Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Rays light up Justin Verlander

The Yankees and Blue Jays had a chaotic second game of the four game series, with sticky stuff ejections, manager chirps, home runs, and another injury to the Yankees bullpen, but there was plenty of other action around MLB.

Tampa Bay Rays (32-11) 8, New York Mets (20-23) 5

It took two full innings for any runs to be scored in this interleague matchup, but after that point, the fans in attendance got to see runs in every inning after that. The Rays took a 6-0 lead over the course of the third, fourth, and fifth inning, smacking around one of the two highest-paid pitchers in MLB, Justin Verlander.

Brett Baty hit his third home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, but Jose Siri answered that in the top of the sixth with a solo shot as well. Pete Alonso also registered a two-run home run, bringing Jeff McNeil across home plate, to cut the deficit to four runs, but a Rays run in the eighth (making the score 8-3), but the only contribution the Mets received in terms of run scoring in the final half-inning was an Eduardo Escobar two-run home run to cut the Rays lead to 8-5, which would be the final score.

Baltimore Orioles (27-15) 7, Los Angeles Angels (22-21) 3

The Angels came out hot in this game after a big 9-5 win against the Orioles on Monday. Mickey Moniak hit a home run in the first at-bat of the game on a pitch about as close to “right down the middle” as one can throw.

It didn’t take very long for the Orioles to strike back, though, as Ryan O’Hearn hit a home run in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game.

And then, in the bottom of the fourth, Baltimore took the lead. Terrin Vavra brought Gunnar Henderson home on a single to right field, and then Jorge Mateo brought in Vavra on a single to right field as well.

After another run crossed the plate for the Orioles in the fourth, it was Gio Urshela who tried to mount a comeback for the Angels, driving home two runs with a single to right field. However, from then on, it was smooth sailing for Baltimore. With three runs added in the bottom of the sixth inning, including a 109 mph Ryan Mountcastle two-run home run, they won the game 7-3.

Houston Astros (23-19) 7, Chicago Cubs (19-23) 3

The Astros played a very Astros-y game today, with five of their seven runs coming from the top of their lineup in Mauricio Dubón, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker. It was a classic relentless attack from that potent lineup, which is still without Jose Altuve (though the second baseman is now rehabbing).

Cristian Javier pitched six innings and allowed only one run on two total hits with five strikeouts. The one run he allowed came off the bat of Matt Mervis for his first career MLB home run. Seiya Suzuki also tallied a four-bagger that scored two runs in the losing effort.

Boston Red Sox (23-20) 9, Seattle Mariners (21-21) 4

The Red Sox, up to this point, have been rather surprising, sitting with a record over .500, and continuing to play some good baseball against the Seattle Mariners. It didn’t take long for Boston to get on the board. After the top of the first ended with two strikeouts and a lineout, the bottom of the first started with Alex Verdugo reaching on a fielding error and then Masataka Yoshida tripling to bring him home. In the next at-bat, Justin Turner bashed a home run.

Then, two batters later, Triston Casas hit a bomb as well, which was obliterated to right field and would have been a home run in 29/30 parks (ironically, the only place it would not have been a home run is at Coors Field). Quickly, the game was 4-0.

But the Mariners fought back. Never count this fun team out. With runners on first and second base, thanks to a Eugenio Suárez single and a Jarred Kelenic walk, Teoscar Hernández was the second outfielder in this game to hit a triple and drive in runs. And just like the Red Sox in the first inning, the batter immediately after Hernández, Taylor Trammell, hit a two-run homer to tie the game.

Unfortunately for Seattle, though, those were the only runs they would score for the rest of the game. Yoshida would hit an automatic double to bring Verdugo across the plate again, and would soon come home to score on a wild pitch. Jarren Duran then hit a home run to seal the deal. Two more runs crossed the plate in the seventh and eighth innings, but they were just insurance.

Other Matchups

Texas Rangers (26-16) 7, Atlanta Braves (26-16) 4

After a big 12-0 loss to the Braves on Monday, the Rangers bounced back, holding the lethal Braves offense to a third of their previous total. The two teams were tied heading into the bottom of the fourth inning until Adolis García launched a two-run homer over the right field wall, as he so often does. The Rangers went up 6-1 on the Braves before Ronald Acuña Jr. and Sean Murphy both took Jonathan Hernández deep to cut the deficit to 6-4. However, it wasn’t enough, as Ezequiel Duran hit a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth for some insurance and the game ended 7-4.

Chicago White Sox (15-28) 8, Cleveland Guardians (19-22) 3

Lance Lynn has had a rough start to his 2023, but he was good old fashioned innings-eating self on Tuesday night. Through seven innings, he allowed just one earned run while scattering six hits and the White Sox torched Shane Bieber for six runs in the fifth inning, led by a three-run blast from Gavin Sheets and a two-run shot by Jake Burger. Lynn departed two batters into the eighth and was charged with a couple unearned runs, but the Pale Hose took this one fairly easily regardless.

Minnesota Twins (24-19) 5, Los Angeles Dodgers (27-16) 1

After a game that went extra innings on Monday, the Twins, or rather, Kyle Farmer, came back with a determination to beat one of the most talented teams in all of baseball. Farmer gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and by the top of the fifth, Minnesota had a 3-0 lead with one run coming from Willi Castro’s RBI single off Clayton Kershaw and Ryan Jeffers’ sacrifice bunt that brought home a run off Shelby Miller. The Dodgers managed to load the bases in the seventh inning, but nothing came of it as Chris Taylor hit a ball to center field but Michael A. Taylor, one of the league’s fastest outfielders, was there to make a somewhat-awkward catch. Then, it was Farmer again, who sealed the deal by mashing a 78-mph slider to right field, giving the Twins a 5-1 lead.

And just for fun...

Oakland Athletics (10-34) 9, Arizona Diamondbacks (24-19) 8 (12 innings)

Man, if you want to talk about a chaotic game, this is the one for you. The Diamondbacks and Athletics were neck and neck through the first half of the game, with the score being 6-4 in favor of the Diamondbacks at the end of five innings. Both Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had two-run home runs, and on the Oakland side of things, Brent Rooker had an RBI single in the first, Nick Allen had a solo shot in the third (including an excellent defensive play in the fourth), and Ramón Laureano had a solo home run too. But by the top of the seventh inning, the Diamondbacks seemed to be separating. Gabriel Moreno drove in a run off Shintaro Fujinami, and that gave Arizona an 8-4 lead. But the game wasn’t over just yet, as the Athletics loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and Ryan Noda bashed a grand slam to tie things up at 8-8. It took five more innings for the game to finish, as Esteury Ruiz recorded his second walk off hit of the season with the bases loaded for the Athletics once again, giving them their 10th win of the season.