AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES VS RAYS

October 3, 2026

Kevin Cash

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Postgame 1 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Kevin.

Q. You've seen Drew rise to the occasion and meet the moment before. What was so good about him tonight?

KEVIN CASH: I mean, all of it. What wasn't elite? I mean, he was just incredible and he did that in Yankee Stadium the night that we were fortunate enough to clinch. It seemed like he went out and doubled down tonight.

Made it pretty easy to sit back and watch and take some decisions out of our hands.

Q. Was there any point in an outing like this where you kind of get the sense that he's especially dialed in and effective as he's going to be?

KEVIN CASH: I think he's pretty special and dialed in most nights. As the game continues to unfold and you keep looking up there, no hits, no hits, no hits, I mean, that tells you right there, that's just a really good lineup, very elite hitting, quality at-bats, hard contact, everything. For him to limit it that way speaks loudest about how good he was tonight.

Q. That margin of error is so small in games like this. The relay throw from Mesa to Walls to Cammy, can you just walk through how big of a play that was in that moment specifically?

KEVIN CASH: We're talking about elite defenders. Mesa is as good as anybody in right field. Getting to the ball, getting rid of it, putting it right where Wallsy needs it. We know how special Wallsy is, and Cammy was able to get a tag down right there. We were scrambling. I was on my way to the phone. Rodney was on his way to the phone to look at replay to see if it was fair or foul. It all quieted down pretty quick with that relay.

Q. Rasmussen has been dominating really since the All-Star break. What's been working for him and why he's dominating since then?

KEVIN CASH: He was dominant before the break. He's an All-Star. He's elite all season long. He's really done that since he's been a Tampa Bay Ray, coming over here, and his contributions. Feels like he continues to get better.

The way his mindset works and how convicted he is in what he's doing, I hear a little bit of the one-off conversations in between innings, between him and Kyle. There's a game plan, and he is committed to sticking to it.

Q. Did you think he was going to throw a no-hitter tonight?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah. I comped him to Roy Halladay. I've said a lot of dumb things in my life. That one was not.

Q. Saw a very important victory today. How important is today confidence for the team for the second game?

KEVIN CASH: This team is extremely confident, and rightfully so. They should be confident. They had the best record in the American League. But you know the challenges of another good team coming in here like the Yankees, and to win a tight ball game, look, I don't think every game is going to be 1-nothing. If you go back and look at our game logs this year, there's been a lot of one-run, two-run ball games. A lot of back and forth, a lot of lead changes late in games. That was unique that it was 1-nothing and no margin of error whatsoever on either club.

Q. We know how much you've guys have succeeded when scoring first this season. For Jonny to hit that home run and for this Trop crowd to just get electric? How exciting is that moment for you to not kick your feet up, but certainly when you score first, you know you're in good shape.

KEVIN CASH: There's no kicking the feet up for sure. Jonny came up in a big way, got a change-up. Looked to be kind of middle-middle from Gerrit Cole, who was tremendous tonight, as usual. We were fortunate to get that run. But I'm glad you alluded to the crowd. Our crowd, that's the best crowd noise I've ever witnessed in any ballpark. It was just -- the atmosphere that was created, the hype before the game. Give Ken and his group an incredible compliment in that we need to create that atmosphere and can't wait to see them back out there on Monday.

Q. Just in terms of the crowd was going to be a question I had. Brian Baker in the 9th, to go through the lineup, Stanton to pinch-hit and the top of the order, how good he was to come through.

KEVIN CASH: Same thing you say about Ras this year. Baker's done the same thing in a different role as a closer. All the confidence in the world he would come in, execute pitches. Figured there was a chance Stanton would be lurking there with a one-run deficit. One swing of the bat can change it. He's probably the guy who can do that. Bake continues to go out, make pitches, take a deep breath between at-bats and relies on a simple approach between the fastball and change-up.

Q. Drew threw six no-hit innings against them a week and a half ago. Was he doing things differently?

KEVIN CASH: I don't think so. I think that's what's the most impressive thing. I generally feel when a lineup has seen a pitcher, it's advantage to the hitters. So for him to go out and repeat that again, it shows the stuff that he's featuring, whether quality stuff, quality of execution, deception that he's creating, late-life movement. Mixing in and out. I mean, he did it all. He's done it all.

Q. Kevin, you mentioned before the game, you were praising how good Victor's defense is and mentioned Kiermaier. I don't know if with that play you got any flashbacks from 2019 when Kiermaier (indiscernible)?

KEVIN CASH: That was special in 2019, the ball with KK in the back. I don't know who swung it. I know Altuve was running. At the time, that's the best I've ever seen. This one different with the speed of the batter runner. But regardless, very impressive.

Q. As you're watching the Wells play develop and the relay develop, were you surprised about Wells' decision to push it to third base?

KEVIN CASH: No. Look, the ball's in the corner. It's a tough read for a runner rounding second base. Totally understand he's trying to do everything he can to get his team within 90 feet of scoring instead of 180 feet.

Q. For Jonathan Aranda to hit the home run especially tonight, shows how even though he's a young player, how much experience he has in playoffs. How important is it to have a player like him to set the tone in the clubhouse for young players?

KEVIN CASH: It's very important. Good for Jonny too. When Jonny's injury came down at the deadline last year, that might have been the most devastating thing we dealt with, missing him because he was such a key part of our offense.

This year, he's been healthy and shown what he's capable of. Now he's just begun showing what he's capable of during the postseason.

THE MODERATOR: Kevin, thank you so much.