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Tonight, what a performance! This is The Closer on TBS presented by Genesis Motor America. Adam Lefkoe, Jimmy Rollins, Curtis Granderson, Pedro Martinez, what did we just witness? Um, greatness. Greatness, and one that really impressed me a lot. I mean, I've seen some great games, but for this young guy to do what he did against the Yankees today.first of all, I thought he was great in the decisive game in New York. He did very well. But, my God, this performance really caught my attention. I really enjoyed everything he did. The way he positioned the straight, the curve, the slider, the cutter, the change. I mean, it was literally perfect. I didn't see
a single pitch that wasn't deliberately placed where it was. And I think the catcher did a great job keeping up his rhythm, making him move the ball all over the plate. I didn't see a single bad location. That's truly impressive. I am very impressed with this young man. And that's what makes it our play of the night, presented by Genesis Motor America. This performance by Rasmussen was special. You mentioned that performance just a week or two ago. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Yankees. That means in his last 14 and two-thirds innings against the Yankees, Curtis allowed only two hits and struck out 21 times. Near-perfect baseball. And I think what's also impressive
is that he's doing it at Yankee Stadium. He returned home and, as you heard him talking to Lauren, he was nervous. Here's a playoff game in front of this atmosphere and this crowd that I haven't had all season. How will he comply? How will he respond? And you saw what the Yankees did in the previous matchup against the Red Sox. Is that the offensive you're going to see? But as you can see right here, on September 22nd and here tonight for game one, it was quiet and calm. It didn't matter who was there against him. He maintained control and kept the Yankees' hitters off balance all night. Jimmy, manager Cash was asked last week: "Who would be your comparison to Rasmussen?" He said Roy Halladay. That was the last time we had a no-hitter in the
postseason, back in 2010. We saw that level this afternoon. We definitely saw it. And when you're playing behind a guy like that, you can tell from the first release of the game that he has it all. Referring to Roy, on the first pitch of the game I looked at Chase and said, "You don't stand a chance." I didn't think there would be a no- hitter, but I said, "They don't stand a chance." There's nothing they can do against this guy tonight. And the last two times he faced the Yankees, if you're an infielder, you look at the others and say, "Bro, our job is easy because he's going to dominate." You can see the ball coming out of his hand. You can see where the receiver is being placed.
You see the swings that fail. You can see that the batters are guessing and that they're not on the same page. Everything he said tonight, as Pedro said, was intentional. And if it failed, it failed on purpose. It wasn't a mistake that allowed him to connect with a good hit. It failed, and then he made the necessary adjustment. Great work between the drummers tonight. And when you're focused like that, as a pitcher, as a batter, we know it. We hope this is the only time we see you. If this series continues, they'll see it again, but they don't stand a chance. They didn't have a chance in September. They didn't have a chance in October. My respects to that young man.
What a story, too. Lauren mentioned the three arm surgeries she also had this year in April. They had a daughter who suffered complications and was in the hospital for 10 days. Despite all that, he kept fighting. He said, "This has been my best year on the field, but it has probably been one of the most difficult years of my life personally." To fight against all of that and perform at this level is amazing. season. It's hard to explain, but you can't show anyone any emotion out there. And it's really difficult, especially when it comes to your family's health or your own. It's really hard to deal with, but it's something we know happens. The three of us know that these things happen, but
my congratulations to him for being able to block everything and still have an outstanding season and reach the postseason and continue doing what he does. I'm really impressed with this young man, and we also have to acknowledge that Gerrit Cole pitched the ball very well. He did it. But how do you win baseball games in the postseason? Pitching and defense. And his teammates backed him up all night. The last time the Yankees lost a postseason game 1-0 was in 1963 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series.
Here's Aaron Boone.
