With more nasty weather thrashing the East Coast, the Yankees did not play today—meaning all eyes could shift to the rest of the league. New York doesn’t have anything more to play for, but that was far from the case for many of their AL contemporaries. One division was finally decided on this penultimate day of the regular season, while the other may just come down to the very last out.
Texas Rangers (80-81) 6, Minnesota Twins (76-85) 2
The Rangers, with no choice but to take the division if they wish to play in October, had to wait through a two-hour
rain delay to get started at Target Field. But their bats were very much alive despite the tardy first pitch. In the second inning, they strung together five consecutive two-out hits off Bailey Ober—four of which were doubles—to take a 4-1 lead. Danny Jansen and Jake Burger added solo homers to give Nathan Eovaldi quite the early cushion.
Eovaldi was making his first start since coming off the injured list on September 12. To that point, he’d made a couple relief appearances as manager Skip Schumaker looked to ease him back in. Tonight, he pitched into the fifth inning before entering a jam and departing—a subsequent double play ensured he’d leave with just the one run allowed on four hits. The bullpen allowed just one more run the rest of the way as the Rangers held serve in their battle for the AL West crown.
Cleveland Guardians (85-76) 11, Kansas City Royals (68-93) 5
Kansas City got off to a hot start against Tanner Bibee, grabbing three runs in the opening frame. Jac Caglianone picked up his 30th double of the season to bring in one of those runs to put Cleveland in an early hole. But in characteristic Guardians fashion, they punched right back. Catcher Patrick Bailey atoned for a costly first-inning throwing error with a game-tying two-run blast down the line, then a sinking Steven Kwan liner eluded a diving Isaac Collins in left field for a run-scoring triple to put Cleveland on top as they looked to keep pole position in the AL Central.
As Bibee settled in, Chase DeLauter tacked on a solo shot in the third—his 16th. After that, all was quiet until the top of the sixth, when Travis Bazzana tripled and was brought home on a sac fly from Nathaniel Lowe. All six runs—albeit only two of them earned—were surrendered by Michael Wacha, who grit his teeth through 6.1 innings in his final start of the year. In so doing, he passed the 200-inning mark and finished with a 3.32 ERA.
The Royals threatened to make it a ballgame in the bottom of the eighth, closing the deficit to 7-5. But that just set the stage for another massive inning from the Guardians offense in reply. Bailey and Rocchio hit back-to-back jacks—their second of the night apiece—and Cleveland added two more runs to seal the deal. Slade Cecconi speedily recorded the final three outs, and with a near-simultaneous final out from the Rockies on the South Side, the never-say-die Guardians clinched their second straight division title.
Colorado Rockies (58-103) 9, Chicago White Sox (83-78) 3
No matter how bad your record is, you can still make a difference in the postseason picture. Just look at the Rockies. Despite marching to their fourth consecutive hundred-loss season, Colorado crushed the White Sox’ hopes of winning the AL Central with a complete offensive effort. Like the Royals, they started with a three-spot in the first, but instead of coughing the advantage up immediately, they added to it with a long Hunter Goodman home run—the 40th of the year for the powerful catcher.
The White Sox trailed 5-3 entering the eighth inning, but got runners in scoring position to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. In this high-leverage spot, they needed some quality at-bats. What they got instead was a three-pitch strikeout from Sam Antonacci and a first-pitch grounder to second from Colson Montgomery for an inning-ending double play. Woof.
From there, the Rockies provided the punishment, scoring four runs to take a 9-3 lead. Goodman smashed another homer, this time a three-run shot, to provide the finishing blow. Chicago’s last hurrah came in the form of an Andrew Benintendi three-run homer to get those runs back, but Jordan Romano retired the next three batters in order to consign Chicago to the Wild Card series against the AL West winner.
Tampa Bay Rays (98-63) 12, Philadelphia Phillies (87-74) 1
Don Mattingly, with his Phillies in freefall, was looking for a spark from his longest-tenured player. He gave the ball to Aaron Nola on two days’ rest and gave the 33-year old every opportunity to turn back the clock when his team needed it most.
It didn’t take long for the decision to look more like wishcasting than solid managing. The Rays, unsentimental as they are prolific, pummeled Nola right out of the gate. Junior Caminero reached the 100-RBI mark with a two-run homer, his 42nd of the season. Not content to stop there, Victor Mesa Jr. and Richie Palacios clocked back-to-back doubles to some early boo birds at the Bank. Nola, unsurprisingly, did not take the mound for the second inning as the listless Phillies offense was already stuck in a 3-0 hole.
If ever a stirring comeback would be authored at the Bank, it was not gonna be tonight. The Rays took advantage of more dysfunctional pitching, piling on with four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth for a gruesome 10-0 scoreline. Yandy Díaz and Mesa Jr. grabbed three hits, Palacios plated four runs, and the Phillies lost an unsightly game. Thing is, the Diamondbacks also lost, meaning that if they can find a way to win tomorrow, they’ll make the postseason after all that hullaballoo. If being the operative word there. And even if they do—is anyone in Eastern PA and South Jersey excited for a prospective Wild Card Series with this group?
Houston Astros (80-81) 13, Athletics (64-97) 2
While the Rangers won earlier in the night, the Astros control their own destiny. As long as they keep pace with their cross-state rivals, the tiebreak will deliver them the AL West title. They took an important step towards doing that with a blowout victory in West Sacramento.
Isaac Paredes fired the opening shot with a home run in the first inning. Jeremy Peña followed with a two-run tater—his first of a pair on the night—out to center in the third inning, then the presumptive AL MVP continued to put the finishing touches on his incredible season. Yordan Alvarez throttled a ball from poor Jack Perkins, who thought he had strike three on the previous pitch. Instead, Alvarez’ three-run missile—his 42nd long ball—opened the game up at 6-1.
As former Yankee prospect Hayden Wesneski limited the Athletics to two runs on six hits in seven innings, Houston added to their comfortable margin, finishing with 13 runs on 16 hits. So, this surreal AL West race will come down to the final game of the season. If the Astros win, they’re in. If the Rangers lose, Houston wins on the tiebreak. And if Houston falls, a Texas victory in Minnesota will vault them ahead on the final day.
