Scoreboard Watching: Yankees magic number drops to nine, Astros’ offense rolls on

Later today the Trenton Thunder will open the Eastern League Championship Series. According to Kyle Franko, the team will rout out a rotation of Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Clarke Schmidt, and Mike King. Dellin Betances will follow Montgomery out of the bullpen, too. It should be a fun time for the Yankees’ Double-A team.

Since the remaining affiliates’ season have all ended, we have no Baby Bomber Recap today. Instead, I’d like to introduce a new series for September called Scoreboard Watching. Here we’ll highlight games from key rivals and keep tabs of the Yankees’ magic number.

Astros continue offensive explosive, route Athletics 15-0

With much of the chatter surrounding the Astros focused on the pitching staff, it appears Houston wanted to remind everyone of their powerful lineup. Just one day removed from besting the Mariners by a score of 21-1, the Astors dropped 15 runs on the Athletics. They hit seven home runs on the night, with Robinson Chirinos and Yordan Alvarez each swatting two bombs. Zack Greinke meanwhile struck out five batters over six innings of two-hit ball.

The Astros and Yankees now both have 95-50 records in the race for home-field advantage. The tiebreaker belongs to Houston.

The Dodgers and Rays both had yesterday off. The Rays and Rangers kick off a series in Arlington tomorrow night, while the Dodgers will play the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Magic Number

After defeating the Red Sox last night, the Yankees magic number to clinch the AL East title sits at nine.

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