters and notched his fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
Rasmussen allowed one hit for the fourth time this year. He also yielded just one hit in six innings against the Yankees on April 12.
Cam Booser and Bryan Baker pitched an inning apiece to finish the three-hitter.
Fried allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Yankees were held to three hits or fewer for the 13th time this year.
COMPLAINTS ABOUND: Long delays, unsuitable accommodation and transport issues have overshadowed the lead-up to the Games, which are to open today The Asian Games in Japan on Friday faced more accusations of poor organization with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture today, but the build-up has been soured by several issues. That includes a shortage of rooms for the more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a bigger number than the Olympics. Some teams have also criticized the quality of the accommodation, including beds that are too short. To save money there is no athletes’ village,
UNDER INVESTIGATION: Taiwan has replaced the damaged banner and more cameras have been installed to protect athletes and staff, the sports ministry said The Ministry of Sports yesterday called for mutual respect after a banner at a training facility used by Taiwanese athletes at the Asian Games was defaced to cover up the Chinese characters for “national” and the English word “Taiwan” in Nagoya, Japan. The banner, displayed at Misono Elementary School in Nagoya, was defaced with ink, the Chunichi Shimbun reported on Wednesday. The orange banner, measuring about 5m long by 1.5m wide, hung near the entrance to the former elementary school. In white lettering it read “National Sports Training Center” (國家運動訓練中心) in Mandarin with the English name “Taiwan Sports Training Center.” The Taiwan delegation
Iran yesterday withstood a late fightback to beat China 79-70 and win Asian Games men’s basketball bronze, an achievement that left their players “speechless” after months of war back home. China led 31-29 at half-time in Nagoya, but Iran took charge in the third quarter to lead 55-46 going into the fourth and held on to spark wild celebrations and an emotional place on the podium. “To be honest with you I’m just speechless,” said 202cm power forward Arsalan Kazemi, who in 2013 was the first Iranian to be drafted in the NBA by the Washington Wizards, but never made
HOMERS, HITS: Lin Tzu-wei and Yu Chang have had three-hit games in the MLB, but Lee topped them both and also went past Chang in home runs in a season Detroit Tigers infielder Lee Hao-yu on Friday set Taiwanese MLB records for home runs in a season and hits in a game as he helped his team rally past the Chicago White Sox 11-8. The 23-year-old went four-for-five with three RBIs and two runs scored, tying the game at 8-8 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. The blast was his 10th homer of the season, while his four hits set a single-game MLB record for a Taiwanese. “When I actually saw it go out, I just blacked out,” Lee said in a post-game interview, recalling his reaction as the tying home
RSS