The drama continues around the American League, as things stay tight in the Junior Circuit’s playoff picture, now with just two games left to play in the regular season. The Yankees did their part in helping
their case, with a fun win over the Orioles, which featured Aaron Judge’s 52nd homer of the season and a couple of Giancarlo Stanton bombs. But, we are at the point in the season where they are also relying on outside help, so let’s take a look at what might’ve changed in a Friday full of action.
Boston Red Sox (88-72) 4, Detroit Tigers (86-74) 3
Despite 20 total hits between the two teams, the Red Sox took home a relatively close and low scoring affair on Friday, doing so in dramatic fashion.
The Sox are now pretty much locked into their spot in the AL’s playoff picture, but the loss could have huge repercussions for the Tigers, as they failed to take advantage of a Guardians loss. Detroit took the first lead in this game, with big hits coming from Javier Báez and Jahmai Jones in the fourth to put them up 3-0. The Sox answered back with Masataka Yoshida’s run-scoring single in the bottom half, but they remained down a pair of runs.
Casey Mize turned in a good start for Detroit, as he struck out eight over the course of 6.1 solid innings. In his final inning of work, however, the Sox began to make their move. They scored a run in the seventh on Nathaniel Lowe’s sacrifice fly, before Jarren Duran’s RBI-knock an inning later tied this game up at three.
The Tigers remained unable to build upon their three-run inning, leaving the door open for Boston in the bottom of the ninth. They would take full advantage, with Romy Gonzalez starting things in the bottom of the ninth with a single, before Ceddanne Rafaela sent Sox fans home happy with a walk-off extra-base hit off of the wall in center.
The dramatic hit from Rafaela locks the Red Sox into the 2025 postseason, and could stand as the true heartbreaker of this Tigers late-season collapse — though another team’s own misery could keep Detroit from missing the dance entirely.
Toronto Blue Jays (92-68) 4, Tampa Bay Rays (77-83) 2
The Blue Jays desperately needed a win, with the Yankees staying hot on their tail in the East. Much like New York, the Jays took care of business on Friday.
The Rays took the first lead in this game, but Junior Caminero quickly tied it up with his 45th home run of the season, to the opposite field. In the very next at-bat Jonathan Aranda gave them the lead with a solo shot of his own.
The Jays countered once again, with an RBI single from Ernie Clement squaring things away yet again. The Jays were waiting on their big hit, and it would come in the bottom of the fifth. After George Springer reached on a single, Nathan Lukes gave Toronto a lead they’d never surrender when he laced a ball into the seats in left-center.
The go-ahead homer was ultimately the decisive blow in this one, putting the Jays up by the final of 4-2. The win keeps them ahead of the Yankees in the East, thanks to the tiebreaker, despite both squads having the same record. This has all the makings of an exciting finish to the AL East race — though it could be over as soon as today if the Jays win and the Yankees lose. Fingers crossed that it’s still a conversation come tomorrow!
Los Angeles Dodgers (91-69) 3, Seattle Mariners (90-70) 2
With the American League West locked up, the Mariners were unable to stay hot, dropping one to the Dodgers at home.
The M’s went ahead first, thanks to a fielding error in their half of the first, but that lead was turned into a deficit in one swing thanks to Kiké Hernández’s two-run blast two innings later off of George Kirby.
Although Kirby ultimately took the loss in this one, he did strike out ten in his five innings of work, as he stands as one of the more important pieces of this Seattle roster headed into October. The Mariners were able to load the bases trailing by just one run in the ninth inning, but wobbly Dodgers closer Tanner Scott just held on.
Cal Raleigh tallied a couple of hits, but was unable to add to his massive home run total and match Roger Maris at 61 (let alone pass him and tie 2022 Aaron Judge). The MVP race will loom over the Mariners’ final games as well.
Other Games
- Texas Rangers (81-79) 7, Cleveland Guardians (86-74) 3: The eliminated Rangers did the Tigers a massive favor on Friday by beating the Guardians. They were largely fueled by a four-run first inning that featured a three-run blast from Alejandro Osuna. Slade Cecconi allowed four runs in as many innings on the mound for Cleveland, as the Guards were unable to separate themselves atop the Central. Thanks to their tiebreaker over Detroit, however, they could clinch the AL Central today if they rebound with a win over Texas and the Tigers lose again.
- Los Angeles Angels (72-88) 4, Houston Astros (85-75) 3: The Astros continue to stumble to the finish line, as they blew a lead en route to a loss on Friday. Although they took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, thanks in part to Christian Walker’s solo homer, the Angels began chipping away at the deficit immediately. A Mike Trout homer got them started in the fourth, and an eventual Chris Taylor single tied things up in the seventh. An inning later, Trout teed off once again, swatting another solo shot (the 403rd of his career), this time putting the Halos ahead for good. One of either the Tigers or Astros is about to play themselves out of the postseason with two games left to play, and the deck is now very much stacked against Houston, which remains a game behind Detroit and Cleveland, holding no tiebreaker advantages. They could be eliminated today with another loss in Anaheim (or with wins by both AL Central clubs).
