About halfway through the Yankees’ nightcap in Arizona, news trickled through that the Red Sox had snapped the Rays’ six-game winning streak. That ratcheted up the pressure on the Yankees to beat the Diamondbacks and narrow the gap in the division to four games. They did just that, routing the D-Backs, 9-2, to stay alive in the AL East race.
Boston Red Sox (84-70) 4, Tampa Bay Rays (93-60) 2
Ranger Suarez might have walked a season-high five batters, but he did the Yankees a huge solid in holding Tampa to a run on three hits in 5.1 innings. That lone
run came in the bottom of the first on a Jonathan Aranda RBI double after Yandy Diaz drew a leadoff walk.
The Red Sox applied pressure early and often against Rays starter Ian Seymour, Roman Anthony leading off the contest with a booming 438 home run on the third pitch of the game. Anthony would plate two more in the second with a two out single after Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin singled and Nate Eaton walked to load the bases.
Jahmai Jones led off the third with a homer to make it 4-1, Boston, after which the game fell into a lull until the ninth. That became a nervy inning for any Yankees fans watching, Erik Miller surrendering a leadoff single and then throwing two wild pitches, an Aranda RBI force out cutting the deficit to two. Junior Caminero walked to put the tying run on base, but Miller shut the door from there. With the loss and Yankees win, the Rays’ lead atop the AL East shrinks to four games.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Detroit Tigers (73-81) 11, Chicago White Sox (78-76) 8
The Tigers found themselves trailing, 6-1, after the first inning, but somehow managed to come roaring back, eventually scoring five in the eighth to complete the comeback. All six of Chicago’s runs in the first were unearned thanks to errors by Gleyber Torres and Hao-Yu Lee. Detroit ended up tallying 16 hits on the afternoon, presumptive AL Rookie of the Year Kevin McGonigle going 2-for-5 with four RBI. Lee atoned for himself by going 4-for-5 with a three run homer while Riley Greene hit a two-run blast a few batters later in the eighth. Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery both drove in three for the White Sox including Vargas’ 32nd home run on the year.
Cleveland Guardians (79-75) 5, Athletics (61-93) 3
The Guardians capitalized on the White Sox loss to move a full game ahead in first place in the AL Central after trailing Chicago for much of the summer. José Ramírez homered in the sixth for the 1,000th RBI of his career while rookie Travis Bazzana also left the yard and Brayan Rocchio drove in a pair. Zack Gelof hit a three-run homer in the top of the first, but the Athletics managed just a walk and a single for the rest of the game.
Texas Rangers (76-78) 7, Toronto Blue Jays (77-77) 1
For those hoping for a Cam Schlittler AL Cy Young win, Dylan Cease picked the perfect time to suffer his shortest start of the year. He lasted just 2.2 innings on account of a season-high six walks, a second inning error by Ernie Clement allowing four runs to score, three of which go as unearned on Cease’s card. Wyatt Langford reached base five times for Texas while Jake Burger drove in a pair with a double. This is a crucial series for both teams as they are currently the two AL teams on the bubble closest to sneaking into that final Wild Card spot.
Atlanta Braves (90-64) 6, Houston Astros (77-77) 2
The Braves punched their postseason ticket thanks to six innings of one-run ball from Tyler Mahle and an offensive explosion from the heart of their lineup. Matt Olson and Michael Harris II both went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, Olson becoming the fifth player in Braves history after Henry Aaron, Eddie Matthews, Andruw Jones, and Ronald Acuña Jr. with multiple 40-HR seasons. Acuña also homered and drove in a pair.
Milwaukee Brewers (96-58) 6, Baltimore Orioles (75-79) 5
Jackson Chourio hit a three-run homer in the second and Pete Alonso answered with a three-run bomb of his own an inning later. Rookie Coby Mayo collected three doubles and a walk while Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-5. Milwaukee scored two in the ninth to seemingly win it, but Baltimore responded with a pair of sac flies in the bottom half to send the game to extras. Sal Frelick won it in the tenth with the pinch-hit RBI single.
AL Standings
