The Opener: France, Rasmussen, Skubal

The Yankees managed just one hit yesterday. It still resulted in an out. Austin Wells roped a line drive down the right-field line in the eighth inning, but tried to stretch the double into a triple. He was thrown out easily at third. “I’m trying to make something happen,” Wells said (h/t Jon Heyman of the New York Post). “Obviously, the risk was wrong.” 1. France denied by AmFam roof Padres first baseman Ty France thought he had a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning against the Brewers last night. American Family Field had other ideas. France’s blast hit a cable hanging from the ballpark roof (video link via MLB on X). It was redirected and landed harmlessly in left fielder Jackson Chourio’s glove. Per the ground rules, a ball that hits the roof and stays in fair territory is live. After a review, the call on the field stood. Closer Trevor Megill then got Jackson Merrill to line out to end the game. “I haven’t really been able to fully process it,” France said (h/t AJ Cassavell and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “But it was a game-changing swing.” 2. Rasmussen nearly no-hits Yankees again Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Yankees in his final start of the regular season. The performance helped clinch the AL East for the Rays. Rasmussen tormented New York’s lineup once again on Saturday, taking a no-no into the eighth inning. Wells broke it up with the aforementioned double. Rasmussen passed the baton to closer Bryan Baker, who retired the side in order in the ninth inning. 3. Skubal shines in LA postseason debut With plenty of aces to choose from, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tabbed lefty Tarik Skubal as the Game 1 starter. The two-time Cy Young winner came through with an excellent outing, limiting the Braves to one run over six innings. Skubal struck out seven and permitted just two hits. Blake Snell will start Game 2 tonight, with reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled for Game 3. “We could have deployed our starters any way we wanted,” Roberts said (h/t Sonja Chen of MLB.com). “But to have Blake going tomorrow to follow up with what Tarik did today and knowing that you got Yama in the holster for Game 3, we’re in a good spot.” Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images View Comments (3)