Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Red Sox and Rays left searching for answers again

It was a frustrating night for the Yankees yesterday, with Jordan Montgomery unable to hold an early lead. It was a packed night of action across the AL, though, with the team’s rivals still jockeying for position. While the Yankees lost, there was still some good news to be found.

Baltimore Orioles (49-48) 5, Tampa Bay Rays (52-45) 3

The hits keep coming for Tampa. The Rays lost a couple of important players to injury earlier this week, and are just looking to stay afloat in the AL Wild Card race. They had a lead last night, but the Orioles came back late to deliver the Rays their fourth straight loss.

Cedric Mullins gave the Orioles the lead with a solo shot in the first, but an RBI single from Randy Arozerena in the second and a solo homer from Isaac Paredes in the fourth put Tampa in front. The Rays carried a 3-2 advantage into the eighth, when Luis Urias came to the plate with a man on:

Urias took usually-solid reliever Colin Poche deep, erasing another stellar start from Shane McClanahan. The O’s tacked on an insurance run off Poche, and Jorge Lopez came on for his 19th save in the ninth. Baltimore climbed back above .500, while the Rays were again left searching for answers.

Boston Red Sox (49-49) 3, Cleveland Guardians (49-47) 8

The Red Sox picked up a win against Cleveland on Monday, but their respite was short-lived with the Guardians bouncing back and putting the hurt on Boston once again. The Red Sox fell 8-3, falling back to .500 again and continuing to look lost as the trade deadline looms

Cleveland jumped all over starter Josh Wincowski, with Nolan Jones’ three-run homer in the third putting the Guardians up 5-0 at Fenway:

The Red Sox tried to make a game of it with two runs of their own in the third, but Cleveland went right back up 7-2 in the fourth and cruised from there. Of note was the start from Bryan Shaw, who opened the game for Cleveland in his 733rd career appearance. Shaw’s first 732 games all came in relief, marking the most relief appearances a player has ever made before recording his first start. Shaw allowed two runs across 2.1 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays (54-43) 10, St. Louis Cardinals (51-47) 3

The Jays have had a real up-and-down season, swapping between hot and cold streaks with regularity. They’ve found their stride right now, though, pounding the Cards last night to roll off their seventh straight victory.

Dylan Carlson hit a solo homer in the first inning off Jose Berrios for an early lead, but the Jays struck right back with three in the bottom half, including a two-run shot from Vlad Guerrero Jr., his 21st of the year. The game was tied at three into the sixth, but the Jays broke things open with a five-run inning, punctuated by George Springer’s grand slam:

Toronto cruised from there, consolidating their hold on second place in the AL East.

Oakland Athletics (37-63) 5, Houston Astros (64-34) 3

The Astros are right on the Yankees’ heels for the top record in the junior circuit, so it’s been nice to see the lowly A’s put up a fight against Houston here. The A’s tagged starter Luis Garcia and managed to capture their second straight win over their division rivals.

All the damage against Garcia came on Chad Pinder’s grand slam in the third:

Oakland was mostly quiet from there, and the Astros were able to climb back into the game, thanks in part to Kyle Tucker’s 19th dinger of the year. But Frankie Montas was able to hold the lead, as the righty continues to look like one of the most attractive arms on the trade market. Lou Trivino collected the final three outs to secure his 10th save and a 5-3 win.

Seattle Mariners (53-45) 5, Texas Rangers (43-53) 4

Julio Rodriguez made a dramatic return, homering in his first at-bat back from injury, and the Mariners rallied late to down the Rangers 5-4.

The young star Rodriguez had been out with a minor wrist issue since the All-Star Break, but quieted any concerns with a solo homer in the first:

Seattle led 2-0 after one, and held that lead most of the night, with George Kirby firing five shutout.

But the Rangers came back, making it a 3-3 game in the seventh thanks to Adolis Garcia’s two-run double. They took the lead in the top of the ninth, with Ezequiel Duran’s single scoring Leody Taveras.

Seattle had one more rally left in them, however, with Cal Raleigh doubling home JP Crawford to tie it. Carlos Santana ended things a couple batters later, scoring Raleigh on a sac fly and delivering the Mariners a walk-off win.