Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Astros’ winning streak snapped at 11

The Yankees saw their latest winning streak snapped last night, but they weren’t the only streaking AL team. The Astros put their 11-game winning streak on the line yesterday, amidst a full day of action from the Yankees’ AL rivals. Let’s catch up on what went down.

Toronto Blue Jays (18-16) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (20-14)

The Jays suffered a tough blow two nights ago, losing star center fielder George Springer to injury. They at least got back Hyun-jin Ryu last night after the veteran left-hander missed a few weeks with elbow inflammation. Ryu looked solid, managing 4.2 innings in his return, limiting Tampa to three hits and one run.

The Rays got 3.1 innings of one-run ball from starter Ryan Yarbrough, and turned to their bullpen for the rest of the night. That unit did quality work up until the eighth, when Toronto took Ryan Thompson to task. Teoscar Hernandez and Danny Jansen, the latter in his first game back from injury, each homered to put up a four-spot and give the Jays a late lead:

Toronto would hold onto that lead and win 5-1, gaining a game on the Yankees in the AL East.

Boston Red Sox (13-20) vs. Texas Rangers (13-19)

The Yankees traded four prospects for Joey Gallo last July, one of them right-handed pitcher Glenn Otto. Otto got the start tonight in Texas, and the Red Sox had a field day. Boston touched up Otto for eight hits and eight runs in four innings, with Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez each going deep:

On the other side, the ageless wonder Rich Hill kept on keeping on. Making his first start since missing a bit of time with COVID, Hill recorded six innings with two earned runs, striking out four and walking none. That was more than enough, as the Sox cruised to an 11-3 win.

Houston Astros (22-12) vs. Washington Nationals (12-23)

The Astros have been the only team in baseball as hot as the Yankees, and their streak finally came to an end at the hands of the Nats. Washington jumped all over Houston right-hander Cristian Javier, tagging him for seven runs in 3.2 innings. Nelson Cruz drove in three runs, while journeyman outfielder Yadiel Hernandez brought home four.

Nationals starter Erik Fedde didn’t exactly dominate, with Houston putting up three runs across four innings against the lefty, but Washington was able to keep the Astros at bay for the most part throughout. By the end, the Nats closed out a 13-6 win to extinguish the streaking Stros.

Cleveland Guardians (16-16) vs. Minnesota Twins (19-15)

Shane Bieber’s uneven start has been a point of concern in Cleveland thus far. The 2020 AL Cy Young winner entered tonight’s game with an 89 ERA+, with his fastball sitting at an unintimidating 90.6 mph on average. The right-hander managed to move in the right direction versus Minnesota, working six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts against three walks. The only damage against Bieber came via a solo shot from old friend Gio Urshela.

But the Guardians couldn’t do much against Minnesota’s pitching. Starter Devin Smeltzer wasn’t particularly impressive, but he allowed just one run over five innings, and both teams’ bullpens combined to keep the score at 1-1 into extras.

In the tenth, Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw drove in runs to give Cleveland the lead. Urshela brought another run in with a single in the bottom of the tenth, but the Twins’ rally fizzled there, and Cleveland took home the 3-2 win.