Well, That Wasn’t Great (Yankees Vs. Rays game 1 Recap)
After spending the last five days comfortably aboard Cloud 9, the Yankees were given one of the quickest, harshest wake-up calls in franchise postseason history. In the blink of an eye, all the confidence and goodwill the team had instilled in the fanbase washed away and replaced with a 1-0 series deficit.
This game ended so quickly that I still had time to watch a movie afterward. Between the decision process and the slew of Progressive ads, 2025's Together might've lasted even longer, while sucking nearly as bad.
Listen, we all knew this Rays series was going to be far more challenging than the last, but not for any of the reasons we saw tonight. It's not like the Tampa offense had a ton of traffic on the basepaths. They weren't slapping the ball around, bunting, stealing bags, or being the pains in the ass we've all come to expect.
On a night when Cole was far from perfect, he still managed to navigate through their lineup multiple times, surrendering only the solo shot through five. The bullpen then proceeded to absolutely cruise through the next three innings, parking this one outside of a Newark bodega - in prime position to be stolen.
Unfortunately, the Yankee offense was nowhere to be found as Drew Rasmussen carved us up in one of the most dominant playoff pitching performances these eyes have ever seen. It was a "blink and it's the seventh inning" type of showing from Tampa's ace, whose no-hit bid didn't end until Austin Wells drilled a double down the line in the top of the eighth.
Unfortunately, said double would become out number 3 of the inning after the Yankee catcher inexplicably tried stretching our only base hit into a triple for reasons I still can't fully fathom.
"Never make the first or third out at third base," said Michael Kay... for the last 25 years of my life. Do you know how bad of a fuck-up it takes to earn offensive scapegoat honors when you're the only guy who got a hit? Luis Rojas would send my Grandma across the Jersey Turnpike, and even he was throwing up the double stop signs!
I'm well aware we probably weren't getting another knock off Rasmussen or that mutant closer of theirs, but you can't kill our only scoring opportunity of the night by getting gunned down by 20 feet. Just such an unserious, embarrassing moment that simply can’t happen.
But alas, the focus now shifts to Game 2. It goes without saying that with Schlittler on the mound, this is a must-win. If we're being honest with ourselves, knowing this monster is looming in Game 4, it's imperative that we get the next two.
I fully trust Cam to do his thing, and you have to believe the bats will have a better showing against Freddy Peralta — ideally, not just by default.
So please, Yankees, flush this wasted opportunity away and show up on Monday, because I don't know how many more Dave Franco horror performances I have in me.
