The Yankees offense couldn’t keep the momentum rolling for a fourth straight night. Following efforts of 15, seven, and eight runs, their valiant comeback attempt in the ninth fell just short in the second game against the A’s. They still have a chance to win the three-game series today with Will Warren on the mound. Fortunately for them, the Rays also stumbled, so there is no change atop the standings, though there was plenty of other excitement involving the Yankees’ AL rivals.
Los Angeles Angels (23-36) 14, Tampa Bay Rays (35-20) 3
A day after surrendering
seven runs in the seventh to squander a late lead, the Angels rebounded at the Trop to drop two touchdowns against the Rays. He may be the personal kryptonite of the Yankees, but Drew Rasmussen stumbled over his worst start of the season to give up five runs on four hits and two walks in four innings. Angels starter Reid Detmers was marginally better with his five innings of three-run ball, but this game was all about the lead his bats generated for him and never stopped building.
Detmers didn’t have to wait l0ng for that lead, the Angels ambushing Rasmussen for four runs in the top of the first. Mike Trout singled and Vaughn Grissom and Jorge Soler drew a pair of walks to load the bases with one out for Wade Meckler, who demolished an absolute no-doubter to right for a grand slam to give his starter a four run lead before even taking the mound.
Yandy Díaz clawed one back with a home run to lead off the bottom-half, but the Rays would always be in chase mode. Los Angeles extended their lead scoring one in the fourth on a Meckler leadoff single and Donovan Walton RBI double and another an inning later on a booming solo shot from Trout. The Rays responded with a pair in the bottom of the fifth on a Junior Caminero RBI double and Ryan Vilade RBI groundout, and then threatened by loading the bases in the sixth on three straight two-out walks, but their failure to plate any of the three opened the door for Los Angeles to kill the game off in the ninth after a wild pitch in the seventh allowed their seventh run to score — an output they would double in the ninth inning.
Sebastián Rivero led off that ninth with a walk, Nick Madrigal was hit by a pitch, Trout walked, and Grissom was hit by a pitch to plate the eighth run. Jose Siri drove in the ninth with an RBI groundout, and Adell drove in the remaining pair on the bases with a mammoth 431-foot three-run bomb to center. Oswald Peraza then went back-to-back for lucky run number 13, and a Walton single and Rivero RBI double put a bow on the scoring.
Other Games
Baltimore Orioles (27-32) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (29-30) 5
In a reversal of fortune from Friday’s events at Camden Yards, the Blue Jays were in the driver’s seat for most of this game, and they were the ones who had a 5-1 lead late. They handed it off to closer Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the ninth, only to see him give it all up as the Orioles scored five to walk it off. It wasted something of a strange outing from Trey Yesavage, who managed to hold Baltimore to a run in five innings despite walking seven batters. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 4-for-5, Kazuma Okamoto hit a two-run double and Jesús Sánchez an RBI double, and Ernie Clement drove in a run with one of his two singles.
However, we’ve seen the way a ninth inning led can evaporate when Hoffman is closing. He plunked Coby Mayo with one out and Leody Taveras drove him home with a triple. Jackson Holliday plated Taveras with a single before advancing to third on a Colton Cowser double. Hoffman and Connor Seabold then combined to walk three straight batters to plate two more runs and bring Pete Alonso to the plate with the score tied, 5-5. Alonso fought off a 2-1 fastball on his hands to the opposite field for the walk-off single.
Boston Red Sox (24-33) 9, Cleveland Guardians (34-26) 1
This game was a closely-contested affair until Guardians reliever Will Dion gave up six runs in the ninth inning. Starters Sonny Gray and Parker Messick both surrendered just one run, Gray over six innings and Messick over five. Cleveland scored their only run on a José Ramírez RBI double in the first. From there the Red Sox scored nine unanswered. In the ninth, Wilyer Abreu drew a leadoff walk, Willson Contreras was plunked, and Marcelo Mayer reached on an error by Ramírez, setting up a Masataka Yoshida walk with the bases loaded. Connor Wong then singled home a pair and Jarren Duran fully cleared the bases with a three-run bomb.
Seattle Mariners (30-29) 5, Arizona Diamondbacks (31-26) 1
Bryan Woo authored another gem, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless for seven innings allowing just two hits and no walks to go along with nine strikeouts. Ryne Nelson wasn’t so lucky, coughing up five runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Four of those runs came via the solo home run, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone leaving the yard in the second and Colt Emerson and Julio Rodríguez going deep in the third. Seattle’s fifth and final run came in the sixth, Randy Arozarena leading off with a groundball that resulted in a Jose Fernandez throwing error and Arozarena standing on second, a Raley single to move him to third, and a Cole Young sac fly to bring him home. With the win, the Mariners push their record above .500 for the first time since March 30th.
