Rivalry Roundup: Blue Jays split a doubleheader, Sox blow it late

The Yankees have been sidelined by the weather for the second-straight day, and thus have had to watch the rest of the league play catch up. They’ll hopefully get their chance to start putting more ground between them and the rest of the American League on Sunday, but for now the Rays and Blue Jays continue to make their chase. Let’s get into it:

Tampa Bay Rays (18-10) vs. Seattle Mariners (12-16)

The Rays are winners of six straight now after clobbering the stumbling Mariners. Tampa Bay got to Marco Gonzales early, tagging him for a run in the third and fourth innings thanks to a sac fly lineout by Harold Ramirez and a solo home run by Brandon Lowe. Lowe got to Gonzales again for another solo shot in the sixth inning, chasing the pitcher from the game, and after the Mariners ‘pen got through the remainder of the sixth and seventh innings without damage the wheels fell off in the eighth. A five-spot capped off by a Manuel Margot grand slam put away the 8-2 victory.

Toronto Blue Jays (17-12) vs. Cleveland Guardians (13-14)

The Jays and Guardians had a tale of two halves with their doubleheader on Saturday. Game 1 was all Toronto: the Jays scored four runs in the second inning and expanded their lead to seven by the end of the fourth. They wound up winning 8-3, and they did it without a single home run to their benefit. Cleveland bounced back in a big way in game 2, however, jumping out to a 3-1 lead after one inning. The Guardians scored in five different frames, winning their own blowout 8-2 to split the doubleheader.

Chicago White Sox (13-13) vs. Boston Red Sox (10-18)

The White Sox and Red Sox both got out to poor starts this year — the difference between the two is that Chicago has pulled themselves together with a little five-game win streak while Boston has continued to slide. The latest tragedy for the BoSox occurred after Nick Pivetta gave them six shutout innings to work with. Unfortunately for them, the offense was asleep at the wheel again, only scoring a single run in the fifth on a Rafael Devers double.

The bullpen wasn’t up to the task of holding onto a one-run lead, leading off the ninth with a walk and a double to Adam Engel to set up the pale hose. Leury Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly, and the game was bound for extra innings. Back-to-back hits to start the 10th inning gave the White Sox a pair of runs, and Boston went down in order with their chance to continue the game. Final Score: 3-1 Chicago.

Oakland Athletics (10-17) vs. Minnesota Twins (17-11)

This one was a pitcher’s duel that turned into a battle of the bullpens. Sonny Gray gave the Twins four innings of shutout ball before handing it over to the chain of Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax, and Jhoan Duran (tossing 103 mph heat), who combined to toss five shutout with just one hit allowed. Meanwhile, on the other side James Kaprielian went 5.2 innings, with his only mistake being a hanging curveball to Jorge Polanco for a solo shot. The A’s bullpen matched the Twins in putting up zeroes, but the Twins had all they needed for a 1-0 victory.

Detroit Tigers (8-18) vs. Houston Astros (17-11)

The Astros are right on the Angels’ tails in the AL West, and they got away with one here — they were outhit 11-4 and somehow managed to win 3-2. The Tigers had them in a 2-0 hole early thanks to Miguel Cabrera’s 600th career double, but Jose Altuve started the comeback with a solo shot in the fourth inning. Altuve began the rally again in the eighth with a single, and Michael Brantly tripled him home. After Alex Bregman grounded out for the second out of the inning, Detroit issued an intentional walk and then two more unintentional walks to bring the go-ahead run in.