The Yankees failed to carry over the momentum they might’ve generated with their series win in Houston, laying an egg in the series opener with the Blue Jays. They’ve got two more chances to get things right against their rivals, but if they fail, their sights will start to be set pretty squarely on the AL Wild Card race rather than the push for an AL East title.
In that vein, the AL Wild Card chase remains something of a dogfight, with a whole lot of flawed teams fighting over three spots. Let’s
go through what they all did on a busy Friday night.
Chicago White Sox (54-88) 7, Detroit Tigers (81-61) 5
The Tigers are in no trouble in the AL Central, but they still don’t want to be dropping games to cellar-dwellers as they aim for a bye in the AL playoffs. They slipped up Friday night, losing a winnable game to the White Sox.
It was another uneven start for Jack Flaherty, who has just looked too hittable too often this season. He lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits. Chicago kept up a steady attack against Flaherty, tallying a single run in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings.
The Tigers scored in more exciting bursts. Trailing 2-0, Parker Meadows tied the game with a two-run homer off Shane Smith in his first at-bat off the IL:
Then, after the White Sox nudged in front again, the Tigers pulled off a rare feat, scoring two runs on a wild pitch from Smith to take the lead:
The game was tied at four when Flaherty and Smith departed, but Chicago kept working against the Detroit bullpen. Andrew Benintendi gave the Sox the lead again with a solo shot in the sixth, his 18th, and Colson Montgomery gave them some breathing room with a two-run shot in the seventh:
Montgomery’s success has been one of the most positive developments of this White Sox season, the rookie shortstop toting an .858 OPS. Dan Altavilla yielded a run in the eighth, but Jordan Leasure came on for a five-out save, his seventh of the year.
Texas Rangers (73-69) 4, Houston Astros (77-65) 3 (ten innings)
The Astros have had every chance during the second half to run away with the AL West, and they just haven’t quite seized it. Now, coming off a tense series loss to the Yankees, the Astros went over to Arlington and lost a thriller to the Rangers, who continue to hang around in the AL playoff race.
The Rangers were in control for most of the night, Merrill Kelly turning in another excellent start, tossing seven innings of one-run ball, striking out seven with one walk. He gave up an RBI single to Victor Caratini in the second, but Houston was largely silent from there. Dylan Moore tied the game with a sac fly off Colton Gordon in the second, and Jake Burger put Texas up 3-1 with a mammoth two-run shot in the third:
Texas nursed that lead into the eighth, when the Astros finally struck. With two down, one on, and in a 2-2 count, Carlos Correa lined a bullet down the right-field line off a Chris Martin fastball, just keeping it fair for a two-run homer:
The game went to extras, with both sides’ bullpens weaving in and out of jams. Houston’s Bryan King worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth, while Bryan Abreu stranded the winning run at second in the bottom of the ninth. Shawn Armstrong got Jose Altuve to pop out with two on in the tenth to give his offense a chance, but Steven Okert likewise stranded two to send things to the 11th. The teams exchanged zeroes again, but the Rangers at last put things to bed in the 12th. After Robert Garcia worked a 1-2-3 frame in the top half, rookie Dustin Harris came to the plate with two on and none down and laced one into right to end the night:
After never really looking much like contenders for much of the season, the Rangers are suddenly just a half-game back of a playoff spot.
Arizona Diamondbacks 10 (71-71), Boston Red Sox (78-64) 5
The Diamondbacks were expected to sink a bit after selling off several contributors at the deadline, but they continue to play respectable baseball, and did the Yankees a favor last night in taking down the Red Sox. Eduardo Rodríguez turned in a strong start, and a late outburst carried the D’backs across the line.
Rodríguez has had a rough go of it in Arizona, dealing with injuries and pitching to a 5.17 ERA when healthy the last two seasons. But he held the Red Sox to one run on four hits over six innings last night, striking out four, showcasing some very solid four-seam command along the way. He was helped at times by his defense, including an outstanding throw from Blaze Alexander to nab Carlos Narváez at home to preserve a 2-1 lead in the third:
Arizona expanded their lead in the home half, Ildemaro Vargas smashing a three-run homer off Payton Tolle to go up 5-1:
The Diamondbacks tacked on one more in the fifth on a Jordan Lawlar sac fly, and their 6-1 lead looked comfortable heading into the eighth. That’s when the Red Sox made a game of it once more, scoring four runs off Bryce Jarvis, with Alex Bregman hitting a two-run double, Romy Gonzalez adding a sac fly, and Rob Refsnyder bringing them within one with an RBI double:
But the rally would stop there, and Arizona removed any drama with a four-spot of their own in the bottom of the eighth. The icing on the cake was a three-run bomb off the bat of Corbin Carroll:
Arizona would win 10-5, still hanging in the NL Wild Card race 5.5 games back of the Mets. The Red Sox remain just a half-game back of the Yankees.
Other Games
Cleveland Guardians (70-70) 7, Tampa Bay Rays (71-70) 1: The perfectly mediocre Guardians at last cooled off the Rays a bit. Tampa Bay went back to the strategy they pioneered, having Griffin Jax open for an inning before turning things over to follower Ian Seymour. This did not work. Seymour entered in the second and committed an error, issued a walk, and hit a batter to load the bases. Steven Kwan then singled two home, José Ramírez doubled in two more, and David Fry capped things off with an RBI single, as the Guardians blew Seymour up for a five-spot. Gavin Williams was excellent for Cleveland, picking up the win while holding Tampa to one run over seven. The Rays are now two back of a playoff spot, while Cleveland hovers 2.5 games back.
Kansas City Royals (72-69) 2, Minnesota Twins (62-79) 1: The Royals expected to contend this year on the strength of their pitching, and last night that held true enough to keep pace in the Wild Card race. Michael Wacha narrowly outdueled Pablo López, Wacha tossing 5.2 innings of one-run ball. López’s only mistake was a two-run shot Maikel Garcia in the third, but that proved to be the decisive blow. The Royals pieced together four 3.1 innings of shutout relief across five relievers, Carlos Estévez pitching a perfect ninth for his 38th save.
Atlanta Braves (64-77) 4, Seattle Mariners (73-68) 1: Though the Mariners have reversed course this year, with a surprisingly potent lineup holding up a disappointing pitching staff, they turned in a throwback performance last night, wasting an excellent Logan Gilbert start thanks to a feeble offensive effort. Gilbert gave up just one run over six innings, striking out seven, but Seattle could manage just one run against Chris Sale, who was superb, striking out nine and walking none over 6.2 frames. In a 1-1 game, reliver Gabe Speier entered in the eighth and surrendered three runs, with Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Drake Baldwin all driving in a run. Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save, as the Braves showed just a glimpse of the kind of game that was expected far more often from them this year.
