Yankees sending Gerrit Cole to the mound vs. Rays' Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 of AL Division Series

Gerrit Cole will start for the New York Yankees against Drew Rasmussen and the Tampa Bay Rays in Saturday night's AL Division Series opener.

Cole was set to start Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Boston on Thursday but the Yankees swept their division rival. The 36-year-old right-hander, a six-time All-Star, was 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA in 22 starts this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss the 2025 season.

Rasmussen was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA for the Rays and made the All-Star team for the second straight season. The 31-year-old right-hander twice had surgery for a torn ligament in his elbow in college and needed an internal brace procedure in July 2023 that forced him to miss more than a year.

He is 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 10 starts and one relief appearance against the Yankees, striking out out 70 in 59 2/3 innings.

Tampa Bay led the AL with 98 wins, earning a bye and home-field advantage at renovated Tropicana Field. They had to play their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field — the spring training home of the Yankees — following damage to the Trop caused by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, 2024.

The Rays haven't won a postseason series since 2020, when they lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They beat the Yankees 3-2 in the Division Series and won the franchise's second pennant.

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