Wednesday can comfortably be filed away in the “bad” drawer for the Yankees. They mustered just a single hit in a shutout loss to the Orioles, a game in which Max Fried departed early with ever-troubling elbow soreness. The loss keeps them in the hole in the American League East, as they eagerly look to return to the form they took in the first month of the season.
But alas, the world goes on elsewhere, so here is a look around some exciting AL action on Wednesday.
Toronto Blue Jays (19-24) 5, Tampa
Bay Rays (28-14) 3 (10 innings)
After a dramatic extra inning affair on Tuesday, which the Rays won, the Blue Jays got their revenge in similar fashion on Wednesday.
Both Griffin Jax for Tampa Bay and Dylan Cease for Toronto had the good stuff in this one. Through six innings of baseball in Toronto, neither the Jays nor the Rays had mustered much of anything, as this one remained scoreless into the later innings. Griffin Jax tossed five innings of shutout ball, while Cease got through seven strong, eventually allowing just a single run while striking out nine batters.
In the seventh, the Rays scored their lone run against Cease with an RBI single from Richie Palacios in the seventh. An inning later, the Jays tied it back up thanks to Kazuma Okamoto’s sacrifice fly. Both bullpens were able to keep things in check after that pair of runs, before the real fun started after the ninth.
In extras, Ben Williamson immediately got things moving for Tampa Bay, as his single plated the bonus runner in the tenth to give the Rays the lead. Williamson immediately stole second base, and was promptly scored thanks to another knock from Yandy Díaz for the all-important insurance run. Now, with a two run lead in hand, the Rays turned to Aaron Crooks to shut it down in the tenth.
The Jays would have none of it, however, as walks to Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Okamoto had the bases juiced after a quick first out in the inning. With the winning run now on base, Daulton Varsho decided to put an end to the game the easy way: by depositing a walk-off grand slam over the wall in left field.
The dramatic victory was about as fun as it gets for the Jays, and the Rays’ loss helps the Yankees keep within striking distance as well, as they remain two games back in the East.
Other Games:
New York Mets (17-25) 3, Detroit Tigers (19-24) 2 (10 innings): Speaking of extra innings, the Tigers took a tough loss at the hands of the Mets on Wednesday. After Framber Valdez held things in check, allowing just two runs in 6.2 innings, the offense was unable to put much together despite two quick runs in the first inning for Detroit. A Bo Bichette single tied the game up at two for the Mets, before Carson Benge’s clutch single in the 10th walked it off for New York.
Boston Red Sox (18-24) 3, Philadelphia Phillies (20-23) 1: Sonny Gray was excellent for the Red Sox at home as he tossed six innings, allowing just one run on two hits while racking up six strikeouts. After Boston and Philly matched each other with solo homers early on, it was Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run bomb in the sixth that decided this one, as Boston hopes to continue climbing out of their early season hole.
Cleveland Guardians (24-21) 4, Los Angeles Angels (16-28) 2: The Guardians took an early lead in the first inning, thanks in part to Angel Martínez’s solo homer, and never looked back. Although the Angels threatened at times, Cleveland was able to stay in the driver’s seat from wire-to-wire, as starter Parker Messick worked 6.2 quality innings, giving up a pair of runs and tallying seven Ks.
Houston Astros (17-27) 4, Seattle Mariners (21-23) 3 (10 innings): More extra innings on Wednesday, as Houston pulled out a late win over the M’s in ten innings. Solo homers did much of the heavy lifting, as round-trippers from J.P. Crawford, Luke Raley, and Christian Walker helped push this game through nine innings all tied up. It was a timely single from Zach Cole that sent Astros fans home happy.
Texas Rangers (21-22) 6, Arizona Diamondbacks (20-22) 5: If all of the late dramatics were not enough, the Rangers put on a performance of their own against Arizona. Down 3-2 in the ninth, the D-Backs rallied to go up 5-3 thanks to huge hits from Nolan Arenado and Ildemaro Vargas. The Rangers battled back in their half of the ninth, as hits from Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger helped to tie things up, and Danny Jansen’s single walked things off for the Rangers.
