Gerrit Cole gave the Yankees the October start they wanted at Tropicana Field, but Jonathan Aranda made the one swing that settled Game 1. Tampa Bay’s left-handed hitter drove a third-inning changeup over the wall, and the Rays rode that run to a 1-0 American League Division Series victory.
Cole, making his first postseason appearance since last year’s Tommy John surgery, worked five innings in a tight, tense opener. Drew Rasmussen was even better for Tampa Bay, turning the afternoon into a pitcher’s game from the first inning on.
Quick facts
- The Rays beat the Yankees, 1-0, in ALDS Game 1 at Tropicana Field.
- Jonathan Aranda’s solo home run in the third inning was the only scoring play.
- Gerrit Cole allowed the lone run across five innings in his strongest outing in roughly six weeks.
- Drew Rasmussen blanked New York in a standout start for Tampa Bay.
- Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max.
The Yankees had debated their Game 1 choice, with Carlos Rodón also a candidate for the ball. Aaron Boone went with Cole, and the veteran looked every bit like a front-of-the-rotation pitcher despite the loss.
He escaped early trouble in the first after permitting a single and a walk, freezing Chandler Simpson with a well-spotted fastball for a called third strike. A two-out double in the second did no damage.
Then came the third. Cole had Aranda in a 2-2 count and tried to finish him with a changeup down and away. The location was on the outer edge, but it stayed a little too high, and Aranda did not miss it.
That was the only run Cole allowed. Austin Wells said the pitch was still one he would call again, noting that Aranda simply put a strong swing on it. “That’s baseball,” the catcher said.
Cole recovered quickly after the homer and finished with his best sequence against Junior Caminero in the fifth. Ahead 0-2, Cole saw the Tampa Bay slugger battle back to a full count and foul off four straight pitches before a knuckle curve at the top of the zone froze Caminero for strike three.
Cole punctuated the escape with a fist pump as he walked off the mound. He wanted to continue, but said he and Boone were aligned after their discussion in the dugout.
Boone’s decision reflected the game’s constant leverage, as well as a rested bullpen and an off-day Sunday. The Yankees’ relievers carried the work from there, but Rasmussen and the Rays never gave New York a crack in the door.
“It’s a tough one,” Cole said, crediting Rasmussen for an exceptional performance. The Yankees will need their lineup to find more room in Game 2, because their ace already supplied the kind of October outing that usually gives a club a chance to win.
