Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Blue Jays good, Orioles grand in wins

Well, we have to give the Yankees this: They do at least keep finding new ways to lose. After rallying from down four runs last night, they ended up falling to the Rays after a costly Jake Bauers fumble in left field allowed Tampa Bay to take the lead for good.

Unfortunately, that’s another loss on the tally in what’s been a difficult start to the season. With that in mind, let’s check in on what some of the notable competition in the AL did yesterday.

Toronto Blue Jays (19-14) 4, Pittsburgh Pirates (20-12) 0

Seven shutout innings from Chris Bassitt helped led the Jays past the Pirates in the opener of an interleague series in Pittsburgh.

Toronto led pretty much from wire-to-wire as it took three batters for them to score in the top of the first. With Bo Bichette on after a single, Vladmir Guerrero Jr. singled him home to get the Blue Jays off to a fast start. Daulton Varsho double their lead with an RBI in the fourth, and George Springer added a two-run homer in the fifth.

However with Bassitt on the hill, they really did even need that much offense. The Jays’ started ended up allowing just four hits in seven scoreless innings, striking out five. Toronto’s bullpen followed that with two perfect innings to finish off a win.

Baltimore Orioles (22-10) 9, Atlanta Braves (22-11) 4

A seven-run seventh inning ended up being the difference as the Orioles picked up a win in Atlanta.

The game was low-scoring through the first six innings as pitchers Max Fried and Dean Kremer allowed just two and one runs respectively. However, Cedric Mullins led off the seventh with a homer off Fried, kicking off a big inning for the O’s.

The next three Baltimore hitters all reached base, knocking out Fried. While Braves reliever Joe Jiménez came in and got one out, Anthony Santander delivered a big blow with a grand slam.

Atlanta went on to score three runs in the eighth, but thanks to the Orioles’ big seventh inning, that ended up being too little, too late.

Houston Astros (17-15) 6, Seattle Mariners (15-17) 4

Despite losing a 4-0 lead, the Astros crushed the Mariners hopes as Kyle Tucker’s go-ahead home run in the ninth gave Houston a win.

Early on, it seemed as if Houston might run away with the game, scoring four runs off Seattle ace Luis Castillo. Much as he had in last year’s playoffs, Yordan Alvarez tortured the Mariners, hitting a three-run homer off Castillo in the third inning. The tacked on another run in the fourth when Kyle Tucker dashed home after a throw to second on a Jeremy Peña stolen base attempt.

The Mariners began to work their way back into the game, scoring three runs on Kolten Wong’s bases-loaded double off Cristian Javier in the fifth. They were then down to their last four outs when they started a rally in the eighth. Three-straight two-out singles from Ty France, Jarred Kelenic, and Eugenio Suárez led to a run as Seattle had climbed all the way back.

However in the end, the game played out much like how all over the games in their playoff series last year did: with the Astros ripping out the Mariners’ heart and stomping all over it. To make matters worse, Seattle even seemingly got a lead-off double from Teoscar Hernández in the ninth, only for the play to be reviewed and overturned as it was ruled that he had been tagged out.

Other Games

• Boston Red Sox (20-14) 5, Philadelphia Phillies (15-18) 3: The game was somewhat overshadowed by a fan falling into the Red Sox bullpen and needing to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher, but Boston eventually came away with the win. The Phillies had rallied after falling behind 3-0, but the Red Sox broke a tie with RBI in the sixth from Triston Casas and Enmanuel Valdez, which ended up being enough for a victory.
• Minnesota Twins (19-14) 2, Cleveland Guardians (14-18) 0: Despite Guardians’ starter Peyton Battenfield opening the game with 5.2 perfect innings, the Twins broke that up and then took the lead in the sixth, on their way to a win. Christian Vázquez’s two-out single in the sixth got Minnesota their first runner, and Max Kepler immediately followed that with a home run. That ended up being the difference thanks to a shutout effort from Bailey Ober and the Twins’ bullpen.