Rays ace Drew Rasmussen to start World Series Game 5 on short rest against Milwaukee

Drew Rasmussen will start for Tampa Bay on three days' rest in Game 5 of the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, trying to stave off elimination for the Rays.A 31-year-old right-hander, Rasmussen threw 89 pitches over 3 2/3 innings in Game 2 on Saturday, giving up four runs in the first inning and getting no decision as Milwaukee rallied for a 5-4 victory and a 2-0 Series lead.“Called Ras right after he’d left the ballpark, and he was 100% on board wanting the ball,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He held out from throwing a bullpen yesterday with this possibly in the back of his mind that he’s going to go out and prepare. I think Ras, knowing him, he’s pretty motivated to get back out there and give us what he can. He wasn’t satisfied with how maybe Game 2 went.”Rasmussen has had three major elbow operations in his career, including Tommy John surgeries in 2016 and 2017 and an internal brace procedure in 2023. The two-time All-Star was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA i