New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

Sitting behind a table inside a mostly quiet Tropicana Field on Friday afternoon, Rays ace Drew Rasmussen tried to make it sound simple. The complex science and mysterious art that is pitching in the Major Leagues, he said, isn’t that complicated. “I'm a pretty big believer that it comes down to two things,” Rasmussen said. “Preparation and execution.” Preparation is never a concern with Rasmussen, dubbed “the standard” for all Rays pitchers by pitching coach Kyle Snyder. Execution clearly wasn’t an issue on a historic Saturday night at Tropicana Field, either. Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and put together a complete masterpiece on the mound in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, blanking the Yankees in the Rays’ 1-0 win before a rowdy, sold-out home crowd of 40,542. “Yeah, this place is crazy," said Rasmussen. "It’s one of my favorites when it’s packed out and I haven’t gotten to see it like this a whole lot. So, it’s really special to be here in an environment like this.”