Jonathan Aranda’s homer lifts Rays to Game 1 win

Peralta was one of the most effective starters in baseball during the closing month of the regular season where he posted a 0.96 ERA and 23/9 K/BB ratio across five starts in the month of September. The 30-year-old former Brewers ace will be making his seventh career postseason start and 10th appearance overall since 2018.

Aranda connected on a third-inning changeup from Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, sending a majestic 417-foot blast into the right-center field seats for his first career playoff round-tripper. It wound up being the lone run for either side in a low-scoring pitcher’s duel at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-five series. The two teams return to action with Game 2 in Tampa Bay on Monday evening.

After clobbering the Red Sox for 18 runs in a pair of contests during the AL Wild Card Series, New York’s offense never got in sync against Rays ace Drew Rasmussen, who allowed just three baserunners and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Chisholm figures to start every game for the remainder of the series with right-handers Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez set to follow for Tampa Bay.

Baker got the call to protect a narrow one-run advantage in the final frame following eight dominant frames from Rays ace Drew Rasmussen to open the best-of-five series. The 31-year-old All-Star stopper, who notched a career-high 41 saves during the regular season, struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton before fanning Ben Rice and coaxing a game-ending ground ball from Cody Bellinger.

Rasmussen authored one of the most dominant starts in Tampa Bay history, carrying a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before Austin Wells doubled to right field with two outs on his 101st pitch of the contest. The 31-year-old ace cruised through the early innings, retiring 15 consecutive batters after issuing a two-out walk to Ben Rice in the third. He generated an astronomical 23 swinging strikes, including 10 on his changeup alone, while allowing just seven batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that Rasmussen, who remains relatively unknown to casual baseball fans, is the most underrated starter in baseball. He finished the regular season with a pristine 2.67 ERA across a career-high 172 innings over 30 starts and looked nearly unhittable in his first postseason outing since appearing in relief against the Guardians in 2022. He’s in line to take the ball for Game 4 of the best-of-five series, if necessary, at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

Cole looked extremely sharp in his first postseason outing since Game 5 the World Series back in 2024. The 36-year-old veteran surrendered only five hits with a third-inning solo blast by Jonathan Aranda representing the lone tally against him. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk before being lifted at just 82 pitches (58 strikes) over five strong frames. He figures to get the ball for Game 4 of the best-of-five series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

Bonemer capped off a multi-hit performance in his fall circuit debut by smashing a three-run double in the ninth inning of this one. The 20-year-old infielder, who played just nine late-season contests in center field after spending most of the year at shortstop and third base, is getting some additional reps in the outfield this fall in an effort to expand his avenues to at-bats on Chicago’s rapidly-improving core. He’s coming off a phenomenal minor-league campaign where he hit .251/.380/.551 with 37 home runs and 17 steals in 595 plate appearances between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. He’s a top-20 range fantasy prospect heading into next spring.

One of the hardest-throwing starting pitching prospects in baseball, Susana’s premium fastball velocity was on display during Saturday’s AFL lid-lifter as he topped out at 103.8 mph, according to Statcast. He touched triple digits a whopping 35 times in the 55-pitch outing. The flame-throwing 22-year-old is getting some additional work in the fall circuit after missing most of the year recovering from a lat tear that required surgery last year. He figures to open next season at Triple-A Rochester, but he’s the type of name that fantasy managers need to know heading into next spring.

Tucker came through with a signature moment in his Dodgers playoff debut after a calamitous regular season where he finished with a career-worst .715 OPS. The 29-year-old marquee free agent addition crushed a 408-foot no-doubter to right field off Atlanta reliever AJ Smith-Shawver to give Los Angeles a commanding 4-1 advantage in the sixth inning. He also singled and stole a base in his first postseason contest in a Dodgers uniform.

Albies took Dodgers lefty reliever Tanner Scott deep in the ninth inning to pull Atlanta within a pair of runs at the time. It was his second round-tripper of the postseason. The 29-year-old second baseman gave Atlanta a chance in the final frame, but they were unable to erase a four-run deficit in the final frame.