Rasmussen returns strong and the Rays get contribution from some unlikely sources to beat the Bucs
Baseball is a game of unrelenting failure. At the very best, at a Hall of Fame level, you are still failing the majority of the time. That’s the beauty of this game. Much like life, there’s failures, you get knocked down, and when you persevere and find yourself back on your feet, it all makes each moment of success all the more sweet.
Moment’s like a team of vagabonds left adrift by a storm and greed, playing in a loaned out temporary home stadium, with a sold out crowd of 10k chanting the name of a 29 year old rookie nicknamed The Mayor in just his 2nd ever major league game.
Jake Mangum is no stranger to hitting. Last year Mangum won the AAA batting title. In college, Mangum became the SEC all time career hits leader. Mangum expected to begin his 7th year in pro baseball in Durham. However, an Opening Day injury to Josh Lowe meant Mangum would be pulled from the Bulls lineup before their game began, and his long journey to the majors became a reality.
Tonight in just his 2nd ever game, Jake Mangum would collect his 1st career hit in the majors. He would also then collect his 2nd, 3rd and 4th hits.
Leading the Rays offense on the night, Mangum would end 4/4 with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 SB.
But it was not just a one man show tonight. The Rays bats continued to showcase a relentless battle to grind out competitive at bats, make contact, and generate runs. After the first series the Rays bats showed the improvements they had been emphasizing all offseason: increasing contact and cutting strikeouts. As a team they came in today ranking 6th in K rate (17.4%), 4th in BA (.286), 5th in OBP (.349) and 9th in wRC+ (120).
Add in another 10 hits, 2BB, 4 doubles, and 6 runs, with 8 more LOB, there was plenty of action and opportunities. And this was all without a hit from Yandy Diaz or Brandon Lowe (although Yandy did get his first RBI of the season with a sac fly in the 8th).
The big breakthrough inning came in the 4th. Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski pitched really well early on, but as the 4th rolled around he had reached his career high in innings and clearly the effectiveness was dropping. The Rays bats took advantage, with Junior Caminero continuing his red hot start to the season leading off the inning with a sharp single. Equally lava hot, Jonathan Aranda, followed up with a double (his 4th double in as many games). Christopher Morel followed then with an RBI single, and then Kameron Misner doubled in the game’s 2nd run. The inning was capped by the man of the evening: Jake Mangum 2 run RBI single past the drawn in infield.
That would be more than enough for Drew Rasmussen and the Rays bullpen. Rasmussen made his 2025 debut back into the starting rotation pumping in first pitch strikes and looking like the Rasy of old.
Rasmussen finished his night efficiently with 70 total pitches and 5 innings pitched, just 2 hits surrendered 0 walks, 4 Ks, and 0 runs given up. Cash and Snyder will be careful with Rassmussen as he returns to full workload, but they have to be very encouraged by what the team got from him in his season debut.
The bullpen took it the remaining 4 innings and continued their strong start to the 2025 campaign. Hunter Bigge got two innings, going perfect over those two, striking out 2 and getting 5 whiffs. Mason Englert was the last member of the Rays pen to get into a game this year, and worked an inning. Englert did surender the only run for the Pirates on the game, but also pitched quite well getting a couple of Ks and limiting the damage.
Manuel Rodriguez slammed the door shut in the 9th with a couple of Ks in a non save situation. Rays get the W going to 3-1 on the young season.
Baseball can be cruel. It can be frustrating. It can be unrelentingly unfair. But it can also be beautiful in the ways it brings us moments of joy and triumph to those that withstand the failure to have their day in the sun. Or at least on this evening, their night in the spotlights of Trop East.