Rasmussen Flirts With No-No as Rays Edge Yankees 1-0 in ALDS Opener

Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and Tampa Bay's staff finished off a one-hit shutout as the Rays beat the Yankees 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. Rasmussen went eight innings, allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out ten. New York's only knock came after he left. Gerrit Cole pitched well enough to win and got nothing.

Our premium pick: the Rays moneyline. We told subscribers this matchup favored Tampa Bay, and Rasmussen made that look easy. Winner.

Run line — Yankees +1.5. New York lost by one, so the +1.5 cashed. Winner.

Total — Over. This was the miss. One run on one hit against a 6.5 number was never close. Loss.

Prop card:

• Ben Rice over 1.5 total bases (+112). Rice went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts — zero total bases. Loss.
• Gerrit Cole over 5.5 strikeouts (+121). Cole finished with five strikeouts over five innings, one short of the number. Loss.
• Junior Caminero over 1.5 total bases (-103). Caminero went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout — zero total bases. Loss.

A 1-3 night on the props, and the one that stings is Cole: five punchouts in five innings is a fine start, but the number needed six. Rasmussen's dominance erased every hitter-based angle on the card.

The takeaway is straightforward. When an elite contact-suppressing starter lines up against a lineup with swing-and-miss risk, the total and the hitter props are the first things to discount — not the last. The side and the underdog run line held up because they didn't depend on bats showing up. Expect that lean to carry into the rest of this series.