With a mostly successful series against the Angels behind them, the Yankees had the benefit of a day off on Thursday, before heading down the coast to San Diego. As the American League playoff picture remains clustered, New York was able to make up some free ground in the division, while several other playoff hopefuls duked it out on a busy night of baseball.
Let’s take a look at what went down around the Junior Circuit.
Texas Rangers (70-71) 6, Tampa Bay Rays (83-57) 0
In case the title didn’t spoil anything, the Tampa Bay bats went cold in Texas
on Thursday. They managed just three hits in their scoreless effort, as the Rangers earned a good all-around win to crawl closer to .500.
Things were scoreless through three innings in this one, before singles from Justin Foscue and Ezequiel Duran in the fourth and fifth respectively put the Rangers up 2-0. Later on in the fifth, Corey Seager delivered the big blow when he mashed a two-run shot for his 14th homer of the season.
While the bats had built a 4-0 lead, Cal Quantrill was giving it his all on the mound. The veteran right-hander ultimately tossed seven scoreless frames, allowing just a pair of hits while striking out five Tampa Bay hitters.
Quantrill’s efforts, along with a pair of scoreless innings from Jakob Junis and Chase Silseth, kept the Rays out of the run column all night, as they dropped one on the road. For good measure, a triple from Evan Carter and a sacrifice fly from Jake Burger plated the final runs of the night, as Texas cruised to a 6-0 victory. Despite sitting a game under .500, they are still just a half-game out of the final AL wild card spot.
Other Games
Houston Astros (72-69) 6, Chicago White Sox (73-67) 2
It was a busy night in the West, as the Astros maintained their lead with a win as well. After a Jose Altuve two-run homer had them up early, a pair of RBI knocks from the Sox had things squared up after two innings. In the bottom half of the fourth, extra-base hits from Isaac Paredes and Daulton Varsho scored three runs, before a Christian Walker single plated the fourth run of the inning. From that point, both squads were done scoring on the night, as Hunter Brown settled in to his solid six-inning outing, before the Houston ‘pen secured things in the latter portion of this one. With the win, the Astros maintain their two-game lead out west.
Boston Red Sox (76-65) 6, Seattle Mariners (66-75) 5
In an AL East battle, the Red Sox held on for a big win over the O’s in a close affair. Both squads plated a run in the first, before Baltimore jumped ahead in the third inning, with solo home runs coming from Luis Robert Jr. and Pete Alonso. From there, however, the Sox began to chip away. Adley Rutschman swatted his second homer of the game in the sixth (in his return to Baltimore), before Isiah Kiner-Falefa tied the game with a single an inning later. Finally, it was homers from Nick Sogard and Roman Anthony that decided this one, which put Boston up 6-3. The O’s fought hard, including another homer in the ninth that got them to within one run again, but it wouldn’t be enough.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Toronto Blue Jays (70-71) 6, Cleveland Guardians (70-70) 3
A four-run fifth inning was the difference-maker for the Jays on Thursday. A two-run double from Nathan Lukes was the big hit in the inning, and was part of his solid night that saw him tally a pair of hits. It was a shaky outing for relative newcomer José Soriano, who gave up three runs in 4.2 innings, but the Jays bullpen kept the game scoreless over the final 4.1 innings. The Guardians stay at three games back in the Central, while Toronto is fully entrenched in the hectic AL wild card picture.
