Following a much-needed sweep of the Kansas City Royals, the Yankees enjoyed an off day on Thursday. They next head further west to take on the Athletics, who are very much in the American League’s playoff picture. The first place Rays were also off the schedule, though there were still games of note to take in on Thursday. So, here’s a look at went down around the Junior Circuit.
Toronto Blue Jays (28-29) 2, Baltimore Orioles (26-31) 1
In an evening AL East matchup, pitching was the name of the game, as the Blue Jays did just enough to push past the O’s
in Baltimore.
Both starters, Patrick Corbin for the Jays and Chris Bassitt for Baltimore, were excellent in their respective outings. It was Toronto who got to their former teammate Bassitt first, when Andrés Giménez led off the third inning with a solo blast, his sixth homer of the season.
The solo shot would stand as the only real blemish on the veteran righty’s day on the mound. Bassitt finished his day after six innings of work, allowing just that one run on four hits and striking out a pair. Unfortunately for him and the Orioles, Patrick Corbin was just as good on the mound for Toronto.
In fact, his line was nearly identical. The left-hander worked his way through five innings of solid ball, also allowing a single run on four hits, though he tallied a few more strikeouts, racking up four on the evening. His first mistake, and Baltimore’s lone run of the game, came in the fourth, when Coby Mayo teed off on a solo homer of his own, squaring things up at one a piece.
After both starters exited the game, things remained quiet on the offensive side, as this game remained in a 1-1 gridlock into the later innings. In the top of the eighth, the Blue Jays did what they could to change that. George Springer led the frame off with a double, before being advanced by a sacrifice bunt. A pair of walks following this had the bases loaded with just one out. Kazuma Okamoto struck out for the second out, before pinch-hitter Yohendrick Piñango worked a walk to push the go-ahead run across. The bases-loaded walk in the eighth turned out to be the decisive blow, as the Jays skated past the O’s, though both clubs still have an uphill climb in the division.
Other Games
Houston Astros (26-32) 5, Texas Rangers (25-31) 1:
In a matchup of middling AL West squads, early scoring pushed the Astros past the Rangers on Thursday. The game opened with a bang for Houston, as home runs from Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes had them up 3-0 before the Rangers had a chance to hit.
Josh Jung answered with a solo shot for Texas in the second, but the ‘Stros continued to lay it on in the third inning, with a double from Taylor Trammell and a Cam Smith knock putting them up 5-1. A forgettable day on the mound for Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 5 ER) had Houston up from end to end. The Rangers could only post a single run on the evening, as they dropped an important one at home. The AL West remains a situation to monitor, as the sub-.500 Mariners lead the division by a half-game, and four teams are within 2.5 games of first place.
