Drew Rasmussen vs Yankees: Rays ace hunts another Florida win
Drew Rasmussen starts for the Tampa Bay Rays against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field on July 9, with Paul Blackburn and a bullpen game opposite him. A Rays win would push their AL East lead toward six games while Rasmussen — 0.89 ERA career vs. New York — hunts another St. Petersburg statement.
The series finale lands at 1:10 p.m. ET in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Rays are 33-13 at home this season. New York arrives desperate to avoid a third straight loss; another defeat would widen the division gap to six games, per Yahoo Sports.
Key Takeaways
- Drew Rasmussen is 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA across nine career appearances against the Yankees, with nearly as many wins (4) as earned runs allowed (5).
- New York is sending Paul Blackburn in a planned bullpen game while its offense has been shut down for much of the four-game set.
- Covers.com lists the Rays as -155 moneyline favorites and backs the Under 7.5 behind Rasmussen's contact control.
- Trent Grisham (5-for-14 with a homer) is the only Yankee with a meaningful track record against Rasmussen.
- Aaron Judge is not in the lineup, removing one of New York's biggest threats against the Rays ace.
Why does drew rasmussen own the Yankees at Tropicana Field?
This will be Rasmussen's 10th career appearance versus New York. Through 50.2 innings, the right-hander has allowed just five earned runs — a 0.89 ERA that is his best mark against any opponent, according to Yahoo Sports.
CBS Sports notes he enters Thursday's start at 7-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 96 strikeouts across 97 innings. He was named American League Pitcher of the Month for June after going 3-2 with a 0.82 ERA in five starts, allowing only three runs on 16 hits over 33 innings.
His most recent outing was rougher: five runs in five innings at Houston on July 4. Rays manager Kevin Cash credited the Astros' lineup pressure, while Rasmussen acknowledged command was off just a bit. Against a Yankees offense that has struggled to put the ball in play, the rebound opportunity is clear.
Can Paul Blackburn and a Yankees bullpen game flip the script?
New York's answer is not a traditional starter. With Carlos Rodon's rotation turn due, the Yankees are running a bullpen game with Blackburn on the bump, CBS Sports reports. Blackburn is 2-1 with a 2.22 ERA across 44.2 innings this season.
Yahoo Sports frames the task bluntly: Blackburn and the rest of the bullpen must outduel Tampa Bay's ace on one of the season's toughest afternoons. The Yankees have shuffled their lineup, starting Cody Bellinger at first base and Max Schuemann in left field.
Manager Aaron Boone did not mince words after Wednesday's 3-0 shutout — New York's sixth blanking of 2026. "Obviously, offensively now is a real struggle for us; it's no secret and there's no magic pill," Boone said, per CBS Sports. The Yankees struck out 17 times in each of the first two games and 11 more on Wednesday, drawing just two walks across the first three contests.
What do the betting markets expect from Rasmussen today?
Covers.com analyst Chris Hatfield has the Rays as firm -155 moneyline favorites, with the Yankees at +140. His pick: Tampa Bay on the moneyline, playable to -165, plus a smaller Rays -1.5 play to +122.
He also likes the Under 7.5 at -103, citing Rasmussen's 4.5% walk rate and an 80th-percentile hard-hit rate against a Yankees lineup still hunting traffic on the bases. The total sits at 7.5 runs, with the Rays having cashed the moneyline in 35 of their last 50 home games.
For more on how Florida sports stories keep turning strange, see our Bizarre News & Florida Man coverage. First pitch is 1:10 p.m. ET on YES and Rays TV at the Trop.