After running their losing streak to seven games on Wednesday, the Yankees, and us frankly, got some respite on Thursday with an off day. Of course, something still ended up going wrong yesterday, but they at least didn’t put up another tally in the loss column.
While the Yankees weren’t in action yesterday, other teams around the AL playoff picture had games to play. Let’s see what happened in today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.
Tampa Bay Rays (51-33) 5, Kansas City Royals (35-53) 2
The Yankees’ recent slump has already taken them from clearly first
to clearly second in the AL East, and even on their off day, they ended up losing ground. The Rays took a lead with three runs in the second inning, tacked on a few more after that and never looked back Thursday night against the Royals.
Kansas City got the scoring started as Carter Jensen led off the bottom of the first with a home run. However, Rays starter Ian Seymour and the Tampa Bay bullpen combined to hold the Royals to just one more run and four more hits after that.
The Rays immediately struck back in the top of the second. They got three-straight RBI hits from Taylor Walls, Richie Palacios, and Hunter Fedducia, taking the lead in the process. They tacked on two more runs thanks to a two-run Cedric Mullins home run in the fifth, and that ended up being plenty enough for them to win.
On the mound, Seymour went six innings, allowing just that one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. Kansas City got one run back right after he left via an Isaac Collins solo homer, but that ended up being the extent of any Royals comeback. Only one more batter reached base following that homer, as the Rays’ bullpen sewed things up. With the win, the Rays are on a streak of their own, only it’s an eight-game winning run. That has allowed them to open up a four-game lead over the Yankees after their victory on Thursday.
Other Games
- Cleveland Guardians (46-42) 6, Chicago White Sox (45-51) 5: The Guardians evened things up atop the AL Central standings, with Brayan Rocchio’s walk-off homer giving Cleveland a win after they had been down to their final two outs. The White Sox led 5-2 after the top of the sixth, and still held a one-run lead going into the ninth, but Grant Taylor couldn’t close the door, walking Rhys Hoskins prior to Rocchio’s heroics.
- Seattle Mariners (45-43) 1, Los Angeles Angels (36-52) 0: A Cal Raleigh bases loaded walk ended up being the only run of the game as Bryce Miller and the Mariners’ bullpen combined to shutout the Angels. Miller was spectacular for Seattle, holding the Angels to two hits and no walks, as he struck out eight batters in seven innings. The Angels threatened against Andrés Muñoz in the ninth, loading the bases before the game ended on a close play at first. The Mariners only managed two hits themselves, but they got some help to score the game’s only run. In less good news for the M’s, Julio Rodríguez left the game after taking a throw to the head while sliding into second base. To make matters worse, his replacement — Victor Robles — also had to exit the game after getting hit by a pitch.
