A late rally fueled an exciting win for the Yankees on Monday over the rival Astros. A trio of big hits from Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Jazz Chisholm, and a Luis García Jr. homer to cap things off in the eighth and ninth secured the 9-3 win in the Bronx. It was a full slate of games elsewhere, as there was plenty of action around the Junior Circuit.
With a satisfying Yankee win in the fold, let’s take a look at what else went down on a busy Monday.
Tampa Bay Rays (79-53) 3, Detroit Tigers (62-71) 0
Despite a relatively tight score, the Rays were
in the driver’s seat for the entirety of this game. They took an early 2-0 lead, thanks to hits from Jonny DeLuca and Cedric Mullins. From there, it was the work on the mound that got things done.
The talented Freddy Peralta was on the bump for Tampa Bay, and made quick work of the Tigers’ bats in easily his best start yet for Tampa Bay since coming over from the Mets at the Trade Deadline. Across six innings of work, the veteran righty struck out four while allowing just a pair of hits while keeping Detroit off the board. Peralta had previously allowed 17 runs in 21.1 innings for the Rays (7.17 ERA), but they’ve been working with him on ways to get back to a semblance of the form that motivated the Mets to trade for the erstwhile Brewers ace this past offseason.
The Rays later added some insurance in the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly, before the bullpen picked up right where Peralta left off. Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the Tampa Bay ‘pen, locking down the shutout victory for their squad. They remain 3.5 games in front of the Yankees
Other Games
Miami Marlins (68-66) 4, Boston Red Sox (73-60) 0: Speaking of shutouts, the Red Sox were on the wrong side of one against the Marlins. The Fish put up a run in each of the first two innings, thanks to a Heriberto Hernández single and an error by the Sox, before Ryan Gusto tossed 5.2 scoreless frames. The BoSox had plated at least three runs in all but one game over the course of the past month, and they’ve been MLB’s best offense in August. This time, however, they obviously never dented home plate in the loss — though they still have a solid cushion in the Wild Card race.
Chicago White Sox (70-63) 10, Texas Rangers (66-68) 4: For the second day in a row, the White Sox plated double-digit runs against the Rangers. Brenton Doyle led the charge for Chicago in this one, tallying four RBIs in his two-hit night, highlighted by a three-run blast in the sixth inning that put his squad up by a big number, while surprising All-Star Tristan Peters homered in his fifth consecutive game. A trio of Sox pitchers each tossed three solid innings, with Sean Burke getting the start. The White Sox’ 70th win of the season keeps their division lead at 2.5 games as they continue to impress. Texas took a hit in the Wild Card, but Houston’s loss means that they’re still just half a game back of the also-sub-.500 Astros in the AL West.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Cleveland Guardians (68-66) 4, Los Angeles Angels (52-82) 3: Elsewhere in the Central, the Guardians netted a close one against the lowly Angels to complete a sweep. Down for much of this game, they plated a pair in the top half of the ninth to flip their deficit into a lead, thanks to huge swings from Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana. The win—their seventh in a row—helped Cleveland keep pace with Chicago, and keep hold of the final Wild Card spot in the AL.
Baltimore Orioles (65-68) 8, St. Louis Cardinals (66-68) 7: The Orioles won a slugfest on Monday, with an early outburst doing much of the heavy lifting. They plated seven runs in the first two frames, with a three-run shot from Leody Taveras as well as Pete Alonso’s 32nd bomb of the year. The Cardinals made their big move in the fifth, when they plated six runs to tie things up at the time, but Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s double in the ninth was the difference-maker for the Orioles in their win. They currently sit 2.5 games out of the Wild Card.
The Athletics (53-81) 7, Minnesota Twins (64-70) 4;
Toronto Blue Jays (65-69) 3, Kansas City Royals (59-75) 0:
The Blue Jays made easy work of the Royals to snap Kansas City’s nine-game winning streak, with Nathan Lukes’ three-run homer being all the offense Toronto needed. The Jays remain three back in the wild card race. Elsewhere, a four-run seventh inning propelled the A’s past Minnesota, as the skidding Twins are even with the Mariners (6-0 losers to Philadelphia) and looking upward at four teams in their hope for position in the Wild Card race.
