Yankees Rivalry Roundup: O’s extend lead with late homer

The Yankees got blitzed by the Dodgers in their series opener, giving up six runs in the first inning. It was basically over from there, though Josh Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton had good showings in their return to the lineup at least. Meanwhile, their rivals were active before things even kicked off on the West Coast — aside from the Rays and Red Sox, who got rained out. Let’s see what went down:

Baltimore Orioles (36-21) 3, San Francisco Giants (28-29) 2

The Giants had the pitching advantage entering this game, sending Logan Webb to the mound against Baltimore’s Dean Kremer. A pitching duel was in store instead, with both starters holding firm for six innings and only two runs given up.

Webb’s runs came in the second inning, when the O’s got a leadoff double, a walk, and a pair of singles to push across two. Kremer got touched up in the first and the third inning, the former being a LaMonte Wade Jr. solo shot and the latter a Mike Yastrzemski double to right. The O’s went to their bullpen for the seventh, but Webb went back out for one more frame, and it ended up being a mistake — Gunnar Henderson greeted him with a solo shot to open the inning and put Baltimore up for good. A trio of relievers held that one-run lead in check and secured the win for Baltimore.

Toronto Blue Jays (31-27) 3, New York Mets (30-28) 0

Chris Bassitt took it to his former team, absolutely dealing for 7.2 shutout innings. He allowed just three hits, none of which came in the same inning, and walked none while striking out eight. Justin Verlander also had a strong outing, going six innings and allowing only one run on a leadoff homer to George Springer. That score held until the ninth inning, when Jeff Brigham entered the game and served up a two-run shot to Daulton Varsho. That made Jordan Romano’s job easier in the bottom of the ninth, and he managed to coast around a Pete Alonso single to secure the save.

Houston Astros (34-23) 6, Los Angeles Angels (30-29) 2

Contrary to how most of these recaps go, this was not the “Trout and Ohtani do incredible things while the Angels lose” show. Instead, the team’s superstars both went 0-for-4 and Ohtani got roughed up on the mound as well to the tune of five runs over six innings. Yordan Alvarez got to him early with a two-run shot in the first inning, and Corey Julks saw him out with a two-run shot of his own in the sixth. The Angels rallied for two runs in the eighth inning on singles from Brandon Drury and Taylor Ward, but it was too little, too late for a comeback.

Other Games:

Texas Rangers (36-20) 2, Seattle Mariners (29-28) 0: It’s hard to score when you only get three hits, but Jon Gray kept the Mariners off-balance all day. Luis Castillo was also in his typical ace form, but a single run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth put him in line for the loss. Corey Seager added an insurance run in the eighth, and Will Smith closed it out with ease.

Minnesota Twins (31-27) 1, Cleveland Guardians (25-32) 0: Bailey Ober and Aaron Civale both turned in stellar pitching performances, though the latter exited after just five innings after returning from the IL. The Twins finally broke through in the seventh on a Jorge Polanco double, and they managed to preserve their slim lead the rest of the way.