They’ve been tense, gritty affairs, but the Yankees have taken the first two games against the Guardians. It was Cody Bellinger with the extra-inning heroics on Monday, while Spencer Jones hit his first big-league home run and Jazz Chisholm Jr. the game-winner to lead off the eighth in Tuesday’s win. They’ll go for the sweep today, but first let’s recap the action involving the Yankees’ AL rivals.
Tampa Bay Rays (39-25) 4, Boston Red Sox (27-38) 3
Rays starter Nick Martinez bounced back from a rare meltdown outing against the Tigers to post seven-plus
innings of three-run ball, meaning he has given up three or fewer runs in all but one of his 13 starts. It was enough to outperform Boston rookie southpaw Payton Tolle and his six innings allowing four runs on nine hits.
Boston opened the scoring in the third, Isiah Kiner-Falefa reaching on a one-out double and coming around to score on a two-out RBI single from Jarren Duran. Tampa Bay responded with three in the fourth, Ryan Vilade getting things started with a one-out double of his own. Cedric Mullins singled him home with two outs to tie the score and set up back-to-back two-out RBI doubles by Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes.
They extended their lead in the sixth, Williamson reaching on a two-out single, advancing to second on a Fortes HBP, and scoring on an RBI single from Richie Palacios. It looked like it would be smooth sailing from there, Martinez coming back out for the eighth with the pitch count at just 67, but the Red Sox’s super aggressive approach finally started to return results. Martinez gave up back-to-back singles to Caleb Durbin and Kiner-Falefa to open the frame, setting up a two-run double from Marcelo Mayer to draw Boston within one.
This prompted Kevin Cash to call on Kevin Kelly out of the bullpen, and he induced three straight groundouts to stop the bleeding and preserve the win. The Yankees (40-26) and Rays (39-25) remain in a virtual tie atop the AL East.
Other Games
Toronto Blue Jays (33-35) 3, Philadelphia Phillies (36-31) 2
We had a good-ol’-fashioned pitchers’ duel between a pair of former Cy Young runners-up. Zack Wheeler continues to redefine what is possible for a starting pitcher after undergoing TOS surgery, holding the Blue Jays to a run on six hits with five strikeouts in six innings to lower his ERA to 2.22 through nine starts. However, it was Cease who put on an electric display, with 11 strikeouts and 29 swings and misses across six innings, in which he allowed a run on three hits and a walk.
Brandon Marsh opened the scoring with a two-out RBI double in the first after Trea Turner reached on a one-out double. It took Toronto until the sixth to respond, Jesús Sánchez getting the Blue Jays on the board with a one-out solo home run to right. Bryson Stott reclaimed the lead with a two-out RBI double in the top of the ninth after Bryce Harper drew a leadoff walk. That allowed them to turn to the normally lights-out closer Jhoan Duran for the bottom of the ninth, but he gave up three straight singles to Sánchez, Yohendrick Piñango, and Brandon Valenzuela, the final one the walk-off knock to drive home pinch-runner Daulton Varsho.
Seattle Mariners (36-32) 6, Baltimore Orioles (31-37) 5
Logan Gilbert authored one of his better starts of the season with six innings allowing a run on three hits and two walks against five strikeouts to get the better of Trevor Rogers and his 5.2 innings of three-run ball. Leody Taveras opened the scoring for Baltimore in the first with a sac fly with the bases loaded after Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso singled and Colton Cowser walked. Mitch Garver replied with a three-run blast in the fourth after Randy Arozarena and Rob Refsnyder reached on a pair of singles.
Seattle tacked on another run via three consecutive two-out singles by Victor Robles, Julio Rodríguez, and Arozarena in the seventh, but Coby Mayo canceled it out scoring on a wild pitch after reaching on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch. That left Baltimore trailing by two heading into the bottom of the ninth, but a solo home run from Mayo, a single from Jeremiah Jackson, a ground rule double from Tyler O’Neill, and an RBI fielder’s choice by Samuel Basallo sent the game to extra innings.
Arozarena wasted no time restoring his team’s lead in the top of the tenth, crushing the second pitch he saw from Rico Garcia for a two-run blast. With struggling closer Andrés Muñoz getting the day off, the Mariners had to turn to Nick Davila for the bottom of the tenth having only just called him up from Triple-A Tacoma hours before first pitch. He hit Blaze Alexander with the first pitch he threw and gave up an RBI single to Taveras to draw Baltimore within one and put runners on the corners with no outs. However, a Mayo pop out, Jackson grounder that resulted in Alexander being thrown out at home, and an O’Neill strikeout killed the rally in its tracks to end the game.
