Rays hand Game 1 World Series start to Martinez over ace Rasmussen

The Tampa Bay Rays have sprung a surprise ahead of the World Series, naming Nick Martinez as their starting pitcher for Game 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers instead of staff ace Drew Rasmussen.

Manager Kevin Cash announced the decision on Thursday in Milwaukee. Rasmussen, who started Sunday in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against Cleveland, would have been pitching on regular rest on Friday. But Cash said the club wanted to give its top arm an extra day between outings after a heavy postseason workload.

"He's had a pretty thick workload here," Cash said, per ESPN. "We've relied on him heavily."

Rasmussen has thrown at least six innings in each of his playoff starts so far, anchoring the Rays' rotation through October.

Martinez, meanwhile, will make his second postseason start after entering October having never started a playoff game. The 36-year-old right-hander gets the ball on five days' rest following a career season in which he earned his first All-Star selection, going 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA across a career-high 180 innings.

"It's exciting," Martinez said. "I think as a team, as a staff, we're confident in whoever we call upon."

The matchup is a historic one: neither the Rays nor the Brewers has ever won the World Series, setting up a Fall Classic guaranteed to crown a first-time champion.