Heroes, zeros from punchless Yankees Game 1 loss to Rays: One big blast the difference

Heroes, zeros and the inside pitch from the Yankees’ 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS in St. Petersburg, Fla:  

Hero

If the Yankees are going to win the series, they probably will have to figure out Drew Rasmussen.

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A Yankee-killer all year, the righty took a no-hitter into the eighth and bulldozed a powerful lineup.

Zero

Mere seconds after providing the most promising moment of the night for the Yankees, Austin Wells provided the least.

The catcher smacked a hit down the right-field line to break up Rasmussen’s no-hitter then was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

Unsung hero

The Rays did little against Gerrit Cole and a trio of Yankees relievers apart from Jonathan Aranda, who crushed a home run to deep right-center for the only run-producing swing of the night.

Key stat

1: hit by the same Yankees team that collected 26 in two games against the Red Sox