Tampa Bay’s ace was ready. Drew Rasmussen has gone 2–0 with a 1.29 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 21 innings this postseason, and he was available on regular rest for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night. Manager Kevin Cash started Nick Martinez instead. Reuters called the move what it is: a calculated gamble in delaying the ace.
Cash explained the reasoning in the club’s own terms: “We prioritized Drew getting an extra day. He’s had a pretty thick workload here… When Nick pitches, we win.” Martinez’s case is not thin: he went 15–6 with a 3.10 ERA and a team-high 180 innings in his first All-Star season after signing a one-year deal in February, he is 1–0 with a 3.00 ERA in two short postseason starts, and he held Cleveland to one run in ALCS Game 4. Starting him also lets Tampa Bay attack Game 1 with a fresh bullpen behind a shorter outing.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal had teased the possibility on Thursday, before the assignment was announced: “The Rays love a plot twist. Should we expect one with their Game 1 starter?”
The rotation, as set
- Game 1 (Fri, Milwaukee): Nick Martinez — 15–6, 3.10 ERA, team-high 180 IP; held Cleveland to one run in ALCS Game 4
- Game 2 (Sat, Milwaukee): Drew Rasmussen — 2–0, 1.29 ERA, 23 K in 21 IP this postseason; expected to face Logan Henderson
- Game 3 (Mon, St. Petersburg): Freddy Peralta — ALCS MVP; eight seasons a Brewer before the Mets and the deadline deal to Tampa Bay
- Cash: “We prioritized Drew getting an extra day… When Nick pitches, we win.”
What the move sets up: Rasmussen starts Game 2 on Saturday against Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson, who is expected to start for the Brewers. And Game 3, when the Series moves to Tropicana Field on Monday, belongs to Freddy Peralta — the ALCS MVP, who spent eight seasons as a Brewer before going to the Mets and then to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. The plot twist spares Peralta a start in Milwaukee; his Series start comes at home.
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