Yankees Rivalry Roundup: James Paxton throws a gem for Red Sox in win over Blue Jays

There ended up being no Yankees baseball on Friday night. Thanks to rain, the planned series opener against the Cardinals got washed out, with the teams set to make it up as part of a doubleheader today.

Despite that, there was other baseball action that went on as normal yesterday. Let’s check out what went down on Friday as the Yankees were staring at the rain.

Boston Red Sox (41-42) 5, Toronto Blue Jays (45-38) 0

James Paxton was dominant for the Red Sox as he threw 7.2 shutout innings as Boston beat the Blue Jays.

Paxton struck out seven batters, as he allowed just three hits and two walks. Only once did Toronto even get runners in scoring position, and that came in the eighth inning during the sequence that finally knocked Paxton out of the game.

As for the Red Sox offense, it took them a while as José Berríos made it a pitcher’s duel for a little while. However, Justin Turner broke the deadlock with a fifth inning homer, which started a bit of a dinger barrage. Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida added homers in the sixth inning, which gave Boston plenty of offense with the way Paxton was going.

Tampa Bay Rays (57-28) 15, Seattle Mariners (38-42) 4

With the game tied through seven innings, the Rays broke things open with a eight-run eighth inning as they downed the Mariners in an impressive win.

The Mariners initially jumped out to a big lead scoring four runs in the second inning. Tom Murphy hit a two-run homer, while J.P. Crawford plated two with an RBI single.

The Rays then slowly but surely began to work their way back into the game. They scored two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and one in the sixth as Josh Lowe tied the game with a homer. Meanwhile, their bullpen — replacing Shane McClanahan after he was knocked out after three innings — settled things down, allowing Tampa Bay to put up their big eighth inning. Then the eighth inning happened...

In total, the Rays brought 13 batters to the plate over the course of the frame, which saw them take complete control. Even the first two outs the Mariners got in the inning came on plays that scored a run for Tampa Bay. The play that the Rays took the lead on came on a play that went down as a “reached on fielder’s choice” but that’s somewhat underselling it.

By the time the inning was over, the Mariners were pretty much out of it and likely demoralized. They even went to former Yankee first baseman/DH Mike Ford as a pitcher for the ninth inning, but that only led to a couple more runs.

Houston Astros (45-37) 5, Texas Rangers (49-33) 3

Mauricio Dubón’s two-RBI double in the sixth inning helped the Astros overtake the Rangers before Houston held on for a win.

After the teams traded runs in the first, Texas opened up a lead in the fourth inning thanks to back-to-back homers from Josh Jung and Jonah Heim. Houston got one run back in the fifth, but then took control in the sixth. José Abreu and Yainer Diaz picked up single to start the frame before Dubón delivered his double to give the Astros the lead. A Jake Meyers sacrifice fly allowed Dubón to score another run before the inning ended.

Now with a lead, the Astros’ bullpen mostly sailed after that. Texas only put one more runner on base over the game’s last four innings, as Houston sealed the win.

Minnesota Twins (41-42) 8, Baltimore Orioles (48-32) 1

A big night at the plate from Byron Buxton and a good outing on the mound from Pablo López helped Minnesota cruise past Baltimore.

The Twins scored a run each in the first two innings, but they really started to break things open in the third. Buxton walked, stole second and then scored on a Alex Kirilloff single, which was followed by a Max Kepler homer. In the fourth, Buxton then when deep himself, hitting a three-run shot that put Minnesota in full control.

Meanwhile, López went six innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks. The lone run he allowed didn’t come until his final inning of work, when his offense had already given him a sizeable lead.

Other Games

• Arizona Diamondbacks (49-34) 6, Los Angeles Angels (44-40) 2: Shohei Ohtani homered for the 30th time on the season, but in general the Angels’ offense was held in check by Arizona. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a home run of his own, hitting a second inning grand slam that propelled the Diamondbacks to a victory.

AL Central Rock Fight

Chicago Cubs (38-42) 10, Cleveland Guardians (39-42) 1

After going into the day tied for the AL Central lead, the Guardians got smoked by the Cubs as eight different Chicago batters recorded at least one hit. The AL Central is still a mess.