Drew Rasmussen wins 7th straight as Rays beat Tigers with team effort

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Drew Rasmussen won his seventh straight start as the Tampa Bay Rays posted back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly two weeks by beating the Tigers 4-1 on Monday night in Detroit.

Rasmussen, who last lost on July 9, allowed just one run on three hits over six innings while throwing a career-high 103 pitches, striking out five. He improved to 14-5 overall with a 2.95 ERA.

The seven-game streak, which began in Rasmussen’s first post-All-Star Game start, is the second longest in franchise history. Blake Snell won nine straight in his 2018 Cy Young Award-winning season, when he went 21-5.

Rasmussen also matched the longest streak in the majors this season, as Miami’s Sandy Alcantara won seven straight from June 1-July 4.

The Rays, whose last back-to-back wins came Aug. 11-12 in Sacramento, Calif., improved their American League-leading record to 78-53 and extended their East division lead to 3 1/2 games over the idle New York Yankees.

The offense was somewhat of a team effort.

The Rays got two in the first, starting with back-to-back singles by leadoff man Yandy Diaz and Ryan Vilade. A Detroit error, a Junior Caminero groundout, a Jonny DeLuca single and a fielder’s choice grounder from Jonathan Aranda scored the two runs.

The Tigers got their run off Rasmussen in the fourth, and the Rays responded with a run on back-to-back bunts after recent addition Jorge Mateo led off with a double. Mateo moved to third on a sac bunt by Nick Fortes, and then raced home on a well-placed squeeze bunt by Chandler Simpson, who extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

The Rays extended the lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning on a homer by Aranda, who hit 14 in 93 games before the All-Star break and only one in his first 34 games after until Monday.

Relivers Garrett Cleavinger and just activated Manny Rodriguez, in his first action since a June 2025 elbow injury, each worked an inning. Closer Bryan Baker finished, converting his team-record-extending 27th straight save and majors-leading 38th overall.

After losing three straight and seven of nine, the Rays won a game they pretty much needed to on Sunday in Baltimore, riding a strong Nick Martinez start and a three-run two-out rally in the sixth inning.

Notes

Catcher Caden Bodine, a 2025 draftee acquired in a December trade from Baltimore, was promoted from Double-A Montgomery to Triple-A Durham. That’s the 22-year-old’s fourth level this season, which started at Class-A Charleston (S.C.). In 102 overall games, Bodine hit .344 with 14 homers, 90 RBIs and a .923 OPS. First baseman/DH Xavier Isaac, who has 24 homers in 99 games, also was promoted from the Biscuits to the Bulls, having undergone surgery in July 2025 to remove a brain tumor.

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