Wednesday, 4 a.m.
Just call him Mr. Zero.
Officially, his name is Drew Rasmussen. Lately, he’s had a plenty of nothing.
Rasmussen, the torrid pitcher of the Tampa Bay Rays, pitched his fourth consecutive start without giving up a run in Tuesday’s 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. Rasmussen has now gone 23 innings since anyone has scored on him.
He was particularly sharp against the Rangers, allowing just one hit and cutting through five innings on 79 pitches. Rasmussen has now won four straight. He’s given up just 10 hits in his last four starts.
Rasmussen got enough support in his start against Tyler Mahle, who fell to 5-3.
Junior Caminero continued his torrid hitting. He hit his 14th home run in the eighth inning.
Kameron Misner hit his fifth homer of the year in the second inning.
In the sixth inning, the Rays scored three runs on two hits. Yandy Diaz walked, and Jonathan Aranda singled to center. Diaz scored on a wild pitch, and Aranda scored on an infield hit by Mangum. Mangum then stole second, and Caminero came home on the throw.
The Rays are 10-3 in their last 13 games.
The Rays play Texas again today at Steinbrenner Field at 7:35 p.m. Shane Baz will start for the Ryas against Kumar Rocker.