Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Cease nearly no-hits Twins, Astros fall in extra innings

It was another day, another frustrating loss for the Yankees. Aaron Judge’s ninth inning home run ended up being the only offense in a 2-1 loss to the Rays. That saw the Yankees’ lead over Tampa Bay trimmed even further, now down to just four games.

However, the Rays aren’t the only team chasing the Yankees. Let’s check in on how the rest of the competition did on Saturday in today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.

Toronto Blue Jays 4 (72-59), Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (49-83)

The Pirates kept things close for a while, but a three-run seventh inning for Toronto gave them a lead they would hold on to.

With the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh, Bo Bichette came up big, bringing home everyone with a double to left.

That hit would make up for a bunch of other missed chances by the Blue Jays’ offense, who went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

After that, the Pirates, who briefly led 1-0 after an Oneil Cruz RBI triple in the third, had a chance to answer back when they brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning. However, they couldn’t cash in that chance and they themselves would finish 0-for-5 with RISP.

Seattle Mariners 4 (75-58), Cleveland Guardians 0 (68-63)

A Ty France home run in the second at-bat of the game gave the Mariners a lead they would never relinquish, as Seattle went on to shutout Cleveland.

On the mound, Robbie Ray was good for the Mariners, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks. After that, Seattle’s bullpen mostly cruised, although Cleveland did briefly fight back in the ninth. Down to their last couple outs, Cleveland put two runners on in the ninth, but ended up failing to get on the board before they could bring a tying run to the plate.

Beyond France, Mitch Haniger, Cal Raleigh, and J.P. Crawford all recorded RBI as the Mariners did all their work in the first five innings, which ended up to be enough.

Los Angeles Angels 2 (58-75), Houston Astros 1 (85-48)

At least the Yankees have some company in “losing games to the Angels where your offense does” nothing club. The Astros fell to the Angels in 12 innings, scoring just one run on seven hits, coming on a fifth inning J.J. Matijevic RBI single. That allowed the Angels to rally, tying the game in the seventh, before eventually winning on a 12th inning Matt Duffy walk-off single that just barely evaded a glove.

Much of the game was a pitchers’ duel between Shohei Ohtani and Luis García, with Ohtani throwing eight innings of one-run ball, and García allowing just one run on three hits in seven frames.

Once things got to extra innings, the Angels had a pair of two very good chances, getting the potential winning to third in both the 10th and 11th innings. Yet, it was probably the Astros in the 12th who had the maybe the most brutal failure to score.

With runners on the corners and nobody out, David Hensley grounded into a double play. While the runner, catcher Christian Vázquez, isn’t exactly a speed demon, he somehow stuck at third as the double play unfolded instead of scoring, or at the very least trying to. The Astros couldn’t bring him home in the next at-bat, keeping the game tied for the eventual walk-off in the bottom half of the inning.

Other Contenders

• Chicago White Sox 13 (67-66), Minnesota Twins 0 (67-64): Dylan Cease was one out away from a no-hitter before the Twins’ Luis Arráez broke it up with a two-out single in the ninth. Cease had to settle for a complete game shutout, having allowed one hit and two walks, with his offense chipping in with a big day.

• Baltimore Orioles 8 (71-61), Oakland Athletics 1 (49-85): The Orioles scored six runs across the first four innings and never looked back, cruising to a win over the A’s. Ryan Mountcastle led the way for Baltimore, recording two home runs and four RBI.