One could argue that the Yankees’ loss yesterday was maybe the fourth- or fifth-most impactful bit of news from the day, but if we were to zero in on that? Yeah, that was annoying. They had a legitimate chance to steal a second Dylan Cease start for a win in the span of a week, even one in which he was no-hitting the Yanks into the seventh. But long before then, they stranded a pair of runner-on-third/one-out opportunities in the first and second. Maybe Luis García Jr. doesn’t get the chance to hit that same
kind of pitch from Tyler Rogers to make it a 4-3 game later, but … ah. Whatever.
At least Cody Bellinger is back? Win the series today and soothe the pain of perhaps losing both Ryan Weathers and Giancarlo Stanton.
Here’s what else was going on around the American League on Saturday.
Tampa Bay Rays (76-53) 2, Baltimore Orioles (63-67) 3 (10 innings)
The Orioles have really been the Yankees’ best friend during the past week. They won three out of four against the AL East-leading Rays last weekend, lost to the Yanks in a three-game sweep from Tuesday through Thursday, and have now rallied to beat the Rays again on consecutive nights. The Yanks trimming a 6.5-game Tampa Bay lead in the division down to three as of now gets a big assist from Baltimore. It honestly should be closer at this point, too!
Anyway, on the topic of Saturday night’s game, the Rays held a 2-0 lead through six thanks to a solo shot by Liam Hicks off Brandon Young, and then a Junior Caminero RBI single to knock Young out of the game in the sixth. That, however, was Tampa Bay’s only hit with a man in scoring position all night, as they went 1-for-8 in such opportunities, bouncing into multiple double plays and running into outs on the bases.
Shane McClanahan threw five scoreless innings for the Rays, but with him long gone from the ballgame by the eighth, the O’s pounced. Kevin Kelly started the frame for Tampa Bay and allowed a leadoff single to Jackson Holliday. He fanned the surging Pete Alonso but gave a sinker a little too much plate to rookie pinch-hitter Samuel Basallo, who launched it over the wall in center for a game-tying homer.
In the ninth, the Rays missed another chance to tack on when Andrew Kittredge got Richie Palacios to fly out to right after Jonny DeLuca’s double. Garrett Cleavinger retired the O’s in order to send this to extras … where the Rays again squandered an opportunity. This time, it was with the zombie runner and a one-out squeeze play by Taylor Walls. Former Yankees legend Rico Garcia got to the ball quickly and flipped it home in time to nail Palacios at the plate.
Kevin Cash called upon the reliever who the Orioles traded in a minor move 13 months ago, only to see him become an All-Star closer in 2026. But while Bryan Baker handled his old team on Monday, he looked more like the version that also lost the game in extras exactly one week prior. Baker got ahead of his first hitter on Saturday, Dylan Beavers, with an 0-2 count. Then he fired two out of the strike zone before Beavers cracked one off the right-center-field wall, walking it off for the O’s.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (70-59) 3, San Francisco Giants (52-77) 2: I do hope that you didn’t invest too much mental space in hoping that this lousy Tony Vitello-led Giants club would actually do something worthwhile at Fenway Park. It didn’t matter that Blade Tidwell threw 5.2 scoreless innings for San Francisco or that they took a 2-0 lead into the final frame on long balls from Willy Adames and Andrew Knizner. This team is wretched. Behold, the bottom of the ninth:
- Walk to Caleb Durbin
- Hit by pitch on Jahmai Jones
- Botched double-play ball, putting runners on the corners
- Single by Eli White to score Durbin
- Single by Nick Sogard to score Monasterio
- Intentional walk to Ceddanne Rafaela
- Walk-off grounder by Wilyer Abreu, with White beating Bryce Eldrige’s throw home
Great job, great work.
Chicago White Sox (67-62) 5, New York Mets (59-71) 10: Luis Castillo looked like the version of himself that got squeezed out of the Mariners’ rotation despite his contract. He was knocked out before the end of the third, allowing four runs on eight hits, including homers to Bo Bichette and one-time White Sox phenom Luis Robert Jr. The latter would go yard again off former Mets teammate Huascar Brazobán in the seventh, with Carson Benge and Luis Torrens hitting dingers against other members of the Chicago bullpen. You can’t give up five homers to the 2026 Mets and expect to win! The White Sox still hold a 3.5-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Houston Astros (65-65) 3, The Athletics (50-80) 4: The A’s had literally only won 11 games since the beginning of summer, but while they’re lousy, the AL West as a whole is also lousy in its own way. Bennett Sousa couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead in the eighth at home, with Lawrence Butler tying the game on an RBI single and Jonah Heim plating the eventual winner on a grounder. Elvis Alvarado struck out two in the ninth for the A’s win.
Texas Rangers (64-66) 0, Los Angeles Angels (52-78) 3: Despite sitting at exactly .500, the Astros still hold sole possession of the AL West lead because the Rangers had their own embarrassing loss to an awful division rival. Ryan Johnson and two Angels relievers combined to spin a one-hit shutout in the Rangers’ own ballpark. Even with a stirring, Randy Arozarena-led walk-off win over the Cubs last night in Kade Anderson’s MLB debut, the Mariners are still three games behind Houston! It cannot be overstated how much the AL West stinks on ice. They are the silverfish skittering across the floor in your weird friend’s basement.
Cleveland Guardians (64-66) 4, Colorado Rockies (50-79) 3: This section is called “AL Wild Card Rock Fight” so I must also zero in on them as well as the AL West (though really the races are almost one and the same). The Rangers still inexplicably hold the last Wild Card spot at two games under .500, but the Guardians tied them there with their third win in a row, as a Jo Adell three-run bomb and a Patrick Bailey single led them to victory at Coors. Cleveland has one of the easiest schedules in baseball down the stretch so to me, it’s honestly theirs to lose. But the AL Wild Card race has been all about losing, so… yeah.
Minnesota Twins (63-67) 5, San Diego Padres (70-60) 7: I’ve had very little faith in the Twins’ realistic chances all year long and really only had them added to the re-introduced Rock Fight section this weekend because they actually held that third Wild Card spot a couple days ago. But they lost on Friday and blew a 5-1 lead yesterday even though the Padres lost starter Casey Mize to a rolled ankle in the third. Yuck.
For those curious, here’s the race for the last AL Wild Card spot:
Texas Rangers (64-66)
Cleveland Guardians (64-66)
Toronto Blue Jays (64-66, 0.5 GB)
Minnesota Twins (63-67, 1 GB)
Baltimore Orioles (63-67, 1 GB)
Seattle Mariners (62-68, 2 GB)
Detroit Tigers (61-68, 2.5 GB)
Inspiring.
