Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Rays pull out late win over Astros

The Yankees may have gotten Aaron Judge back on Friday night, but it didn’t lead to any improved results just yet. He walked a couple times, but the Yankees were shutout by the Orioles, as they opened their series in Baltimore with a loss.

Now, let’s check in on how some of the Yankees’ AL competition was doing as that disappointing game was unfolding.

Toronto Blue Jays (58-46) 4, Los Angeles Angels (54-50) 1

Shohei Ohtani went deep once again and Lucas Giolito was solid in his Angels’ debut, but it wasn’t enough for them to knock off the Blue Jays.

The Angels got off to the perfect start when Ohtani hit his 39th home runs of the season in just the second at-bat of the game.

However, that ended up being the only run they scored against Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays’ bullpen. They finished the day with an 0-for-11 mark with runners in scoring position.

Toronto tied the game on a Matt Chapman homer in the second and took the lead on a Danny Jansen one in the third. They picked up a couple insurance runs in the late innings, which gave them some breathing room for the ninth inning. In the top of the ninth, the Angels loaded the bases with just one out, for what would’ve been Ohtani’s spot in the lineup. However, he a pinch hitter was sent up in his place, for hopefully not too bad reasons. Toronto, who themselves lost closer Jordan Romano to possible injury during the inning, eventually finished things off after that.

Tampa Bay Rays (63-43) 4, Houston Astros (58-46) 3

After scoring three runs in the first, the Rays were held in check for the next seven innings, as the Astros clawed their way back into the game. However, Tampa Bay’s offense got going just in time to take a ninth inning lead and beat Houston.

The Rays got off to a very quick start, as a Brandon Lowe three-run homer helped Tampa Bay put up a crooked number in the first inning. The Astros answered back with one run in the bottom of the inning, and then tied the game on a José Abreu homer in the fourth. Both team’s pitching then settled in, with Tampa Bay in particular recording just two hits from the second to eighth innings.

In the ninth, though, they finally got something going again as Jose Siri doubled and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly. The Astros put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Pete Fairbanks shut the door after that.

San Diego Padres (50-54) 7, Texas Rangers (60-44) 1

Joe Musgrove held the Rangers scoreless for six innings as the Padres cruised past Texas.

On the offensive side of things, San Diego got Dane Dunning and Rangers’ pitching for seven runs on nine hits, including a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run.

By the time Texas got on the board, it was far too late, as their lone run came in the ninth inning. They did load the bases in the fame, but they didn’t come all that close to making things actually interesting.

Other Games

• Seattle Mariners (53-50) 5, Arizona Diamondbacks (55-49) 2: Big hits from Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy helped the Mariners put up a four-run first inning, after which they never trailed. On the mound, Logan Gilbert did a solid job of preventing runs for Seattle, allowing just two despite giving up nine hits.
• Boston Red Sox (56-47) 3, San Francisco Giants (56-48) 2: Triston Casas drove home two runs as the Red Sox narrowly edged out the Giants. Kutter Crawford outdueled Logan Webb as Boston held on for a one-run win.

AL Central Rock Fight

Chicago White Sox (42-63) 3, Cleveland Guardians (52-52) 0
Kansas City Royals (30-75) 8, Minnesota Twins (54-51) 5 (10 innings)

In the earlier of the two games, the Guardians fell back to .500 as they were shut out by the White Sox. Touki Toussaint went five innings before Chicago’s bullpen finished things off, holding Cleveland to no runs on six hits.

The Twins then missed a golden chance to gain some grown on Cleveland. They seemed to have things going in their favor as they rallied from two runs down in the ninth, and then took a lead in the 10th. However, Jhoan Duran lost the zone in the bottom of the 10th, loading the bases before allowing a walk-off grand slam to Bobby Witt Jr.