Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Blue Jays, Twins strike early and often

While it was not quite as dramatic as Sunday’s game, the Yankees required another late inning comeback to beat the Athletics in their series opener in the Bronx. After falling behind 5-1, they clawed their way back, and eventually took the lead in a six-run seventh inning that saw multiple catcher’s interference calls and big RBI hits from Josh Donaldson, Jose Trevino, and Marwin Gonzalez. The victory took the Yankees to a remarkable 23-20 record in game where they’ve trailed at some point.

While there wasn’t a ton of action among the Yankees’ rivals with this being a Monday travel day for a several teams, there was a couple of them in action. Let’s check in on the AL foes who were in action yesterday in today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.

Toronto Blue Jays (41-32) vs. Boston Red Sox (42-32)

The Red Sox were on a roll coming into this game, and the Blue Jays were not, but it was Toronto who came out on top in their series opener north of the border. A Bo Bichette RBI double opened the scoring in the first, but Toronto really broke the game open in the fourth. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. both homered in the frame, putting the Jays up four, and they cruised after that. Boston got a couple runs in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.

That’s mainly because Kevin Gausman had quite the performance on the hill for Toronto. He struck out 10 Red Sox in seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks. Only three Boston runners made it into scoring position while he was in the game. The win has also momentarily taken Toronto back ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East, half a game behind the currently second-place Red Sox.

Minnesota Twins (42-33) vs. Cleveland Guardians (36-33)

Former Yankees Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela led the way as the Twins crushed the Guardians. Both recorded three hits and combined for six RBI between them as they jumped out early and never looked back. Sánchez demolished a three-run home run in the second inning, which ended up being more than enough for Minnesota.

Meanwhile on the mound, it was another former Yankee playing a starring role. Sonny Gray threw seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk.

A series win over Minnesota last week had seen the Guardians take the lead in the AL Central, but they’ve now lost five in a row and are back to being multiple games behind.