The Yankees completed a sweep of the Nationals with yet another offensive surge, scoring nine runs in the third inning en route to an 11-2 rout. Six Yankees homered in the effort while Max Fried delivered seven innings of one-run ball on the other end. Is it the expected result of a playoff contender facing off with a last-place team? Sure, but upsets happen all the time in baseball, and the Yankees have been struggling to take these winnable series until very recently. Now rolling with four wins
in a row under their belt, they can hope to gain a little ground in the standings.
Of course, they need help from the rest of the league to accomplish that. There was a full slate of action to peruse on Wednesday, so let’s jump right into what the other October hopefuls accomplished.
Toronto Blue Jays (78-56) 9, Minnesota Twins (60-73) 8
A back-and-forth affair went Toronto’s way in the end thanks to a last-minute rally. Minnesota started this barnburner off with a Bryon Buxton leadoff blast, and an inning later Davis Schneider hit a solo shot to tie the game back up. In the third, Buxton and Luke Keaschall both hit solo homers to put the Twins up 3-1, just for Bo Bichette to hit a two-run single in the bottom half to even things once more.
Minnesota got their first lead to stick in the fourth, starting with Edouard Julien hitting an RBI double that brought himself around to score as well when Tyler Heineman threw the ball away trying to catch him advancing to third. Ryan Jeffers later added a third run with a two-out RBI single, and that wound up being the difference maker as Toronto again answered with two runs in the bottom half as Schneider and Andrés Giménez hit a pair of bombs. Then, Brooks Lee hit a solo shot and Royce Lewis tacked on an RBI single in the fifth, pushing the Twins’ lead to 8-5.
Unable to pull further ahead though, the lead was bound to be challenged, and the Blue Jays did just that. Giménez started the comeback with an RBI double in the sixth to cut the lead to 8-6, but the next two Jays struck out to strand him and Nathan Lukes. The seventh saw them go down on three strikeouts, but in the eighth they broke through. Ty France hit a solo shot with one out to bring them within a run, and then a single and walk put the go-ahead run aboard. Addison Barger delivered the final blow, crushing a double off the wall in right to score them both and put Toronto on top. It wasn’t over just like that, as the Twins put the tying run in scoring position in the ninth with two outs, but Lee grounded out to end it.
Boston Red Sox (74-60) 3, Baltimore Orioles (60-73) 2
The Red Sox also needed a late comeback to beat the Orioles, though their game stayed low scoring throughout. Boston got ahead immediately on a Roman Anthony home run, only for Baltimore to tie the game in the second on a Dylan Beavers RBI double. From there, the pitching staffs locked in and put up zeroes for most of the night.
Dietrich Enns started for Baltimore, but the former Yankee farmhand has been in the bullpen since early July and wasn’t stretched out for a long outing. He lasted 2.2 innings, rebounding from the Anthony homer to allow just one more hit, and then Roansy Contreras came in and provided 4.1 innings of shutout relief. Meanwhile, Brayan Bello recorded eight straight outs after the Beavers double, and worked around a leadoff error in the sixth to prevent any scoring threats. In the seventh, however, he ran out of gas just before Alex Cora went to his bullpen, allowing a two-out walk and RBI double to Dylan Carlson to give the Orioles the lead.
Keegan Akin was summoned for the final two innings out of the Baltimore ‘pen, and he managed to strand a pair of inherited runners in the eighth to preserve the lead. In the ninth, however, a leadoff single provided just enough passengers for Ceddanne Rafaela to launch a home run out to left for the lead. Aroldis Chapman was suddenly warming for the ninth, and he came in to strike out the side and earn the save.
Athletics (63-72) 7, Detroit Tigers (78-57) 0
The Tigers were tamed by the Athletics on Wednesday, managing just two hits all game. Both came against starter Luis Morales, a 22-year-old right-hander making just his fifth appearance and fourth start in his rookie campaign, but he stranded them and the two walks that he allowed over seven shutout innings. striking out seven in the process. His ERA now sits at 1.19 after easily the best start of his young career, showcasing some major promise for the A’s as they trudge through a mediocre season.
Morales was dealing all night long, but his offense took it upon themselves to back him up early and often. Tyler Soderstrom got them on the board with an RBI single in the first, and they put up a three-spot in the second thanks to a two-run Zack Gelof homer. Brett Harris led off the fourth with a double and scored on a throwing error one batter later to make it 5-0, and there the score remained until they tacked on two more in the eighth as Gelof drove a double to the gap in left-center.
Houston Astros (73-50) 4, Colorado Rockies (38-95) 0
The Rockies are marching their way downward in the history books, looking last year’s White Sox in the mirror as they approach their 100th loss before anyone else even sniffs 90 wins. Loss No. 95 came in shutout fashion as Framber Valdez dominated them. Valdez tossed seven innings before handing it off to Bryans King and Abreu to finish it off, though he had the stress of working with a tiny lead for a majority of the game.
Jesús Sánchez got the Astros a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single, but the offense wasted a couple of opportunities to grow the lead through the middle innings. It wasn’t until the seventh that they got some insurance, and it came from Cam Smith leading off the inning with a solo shot. They broke the ice from there though, as Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run shot in the eighth to double the lead once more.
Other Games
Seattle Mariners (72-62) 4, San Diego Padres (75-59) 3: The Mariners scored all of their runs by the fourth inning, and while it wound up being enough they had to bear down to preserve their lead. Luke Raley drove in the first run in the second on an RBI double, and Eugenio Suárez hit a three-run blast (his 42nd of the year) to put them up 4-0 in the fourth. The Padres got two back in the sixth though as Gavin Sheets knocked in one and Jake Cronenworth was hit by a pitch with the bases juiced. In the ninth, doubles from Cronenworth and Fernando Tatis Jr. cut the deficit to a single run, but Ramón Laureano grounded out to strand Tatis and end it.
Kansas City Royals (69-65) 12, Chicago White Sox (48-85) 1: The White Sox aren’t quite as bad as they were last year, but they’re still prone to getting beat down like this. They did hold a 1-0 lead after Andrew Benintendi hit a solo shot in the fourth inning, but the Royals turned around and put up eight runs in the fifth as they batted around: Salvador Perez led off with a solo shot just to come back up and hit a two-run double in the same frame. In the sixth, Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run shot to push the lead even further, and Maikel Garcia added a run in the eighth on an RBI single during garbage time.
