Yankees at Rays ALDS: Aaron Judge Is Still Unsure and New York Has No Game 1 Starter
The Yankees swept Boston out of the wild card round and arrive in St. Petersburg on Saturday without two things a playoff team usually has by now: a confirmed Game 1 starter and a healthy best player.
Game 1 is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field on TBS. It is only the second postseason series ever between these teams, after the 2020 ALDS.
Tampa Bay Knows Who Is Pitching
Drew Rasmussen gets the ball, announced Wednesday, and he has earned it in a way that deserves more attention than it has gotten.
Rasmussen went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA over 30 starts and 172 innings. His 0.91 WHIP led the American League and his 5.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio led all of baseball. He has a 2.71 ERA across his Rays career, fourth all-time among the franchise’s pitchers by wins above replacement.
He got here after a third elbow surgery in 2024. Pitching coach Kyle Snyder did not undersell him: “He’s the standard. He brings it all to the table. If somebody wants to know what success looks like, you don’t have to look too far.”
New York Still Has Not Decided
It is Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodon, and Aaron Boone was not giving it away Thursday.
“Obviously, Gerrit’s lined up for that. Carlos is very much in play for that,” Boone said. “They’re both throwing the ball really well.”
Cole sounded like a man who has done this before. “I haven’t pitched in a while. Looking forward to getting back out there,” he said. “It’s the postseason, man. There’s no expectations. You play when you’re told to play and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Either way New York brings the best pitching staff in baseball by ERA. The Yankees led the majors at 3.24.
The Judge Problem
Aaron Judge has not played since September 16 with a right calf strain and was left off the wild card roster entirely. His availability for Game 1 is still unknown.
He took live batting practice at the Yankees’ Double-A complex in Somerset and ran in the outfield before games. His own update was all effort and no promise.
“Saturday’s a long ways away, but I’m doing everything I can, all morning, night, during the game, everything to prepare myself to be ready to go,” Judge said. “So I want to be in there. So we’ll see what happens.”
Even before the injury this was a strange season for him: 66 games, a .241 average, 18 home runs, 41 RBI and an .871 OPS. September was worse, at .174 with one homer.
Tampa Bay Was Not Supposed to Be Here
The Rays finished 98-64, the best record in the American League, and earned the top seed with a first-round bye. Bleacher Report ranked them 19th in its preseason power rankings and most projections had them last in the AL East.
They clinched the division on September 22 with a win over these Yankees, their first AL East title since 2021 and the fifth in franchise history. They won the season series 7-6.
Their home record was 55-26. The Yankees were 46-34 at home.
The Trop Is Back
This series is at Tropicana Field, which matters because the Rays spent all of 2025 playing home games at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off in October 2024. Repairs finished in time for the April 6 home opener this year.
“The recovery process following Hurricane Milton in October 2024 required patience and persistence, and we’re grateful for the support along the way,” the team said.
What Decides It
Tampa Bay has the better record, home field and a Game 1 starter who led the league in two of the three things that matter most for a short series. New York has the deeper staff and, possibly, the best hitter in the sport at roughly 70 percent.
Shane McClanahan is out for Tampa Bay with a forearm issue. Chandler Simpson’s sore right foot improved this week.
If Judge plays and looks like himself, the Yankees win this series. If he does not, a 98-win team with the league’s best control pitcher is a very bad draw.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
