A bullpen night forces the Rays’ hand
Tampa Bay’s plan for Game 5 changed on Tuesday. Nick Martinez had been expected to start, but he threw two innings in the Rays’ 4-3 win in Game 4, so the club is going with Drew Rasmussen instead, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
That Game 4 win took 12 innings. The Rays scored twice in the 12th and used seven pitchers to get there. The result kept the season alive, and the series now stands at 3-1 in Milwaukee’s favor, with Games 6 and 7, if needed, to be played at Milwaukee.
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What Rasmussen brings, and what he did in Game 2
Rasmussen, 31, was the club’s best starter in the regular season, going 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA in 30 starts and making his second career American League All-Star team. In this postseason he is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA across 24 2/3 innings in four starts.
The one blemish in this series came in Game 2 at Milwaukee. He threw 89 pitches over 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs in a 5-4 loss, so he knows how quickly this lineup can turn a game.
The story has a twist. The Brewers drafted him in the sixth round in 2018, and Tampa Bay acquired him in 2021 in the trade that sent infielder Willy Adames to Milwaukee. Standing across from him will be hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, with a chance to clinch the first World Series title in Brewers history.
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