Scoreboard Watching: Rays outlast Dodgers, Yankees’ magic number still 1

The Yankees held an impromptu campout last night. The team huddled in the clubhouse watching the Rays-Dodgers game in anticipation of a division-clinching celebration. The champagne never flowed, but hey, they had a team-building exercise. Nothing wrong with that!

Here’s what happened around the league while Tommy Kahnle went exploring through the Yankee Stadium offices after dark:

Rays hold on against Dodgers in wild extra-innings game

If the Yankees wanted to celebrate last night, they needed a little help from the Dodgers. For a while it looked like they were going to get it, with the Dodgers leading in the bottom of the ninth. Kenley Jansen’s struggles persisted, however, and one blown save later, the game went off to extra-innings. A back-and-forth battle followed, resulting in the Rays taking the lead for good in the top of the 11th.

Astros reach 100 wins, take lead in home-field race

Longtime readers know I love Gerrit Cole. The right-hander reached the 300-strikeout mark on Wednesday night. The Astros also picked up a round number, reaching their 100th win on the season. Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel provided the fireworks with a few home runs, good enough to put Houston ahead in the race for home-field advantage.

Indians stay afloat, Twins fall to White Sox

It took 10 innings, but the Cleveland Indians picked up a win against the Tigers. Yasiel Puig had the game winner, keeping the Indians alive in the AL Wild Card race. The Twins, meanwhile, lost to the White Sox. Jake Odorizzi struck out nine and only allowed two runs, but that wasn’t enough for Minnesota to work with.

Athletics maintain top Wild Card spot with walk-off victory over Royals

The Athletics won again, this time in walk-off fashion. Mark Canha had the game-winning double in the 11th inning, while Homer Bailey tossed seven shutout innings. It’s not all good news for the A’s, however, as Blake Treinen’s season came to an injury-shortened end.

Magic Number

Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images

The magic number remains at one. The Yankees can clinch the AL East with a win tonight against the Angels.