The Tampa Bay Rays hit MLB history in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday. But they would much rather create franchise history and win their first World Series title. That'll mean turning toward, arguably, their Madison Bumgarner in pitcher Drew Rasmussen.
The Rays' Game 2 starter on the mound received a comparison to the San Francisco Giants legend Saturday.
“He's on a monster run. Like the Bumgarners and all those guys get on a run in the Postseason,” said MLB TV analyst Mark DeRosa before the contest. “He's a true ace. Look at him since the All-Star break.”
“He's on a monster run. Like the Bumgarners and all those guys get on a run in the Postseason… He's a true ace.” 😈
Drew Rasmussen squares off against his former team looking to get the Rays even in the #WorldSeries! pic.twitter.com/aF102iVCbf
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 24, 2026
Rasmussen is indeed on a hot streak heading into his WS debut here. He owns an 11-0 record since the July event, posting a 1.73 ERA through 93.2 total innings pitched. Batters only have pounded four home runs facing him.
And he's facing his former team in front of the fans who also cheered for him. Rasmussen suited up for Milwaukee in 2020 and 2021, before eventually landing with the Rays during the latter season.
DeRosa also believes that Rasmussen is “massively underrated” before diving into how the pitcher will approach this game.
Article Continues Below“He's going to attack in a variety of ways,” DeRosa said. “He can beat you east/west and north to south.”
Rasmussen trusts a cutter and changeup to keep batters off balanced. Then he aims to end batters with his two-seamer. Rasmussen will lean into an array of heat to get the Rays back into this series in Wisconsin.
Manager Taylor Walls already has the utmost confidence in his option on the hill for Saturday. Tampa is 0-2 lifetime on baseball's biggest stage, falling in the 2008 and 2020 series.