Rasmussen nearly perfect vs. Yankees as Rays take ALDS Game 1 - ESPN

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen walked into the interview room while manager Kevin Cash was showering him with praise.

«That's the nicest you've ever been about me,» Rasmussen said after greeting Cash.

The powerful right-hander deserved all the superlatives.

Rasmussen didn't allow a hit until two outs in the eighth inning, Jonathan Aranda homered off Gerrit Cole and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 1-0 in their AL Division Series on Saturday night.

«He was dominant before the break,» Cash said. «He's elite all season long. He's really done that since he's been a Tampa Bay Ray, coming over here, and his contributions. Feels like he continues to get better.»

Rasmussen retired 15 consecutive batters before Austin Wells doubled with two outs in the eighth inning, ripping a liner just inside the right-field foul line on an inside sinker.

Wells was easily thrown out on shortstop Taylor Walls ' relay to third baseman Junior Caminero of right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. 's throw. Wells ran through the stop sign of third base coach Luis Rojas, who raised both arms before Wells rounded second.

Rasmussen dominated a lineup that scored 18 runs in a two-game Wild Card Series sweep of Boston and was still missing three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, sidelined since Sept. 16 by a calf injury.

«You say the word dominate. Man, I feel like I'm grinding out there,» Rasmussen said. «I mean, it's the same thing regardless of the lineup. If you execute on a day, hitting's really hard. And so it's just one of those things that can I go out and throw strike one and can I execute at a zone with two strikes.»

The 31-year-old Rasmussen struck out 10 and walked two in eight innings. He threw 69 of 101 pitches for strikes, getting 23 swings