After such a promising start to this defining dozen gauntlet of games taking series from the Astros and Blue Jays, the Yankees have been humbled at home by the Tigers. They’ve been outscored 23-3 in the first two games, the bullpen responsible for giving up 18 of those runs across just six innings. Luckily for the Yankees, the Red Sox and Blue Jays also both lost, so the standings in the division remains unchanged for now — though there was plenty of other action with implications on the broader
AL playoff picture.
Athletics (67-80) 5, Boston Red Sox (81-66) 4
Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle has struggled since being called up into the rotation, giving up seven runs across 8.1 innings in his first two big league starts. That continued today, the 22 year old lefty lasting just two innings in Sacramento after giving up solo home runs to Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz — the 30th home run of the year for each player.
The Red Sox were more than able to keep pace, scoring one each in the second, third, and fourth innings. Nate Eaton got them on the board with an RBI double in the second, Trevor Story tied the game with an RBI double in the third, and Jarren Duran gave them the lead with a bases-loaded ground out in the fourth.
The Athletics reclaimed the lead in the fifth courtesy of a pinch-hit two-run double from Tyler Soderstrom, and it looked like the bullpen would hold on from there until Rob Refsnyder tied up the game with an RBI double in the top of the ninth. That allowed the Red Sox to use closer Aroldis Chapman for the bottom of the ninth, but he had a rare blowup in what has otherwise been a renaissance season. Langeliers led off with a double, and after a Brent Rooker fly out advanced him to third, Lawrence Butler won the game with a walk-off single.
Houston Astros (79-67) 3, Toronto Blue Jays (83-62) 2
What started as a pitchers’ duel ended with some late fireworks. Jason Alexander continued his improbable run of form since being claimed off waivers by the Astros back in May, tossing seven scoreless allowing just three hits and a walk to lower his ERA to 2.82 in 11 appearances for Houston. José Berríos held the Astros to two runs across 5.1 innings to keep pace, allowing a Yainer Diaz RBI double in the second and Carlos Correa’s 200th career home run in the sixth.
The Blue Jays bats found some success once getting into the bullpen, tagging reliever Steven Okert for two runs in the eighth to tie the game at two apiece — Andrés Giménez and Nathan Lukes coming through with a pair of RBI singles. That just served to ratchet up the drama in the ninth, where Diaz slugged the game-winning solo home run as the Astros got their revenge for getting walked off the previous night.
Other Games
Texas Rangers (77-70) 6, Milwaukee Brewers (89-58) 3
The Rangers completed an implausible sweep of the MLB-best Brewers to keep their Wild Card hopes alive. It started with a bend-but-don’t-break outing from trade deadline acquisition Merrill Kelly, who somehow managed to hold Milwaukee to three runs despite allowing ten hits across 5.2 innings. Two of those runs came in the top of the first, when Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio went back-to-back to lead off the contest.
Texas responded by scoring five unanswered, Jake Burger supplying the big day on offense. The first baseman launched a pair of home runs, first a leadoff shot in the second followed by a two-run blast in the fifth as the Brewers would score just one run across the final eight innings.
Kansas City Royals (74-72) 4, Cleveland Guardians (74-71) 3
The Royals just barely edged out the Guardians in this pivotal AL Central battle as both squads fight to keep their playoff hopes afloat. Jonathan India opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first but Kyle Manzardo responded with a two-run bomb in the bottom half. Vinnie Pasquantino leveled the score with an RBI single in the third, putting him one home run away from becoming the first Royals left-handed hitter with a 30 home run, 100 RBI season since George Brett in 1985. Bo Naylor put Cleveland back on top with an RBI single in the fourth, but the Royals won the game in the seventh on a Nick Loftin pinch-hit RBI single and Maikel Garcia RBI double.
Chicago White Sox (56-90) 6, Tampa Bay Rays (72-73) 5
The Rays went with an opener and it backfired spectacularly. Mason Montgomery was the first man out of the bullpen after Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless first, and the flame throwing reliever allowed five runs on five hits while recording just two outs. Michael A. Taylor got things started with an RBI double and Mike Tauchman and Lenyn Sosa followed with a pair of two-run doubles, while Andrew Benintendi added a solo home run an inning later to seemingly put the game out of reach.
Tampa Bay responded by scoring four unanswered including a Carson Williams leadoff blast and Junior Caminero two-run shot in the fifth. They even put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth, but Yandy Díaz and Brandon Lowe struck out to end the game.
Seattle Mariners (78-68) 6, St. Louis Cardinals (72-75) 3
This game was an absolute slog for the vast majority, the two teams combining to score one run apiece through the first ten innings. Thomas Saggese put the Cardinals ahead with an RBI single in the 11th, but Jorge Polanco responded with a leadoff double in the bottom half to draw level again. The Mariners even loaded the bases later in the eleventh but failed to score, meaning the contest would drag on until the 13th, where Leo Rivas mercifully sent us home with a walk-off home run.
