Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Rays finally take first loss of season

So far in the series against the Twins, the Yankees have showed off a couple different ways to have frustrating losses. Thursday saw them get pummeled after allowing a bunch of first inning runs and really never have much of a chance after that. Last night, they took a lead into the late inning, but not quite a big enough one as Minnesota rallied for the win.

As the Yankees were licking their wounds from the loss, their rivals were also in action Friday night, so let’s check in on those results.

Toronto Blue Jays (9-5) 6, Tampa Bay Rays (13-1) 3

Our long national nightmare is over, the Rays have lost a game. Toronto scored two quick runs in their first two innings and never trailed as they handed Tampa Bay their first loss of the season.

George Springer got things started for the Jays when he led off the game for Toronto with a home run.

Bo Bichette doubled that lead with a RBI ground-rule double in the second. While the Rays got back into the game on Luke Raley’s run-scoring single in the fourth, Toronto opened things up with a four-run sixth inning.

Tampa Bay finished the game with eight hits, so they had some chances, but they couldn’t string their together enough to keep their win streak going. José Berríos threw five solid innings before handing things over to the bullpen, who put together the final touches on the win.

Texas Rangers (8-5) 6, Houston Astros (6-8) 2

Eight Rangers recorded at least one hit, as they put up 11 in total to beat the Astros.

In the first inning, Nathaniel Lowe got things started for Texas with an run-scoring double, kicking off what would be a three-RBI night for him. The Rangers added two more runs in the third after instant replay ruled that Adolis García’s shot off the wall had gone over the yellow line and was a home run.

While the Rangers would pick up a few more runs, they would end up having enough thanks to a good performance from their pitching staff. Martín Pérez put in a solid five innings, with his bullpen putting in a very good effort over the last four frames. Dane Dunning, Will Smith, and José Leclerc combined to get nine-straight outs to retire the Astros’ lineup and seal the win.

Cleveland Guardians (8-6) 4, Washington Nationals (4-10) 3

Despite spotting the Nationals a 3-0 lead, the Guardians rallied over the final couple innings and eventually walked out with a win.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Washington picked up their three runs for the game. Luis García got one of them on a home run, and Alex Call brought home two more after Cleveland had a fielder’s choice play earlier in the inning lead to no out being recorded.

The Guardians struck back with one run in the sixth, and two more in the seventh to even things up. After working out of a jam in the bottom of a the seventh, they took the lead in the eighth on a run-scoring groundout following a fielding error by Nats’ pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. and a Josh Bell double.

In relief of starter Cal Quantrill, Cleveland’s bullpen threw three scoreless innings to finish things off, allowing just two hits and a walk over the final couple frames.

Seattle Mariners (6-8) 5, Colorado Rockies (5-9) 3

A two-run Jarred Kelenic homer in the second inning and a Julio Rodríguez RBI double in the fourth got the Mariners started on the right foot as they beat the Rockies.

Colorado actually got off to a pretty decent start with Kris Bryant’s first inning homer. However, Kelenic gave Seattle the lead in the second inning, and the Mariners picked up three more runs in the third.

The Rockies had a pretty decent shot at a rally in sixth, when they had the bases loaded and just one out, having already gotten one run in the inning. However, the Mariners turned to reliever Matt Brash, who managed to escape that jam with only one other run allowed. The Rockies had no other real chances after that.

Others

• Baltimore Orioles (8-6) 6, Chicago White Sox (5-9) 3: After trailing for much of the game, the Orioles rallied with six runs over the seventh and eighth innings to come away with the win. The big blow came on a bases-loaded Adley Rutschman double that unloaded the bases, and gave the O’s a lead they would hold for good.

• Boston Red Sox (6-8) 5, Los Angeles Angels (7-6) 3: The Angels out-hit the Red Sox 11-5, but Boston pushed across more runs, which is all that matters. Rafael Devers helped lead the way for the Red Sox with his fifth inning home run that gave Boston their first lead of the game.