Drew Rasmussen Gets the Ball for the Rays in a Massive ALCS Game 5
Bob Nightengale reported the start on Twitter.
Bob Nightengale just casually dropped the news that is taking the mound for the this Sunday.
A starting pitcher announcement in late October usually means a team is either deploying a $300 million ace or throwing a guy who was pitching in Double-A three weeks ago. Because this is the Rays, it is somehow a weird mix of both.
The stakes here are completely unhinged. Tampa Bay and the Cleveland Guardians are deadlocked at two games apiece in the ALCS. The Rays just stole a 7-3 win on the road to even things up, turning Sunday night in Cleveland into the kind of swing game that ruins sleep schedules.
Handing the ball to Rasmussen is a massive flex when you look at his actual production. The guy boasts a 16-5 record with a 2.67 ERA and a microscopic 0.91 WHIP. Those are the kind of numbers you only see when someone is playing a baseball video game on rookie difficulty.
But the real story is his medical chart. Rasmussen has survived flexor issues and a major elbow surgery that wiped out a massive chunk of his recent career. Trusting a guy with that kind of surgical history in a tied ALCS is the exact brand of high-wire analytics only Tampa Bay would attempt.
Bettors and oddsmakers are going to have a miserable time trying to price this matchup. You have to weigh a pitcher with elite run-prevention metrics against the reality of a high-pressure playoff environment and a manager who will undoubtedly have the bullpen on speed dial by the third inning.
If Rasmussen shoves, the Rays take a 3-2 lead and total control of the pennant race. If he gets chased early, Cleveland is suddenly in the driver's seat. Either way, Sunday night just became mandatory viewing.