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The ‘easiest’ World Series decision cost Rays everything

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Cite

Richter, E. (2026, October 29). The ‘easiest’ World Series decision cost Rays everything. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/29/sports/the-easiest-world-series-decision-cost-rays-everything/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-29 · by Erich Richter

Quick Summary

Kevin Cash's decision to limit Drew Rasmussen’s pitching to four innings despite him being effective allowed the Brewers to extend their lead when reliever Kevin Kelly couldn’t contain them in the fifth inning during Game 5 of the World Series, leading to a decisive loss for the Rays with a final score of 4-1. Cash had initially prioritized giving Rasmussen an extra day's rest before the series began but this strategy backfired as Rasmussen was on short rest and unable to deliver his full pitch allotment in Game 5. Additionally, Tampa Bay’s offense struggled, scoring just one run throughout the entire game.
Written by AI on 2026-10-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Drew Rasmussen started for the Tampa Bay Rays on three days' rest in World Series Game 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, attempting to prevent elimination. Despite pitching well with no decision after throwing 48 pitches over four innings, he was removed from the game early by manager Kevin Cash's questionable decision-making. The move backfired as reliever Kevin Kelly allowed three consecutive hits in the fifth inning, extending Milwaukee’s lead. Rasmussen had a strong regular season with a 2.67 ERA and went 16-5, but his premature exit contributed to the Rays' eventual 4-1 loss, sealing their defeat in the series.

Written for “Rays Start World Series Game 5” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 114729 · logged 2026-10-31

Story

📰 Rays Start World Series Game 5
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 64/100
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 56 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes a dominant performance by the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the World Series, while Article B focuses on the managerial decision made by Tampa Bay Rays' manager Kevin Cash during Game 5.”
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes the Rays' comeback in Game 4 on October 28th, while Article B discusses management decisions following a loss in Game 5 on October 31st.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 37 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Game 2 of the World Series where Drew Rasmussen was removed after the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead loss. Article B discusses Game 5, detailing Cash's decision to limit Rasmussen to four innings or 60 pitches despite his effectiveness.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Game 3 where Freddy Peralta's performance was poor, while Article B discusses Game 5 and focuses on Kevin Cash's decision to remove Drew Rasmussen early.”
CBC News
Hedges 1 of 5 claims Outlet record 74/100
“Article A describes Game 4 where Tampa Bay Rays won 4-3 in extra innings. Article B discusses Game 5, a series-deciding loss for the Rays.”
NPR
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A describes a specific game where the Rays force Game 5 with a comeback in the 12th inning, while Article B discusses managerial decisions leading up to and including Game 5.”
ABC News (US)
Hedges 3 of 65 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A describes the Rays' comeback in Game 4 of the World Series, while Article B discusses managerial decisions after Game 5 when the Rays lost.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different parts of Game 5; Article A covers the game's outcome and strategy issues, while Article B focuses on Manager Kevin Cash's decision to remove pitcher Drew Rasmussen early.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of the World Series involving Drew Rasmussen: ARTICLE A discusses Game 2 before it happens, while ARTICLE B covers the decision-making in a later game (Game 5).”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-31 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15592 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Erich Richter
82 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The decision instantly backfired, as he went to reliever Kevin Kelly for the fifth inning with the hope that he could make quick work of the bottom of Milwaukee’s lineup, though the Brewers got three consecutive hits to extend their lead to 2-0.
🔮 Jake Paul’s return will coincide with the day before Santa Claus begins his route around the world.
🔮 The next best time to use the Bengals will be Week 18 against a solid Browns team.
🔮 I projected the Giants would move to +8 from +10 when McCarthy was announced starter, though that did not happen as John Harbaugh’s group won outright.
🔮 Mahomes gives a sort of eye-roll mixed with clear frustration after he couldn’t lead Kansas City on a touchdown drive in the marquee Week 7 game against the Super Bowl champions.
🔮 They’re both rated pretty much even in terms of DVOA, coming in at No. 17 in DVOA (No. 11 on offense, No. 25 on defense), while the Packers are No. 18 (No. 23 on offense and No. 4 on defense). So no, Micah Parsons is not active, but that really isn’t stopping them. Had Josh Jacobs not returned for the Packers, I’d be all in on the Over, and likely would have had some bets targeting the Over on both Christian Watson and Matthew Golden’s receiving yards. I’m still bullish on them overall, but Jacobs’ return allows Green Bay the option to run the ball much more.
🔮 NFL fans have were stuck watching the Falcons in three straight primetime games — and maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason for it.
🔮 As he is set for free agency, everyone is guessing who will take Aikman’s place, with many adding that Greg Olson could head to ESPN after being demoted to Fox’s No. 2 booth and some are even projecting that current NFL coaches will leave their respective positions to sit next to Buck.
🔮 Aikman is set to be a free agent at the end of this season and appears poised to split with the network.
🔮 Game 6 of the ALCS heads back to St. Petersburg on Monday where the home team Rays will send prized trade deadline acquisition Freddy Peralta to the mound.
Also by Erich Richter
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 82 articles by Erich Richter →

