The Rays have become renowned for being on the cutting edge of baseball strategy, making up for their lack of financial might by innovating new ways to win that are eventually adapted by the rest of the major leagues. The most prominent of those is avoiding letting their starting pitchers face the opponents’ batting order a third time, based on the statistical evidence that their effectiveness is reduced the more times a hitter gets to face them.
It’s ironic, then, that Drew Rasmussen and the Rays are leading the charge for starting pitcher longevity in these playoffs.
