Not an ideal night. The Yankees’ main rival, at least in terms of the standings, won. Worse, they beat the Yankees. But hey, Gerrit Cole is back and looked great in his return. Unfortunately, he can’t do anything about a putrid Yankee offense.
So on a pretty blah night of baseball, we have to take our pleasure where we can… by savoring the losses of our rivals. Unfortunately, entirely too many of them won Friday. Why can’t we have nice things?
Toronto Blue Jays (24-27) 6, Pittsburgh Pirates (26-25)
2
This one was closer than the score suggests. At least until the bottom of the eighth inning. Kevin Gausman got the start for the Jays, fresh off a series split with the Yanks. Other than a first inning sacrifice fly, Gausman completely stymied the Bucs’ bats.
Offensively, the Jays got all they actually needed in the home third. After Daulton Varsho, who had a great series against New York, drove in the game-tying run, Yohendrick Piñango doubled in a pair, giving Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Gausman got Toronto through 6.2 frames before handing off to the ‘pen. In the top of the eighth, with the Jays up two, manager John Schneider decided not to screw around and brought in closer Louis Varland for what ended up a six-out save. Varland allowed a second Pirates’ run in the eighth but the Jays offense, led by a two-run George Springer double, put up another three spot in the home half. Varland locked down Pittsburgh in the ninth and the Jays took the series opener 6-2.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (22-28) 6, Minnesota Twins (24-27) 8: At least Boston lost, though for most of this one it looked like they were headed to victory. Up 6-3 through six, however, Red Sox reliever Justin Slaten imploded, enabling the Twinkies to take a lead they’d never surrender. A pair of two-run jacks, one from Byron Buxton and the other off the bat of Austin Martin, turned said 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 Minnesota lead. The Twins added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and former Yankee Anthony Banda retired Boston in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win, and his first save of the season.
Cleveland Guardians (31-22) 1, Philadelphia Phillies (25-26) 0: Cleveland starter Gavin Williams was the story Friday night in Philly. Matched up against Phillies’ ace Christoper Sánchez, who hurled eight frames of one-run ball, Williams was even better. He stifled the Philly lineup, allowing a mere four hits, only one (a Bryce Harper double) for extra bases. Meanwhile, he whiffed 11 while refusing to surrender a free pass. The result was a ton of zeroes in the run column and, thanks to a clutch Kyle Manzardo solo home run in the top of the ninth, Williams’ seventh win of the season and Cleveland’s 31st.
Seattle Mariners (25-27) 2, Kansas City Royals (20-31) 0: Speaking of great pitching, the Mariners were another beneficiary Friday night. First, starter Logan Gilbert went 5.2, allowing nary a run. From there, the bullpen took over and hurled another 3.1 shutout innings. Eduard Bazardo, responsible for 1.1 of those, was the pitcher of record when Mitch Garver’s second home run of the season, a two-run blast, gave Seattle all the offense they needed (and all the offense they’d get).
Texas Rangers (24-26) 6, Los Angeles Angels (18-34) 9: On a night teeming with pitching, you’d be forgiven for assuming Jacob deGrom, one of the greatest hurlers of his generation, was one of the stars of the evening. You’d also be wrong. The Angels hung a four-spot on deGrom in the first, thanks to home runs from Zach Neto (solo) and Wade Meckler (three-run). All told, deGrom gave up six runs in three innings, putting Texas in quite the hole. Texas fought back, getting as close as 6-5, before the Angels extended the lead to 9-5, thanks in part to another solo shot from Neto. Texas managed one more in the ninth but came up far short.