Topics

Game 1 Game 5 Rays World Series a World Series

Subjects

Rasmussen PERSON · 5× Cash PERSON · 3× Rays ORG · 3× Brewers ORG · 1× Drew Rasmussen PERSON · 1× Garrett Cleavinger PERSON · 1× Kevin Cash PERSON · 1× Kevin Kelly PERSON · 1× Milwaukee ORG · 1× Nick Martinez PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Cash made a few questionable World Series calls involving ace Drew Rasmussen, who on three days of rest was yanked after four strong innings on Wednesday night, allowing a run on four hits and throwing 48 pitches in an eventual 4-1 series-deciding loss in Game 5.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-31
🔮 The decision instantly backfired, as he went to reliever Kevin Kelly for the fifth inning with the hope that he could make quick work of the bottom of Milwaukee’s lineup, though the Brewers got three consecutive hits to extend their lead to 2-0.
2026-10-31 · New York Post
The ‘easiest’ World Series decision cost Rays everything · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

The Rays fell short of winning a World Series, and manager Kevin Cash faced plenty of questions afterwards. asserted
Cash → fall → questions
Cash made a few questionable World Series calls involving ace Drew Rasmussen, who on three days of rest was yanked after four strong innings on Wednesday night, allowing a run on four hits and throwing 48 pitches in an eventual 4-1 series-deciding loss in Game 5. asserted
who → make → Game
“We had gone into the game saying it was 60 pitches or four innings. asserted
it → go → game
That was the easiest call in the world to take him out of the ball game,” Cash said postgame. asserted
Cash → take → game
The decision instantly backfired, as he went to reliever Kevin Kelly for the fifth inning with the hope that he could make quick work of the bottom of Milwaukee’s lineup, though the Brewers got three consecutive hits to extend their lead to 2-0. uncertain
Brewers → backfire → 2
In the sixth inning, Garrett Cleavinger coughed up two more runs to balloon the deficit to 4-0 as things had completely unraveled for the Rays. asserted
things → cough → Rays
Cash arguably should have gone with Rasmussen in the first game of the series, but instead pushed him back a day in favor of Nick Martinez despite Rasmussen being on normal rest for Game 1. asserted
Rasmussen → go → Game
“We prioritized Drew getting an extra day. asserted
Drew → prioritize → day
He’s had a pretty thick workload here,” Cash said before the series, defending his Game 1 decision. asserted
Cash → have → decision
“We’ve relied on him heavily. asserted
We → rely → him
We know when he takes the ball, we’re trying to get the full pitch allotment out of him. asserted
we → know → him
” But in Game 5, just days after these comments, he was forced to send Rasmussen out without getting the full pitch allotment. asserted
he → force → allotment
Pushing Rasmussen back a day put him on short rest for Game 5 when he would have had normal rest if the wheels hadn’t been set in motion in Game 1. asserted
wheels → push → Game
Rasmussen was the team’s best pitcher all year, and Tampa Bay was steadfast in protecting his arm, given he’s had two Tommy John surgeries and an internal brace put in his right arm in 2023. asserted
he → protect → 2023
The Rays offense also deserves plenty of blame, scoring one run with their season on the line — and putting just six total up in the final 38 innings of the series. asserted
season → deserve → series
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