The Yankees have done an excellent job of sucking all the fun from baseball the past two weeks. It feels like an entire June Swoon’s worth of misery has been stuffed into the past 10 days. Unfortunately, I am extremely skeptical we are out of the woods.
The situation could be more dire, however. Thankfully, the Astros made themselves useful this weekend. A day after Yordan Alvarez burnished his MVP candidacy at the dish, outstanding pitching led Houston to another win, thereby handing the Rays a series
loss and preventing Tampa from building a daunting AL East lead as the Yankees fester in their own bumbling ineptitude.
Tampa Bay Rays (52-35) 0, Houston Astros (45-47) 2
Today was far from an offensive outburst for either club. But Houston had just enough juice in their bats to eke out the win. First, Christian Walker launched a solo home run in the fourth, his 20th dinger of the season. What a difference a year makes: On this day in 2025, Walker’s season-long slump had him with a .673 OPS and a sub-.400 SLG while today, those numbers are .781 and .470, respectively.
Isaac Paredes followed with a solo shot of his own in the sixth, his 12th. That was enough offense, as the ‘Stros completely shut down Tampa. Peter Lambert continued his strong first half now that he has escaped Coors Field tossing 5.2 shutout innings before handing it over to the ‘pen. A pair of relievers got the game to the ninth, where Josh Hader loomed. Hader walked Junior Caminero (probably smart) to start the frame prior to retiring the next three Rays he saw to seal the game and series.
Other Games
Toronto Blue Jays (42-48) 0, Seattle Mariners (47-44) 4: At least the Yankees scored a run Sunday. That’s more than Tampa and Toronto can claim. Emerson Hancock took the ball and completely stifled the Jays offense. Hancock tossed seven shutout before the M’s ‘pen took over and notched the final six outs. At the plate, a Seattle backstop hitting south of the Mendoza Line was the hero. No. Not “The Big Dumper.” Mitch Garver clubbed a two-run home run, though Cal Raleigh did manage an RBI on a sac fly. Man. Has anyone had a worse follow-up season after an historically good one?
Cleveland Guardians (47-44) 6, Chicago White Sox (47-42) 7: Early, this one looked like it might be a barn burner. Five combined runs in the first. Chicago scored in each of the opening innings. First team to 10 wins? After Cleveland tied it at six in the home fifth on a Gabriel Arias three-run bomb, that looked possible. But you can’t predict baseball. The White Sox reclaimed their lead in the sixth then both clubs’ bats went silent. The ChiSox bullpen got the final nine outs, allowing only two baserunners. This is a genuinely fun turnaround for a team that was historically awful in 2024. Hopefully they can keep it up.
