Short rest: Drew Rasmussen will pitch tonight

Last night, the Rays won. So they're still in the running.

But tonight, they'll face a tough challenge: managing to stay alive (once again) to take the series to Milwaukee on Friday night.

The Brewers, who have a red-hot bullpen (and top-tier relievers who didn't pitch on Monday), will send Jacob Misiorowski to the mound.

He could cap off the 2026 Major League Baseball season with a big outing.

For the Rays, using Nick Martinez for two innings yesterday means the team doesn't have a fully rested starter available for tonight's game.

The result? Drew Rasmussen will pitch on short rest. He pitched four days ago, last Saturday.

Drew Rasmussen will start tonight for the Rays on short rest, per @TBTimes_Rays pic.twitter.com/jPnmEstP5U

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 28, 2026

In the playoffs, it's common to see a pitcher give it his all and cut his rest short—especially when your team is facing elimination in the World Series.

But let's not forget that the Rays are in this situation because they tried to reinvent baseball by not starting their best pitcher in Game 1.

Otherwise, Rasmussen would be on his regular rest.

Why didn't they start Rasmussen last Friday? To give him 24 more hours of rest.

Now, he'll have LESS rest than usual.

If he pitches well tonight, people will say he didn't need extra rest last time. And if he pitches poorly, people will say the Rays should have just given him Game 1 last week.

Note that if Tampa Bay wins tonight, the same dilemma will arise for Freddy Peralta in Game 6. Changing your rotation in the playoffs has long-term consequences.

We'll see how it plays out, then.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.