Rays 1, White Sox 0: Rasmussen's 10 Strikeouts and Fortes's Only RBI

One run. Sixteen strikeouts. Series even.

August 1, 2026 – St. Petersburg – One night after Chicago hit four home runs in a 6-1 win, the Trop turned into a pitchers' duel that never needed a second run.

Drew Rasmussen struck out 10 over six innings. Nick Fortes drove in the only run of the night. Bryan Baker closed it against Chicago's 3-4-5 hitters. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0, snapped Chicago's three-game winning streak, and posted their 10th shutout of the season.

DeLuca set the table. Fortes finished it.

Jonny DeLuca led off the fifth with a single, stole second with one out, and moved to third on Ben Williamson's groundout. Fortes lined a single to short left. DeLuca scored. That was the entire offense for both clubs.

Noah Schultz matched zeroes for five innings and allowed three hits. He still took the loss because one stolen base and one soft single were enough against a Rays staff that struck out 16 batters as a group.

Rasmussen never let Chicago advance far

Rasmussen improved to 10-5. Four hits, all singles. One walk. Only two White Sox baserunners reached second. Baker converted his American League-leading 31st save and his 20th straight opportunity by retiring Chicago's middle of the order in the ninth.

"We know how to pitch when the game is on the line," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "When you're winning 1-0, every pitch is on the line."

Saturday was Tampa Bay's third 1-0 win of the season and second in the past week. Fourth shutout in seven games. First-place clubs are supposed to look like this when the bats take a night off.

AthX Engine put Rasmussen next to Perez at the top

AthX Engine (AthX's projection and scoring system) credited Rasmussen with 27 pitching fantasy points, second only to Martín Pérez's 28 on the full Saturday board. Six innings, zero earned runs, 10 strikeouts. That is a board-leader line whether the final is 1-0 or 7-0.

Fantasy points measure performance under platform rules. Share prices also move with market activity through dynamic pricing. A 1-0 win is pure baseball. The FP total is how AthX ranks the starter who made it possible.

Jax and Kay close the series

Griffin Jax draws Anthony Kay on Sunday. Chicago still leads the AL Central. Tampa Bay still leads the AL East. After two very different nights at the Trop, the series is even and the pitching has the final word.

Four homers on Friday. One single in the fifth on Saturday. Same two clubs. Completely different Trop.

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*Sources: MLB.com Gameday final, ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*