Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Red Sox walked off, Rays win in extras

The Yankees played another fine ballgame against a tough division opponent in the Blue Jays yesterday afternoon. Give credit where it’s due: Even after the thrilling Aaron Judge-aided win on Tuesday night, the Yankees were right back out there just over 12 hours later. And they won again! Thanks, Gleyber.

How did the rivals fare? Let’s catch up.

Boston Red Sox (11-20) vs. Atlanta Braves (15-17)

The Red Sox thumped the Braves for the vast majority of the game on Tuesday, but Atlanta countered Wednesday with walk-off magic keyed by four RBI from the bottom two hitters in the lineup. Backed by Trevor Story’s long-awaited first homer of the 2022 season, Boston jumped ahead of Ian Anderson early, 3-0, but ace Nathan Eovaldi was only solid rather than dominant. A two-run blast by No. 9 hitter Travis Demeritte chipped into the lead in the third, and Matt Olson tied it up with a double off the center-field wall to score Dansby Swanson.

The pitching took over from there and kept the score at 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth. That’s when backup infielder Orlando Arcia made the most out of his first start since April 24th, belting a two-run homer against Ryan Brasier to send the fans home happy. Yankees fans also have to be happy with this, as Boston now trails New York in the AL East by 11.5 games.

Houston Astros (19-11) vs. Minnesota Twins (18-12)

Chris Archer squared off with José Urquidy at Target Field, and for three innings, Urquidy won the battle. The Twins got on the board first thanks to a double by Jorge Polanco, but Houston countered against Archer with a fury, tallying five runs between the second and third, led by a solo shot from Jose Altuve and three RBI from rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña.

Then came the rain, which interrupted this 5-1 contest at the start of the fourth. They suspended action and will pick it up today at 1:10pm ET.

Tampa Bay Rays (19-13) vs. Los Angeles Angels (21-12)

There weren’t any no-hit heroics or shocking homers from non-switch hitters this go-around for the Angels and Rays, but they still put forward a dang good ballgame. Shohei Ohtani and Shane McClanahan locked horns in an All-Star-caliber pitchers’ duel, as over six innings, Ohtani gave up just two hits — one a solo homer by Kevin Kiermaier — and McClanahan struck out 11 over 7 shutout frames.

Once McClanahan departed though, the Angels jumped all over reliever Andrew Kittredge. Taylor Ward’s dream start to 2022 continued, as he lifted a two-run bomb down the left-field line to tie the game up. After scoreless innings from J.P. Feyereisen and Raisel Iglesias, the Rays took advantage of Manfredball in the 10th as Vidal Bruján led off with an RBI double.

Harold Ramirez cashed Bruján in for an insurance run, and Tampa reliever Brooks Raley worked around a pinch-hit walk by Mike Trout to turn the Angels away in the bottom of the 10th. That gave the Rays a 4-2 win, keeping pace with the Yankees.