The Yankees split a day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox on Saturday, losing the day portion in shutout fashion before winning the nightcap with a wave of singles sprayed across the field. That meant that effectively the day was as good as a day off for them in the standings, so Tampa Bay had the opportunity to move up a half-game if they were on their A-game down in the Trop.
Tampa Bay Rays (81-54) 7, San Diego Padres (72-64) 6
Nick Martinez has been a surprising find for the Rays’ rotation this year, pitching arguably the best he’s ever been at the start
of the season with back-to-back sub-2 ERA months. He came back down to Earth in June allowing three or more runs in all but one start, and since then he’s been a bit more vulnerable. His latest start against the Padres continued that mortal stretch, lasting six innings with three runs crossing the board on seven hits to raise his ERA just a hair under three at 2.99.
He exited with his team down a run, but Junior Caminero bailed his starter out and gave him a no-decision when he launched a solo home run to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Garrett Cleavinger was the first man out of the ‘pen for Tampa Bay and he didn’t have it, letting the first three batters reach base before striking out the final man he faced. Kevin Kelly was the next man out, and Manny Machado greeted him with a single to right to score a pair. Then with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Machado on the corners, the Padres pulled off a delayed double steal to bring Tatis home and manufacture a third run.
Suddenly down a handful, the Rays answered right back. Bradgley Rodriguez entered the game and promptly walked the first batter before a trio of singles tied the game right back up. Adrian Morejon was called on to put out the fire and got two outs as he worked around Caminero intentionally walking him, but Chandler Simpson slapped one to the left side past the drawn-up third baseman to drive home the winning run. Kelly worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning to hand the baton over to Bryan Baker, who stranded Machado at first base to end it.
Other Games
Chicago White Sox (72-63) 3, Minnesota Twins (64-72) 2: Despite getting just three hits in this game, the White Sox managed to make them all count (and they got some help from the Twins’ defense). The Pale Hose worked two walks to start the game before Andrew Benintendi smacked a single to get them on the scoreboard first, but the Twins answered back with a sac fly in the bottom of the first and an RBI groundout in the second. Benintendi was again the catalyst for the Sox’ second run, leading off the fourth with a double and scoring after the Twins fumbled the last out of the inning, and the third was entirely on his shoulders as he lifted a solo shot in the sixth inning.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Houston Astros (68-68) 2, New York Mets (61-75) 6: The Astros got in the board in the first inning thanks to an error extending Jeremy Peña’s leadoff double into a triple setting up a Yordan Alvarez sac fly, but that was all they’d get against Nolan McLean. The Mets starter tossed seven strong innings with just the unearned run marring his line, and a three-spot in the fifth capped off by Jared Young’s two-run triple would be enough for the Metropolitans to outlast Houston.
Texas Rangers (66-70) 3, Milwaukee Brewers (85-51) 5: The Rangers faced a tall task facing the team with the best record in baseball, and they did themselves no favors falling behind 3-0 after two innings with homers from Jackson Chourio and William Contreras. Brandon Nimmo launched a two-run shot in the eighth inning to bring Texas within striking distance, but Anthony Senzatela and Trevor Megill closed the door on any further comeback.
Cleveland Guardians (68-68) 3, Kansas City Royals (62-75) 8: Angel Martínez got Cleveland on the board first with a two-run shot in the second, and that lead lasted until the fifth when it swung all the way in Kansas City’s favor. Isaac Collins doubled in a pair to tie the game, the Royals put up a four-spot in the sixth to claim the lead themselves, and Josh Rojas padded it with a two-run homer in the eighth. Martínez was the only offense for Cleveland as he knocked in their third and last run in the ninth, but no other Guardians could keep it going.
Baltimore Orioles (67-69) 5, Athletics (53-83) 3: Three Athletics errors made the difference for Baltimore, as they scored two unearned runs off of them to eke out a win. Leody Taveras was the engine for the O’s in this one, going 2-for-3 with three runs driven in on a pair of doubles, and a quintet of Baltimore relievers held the lead as Shane Baz tossed 5.2 innings of two-run ball.
Toronto Blue Jays (67-70) 4, Seattle Mariners (64-72) 3: Cal Raleigh has looked more like the MVP runner-up that he was this past week, with five of his last eight hits all leaving the yard including a solo shot in this game. The Mariners went up 3-0 on a Taylor Ward two-run single in the fourth inning but the Blue Jays flipped the script by scoring four unanswered, including two in the fifth inning when Eduard Bazardo fired off a wild pitch that walked in a run but also allowed Brett Bateman to fly all the way home from second. Bazardo could’ve potentially tagged the runner out at the plate, but he was seemingly unaware that Bateman was coming in and that mistake proved costly.
