It won’t be Rays ace Drew Rasmussen taking the mound in Game 1 of the World Series.
Tampa Bay supervisor Kevin Cash made the stunning choice to give the ball to Nick Martinez for Friday’s Fall Classic opener against the Brewers, opting to give Rasmussen an further day of relaxation before his possible Game 2 begin.
“He’s had a pretty thick workload here,” Cash said of Rasmussen’s playoff utilization, according to ESPN. “We’ve relied on him heavily. We know when he takes the ball, we’re trying to get the full-pitch allotment out of him.”
Martinez, who posted a 3.10 ERA across 180 innings in the common season, held the Guardians to one run over 5⅓ innings in his last postseason outing.
“It’s exciting,” Martinez said. “I think as a team, as a staff, we’re confident in whoever we call up to the mound. It fell on me, and my job is just to rack up as many outs as we can and keep us in this ballgame.”
Martinez, 36, came to Tampa Bay after signing a one-year, $13 million deal over the offseason and has loved a profession yr in his first season as a full-time beginning pitcher.
He will begin reverse Milwaukee flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski, who is a heavy favourite for the 2026 National League Cy Young award after main the majors in both ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (252).
Rasmussen has tossed a team-high 21 innings this October, including seven innings of one-run ball in his most latest outing in Game 5 of the ALCS on Oct. 18, that means he will have a full 5 days of relaxation if he does indeed take the mound in Game 2 on Saturday.
The transfer also permits Freddy Peralta, the possible Game 3 starter for the Rays, an further day of relaxation.
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