Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Astros take another from the O’s

The Yankees got off the schneid and took care of business against Atlanta on Saturday night, looking far better than they did in their poor showings in the previous couple nights. Those two games were lost to the O’s and Braves by a combined score of 25-6, but yesterday, the Yankees dispatched the Braves by a clean 8-3 score. Did they once again lose masher Giancarlo Stanton for a little while too, though? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Elsewhere, the Yankees got a little help from an unlikely source in their division title hopes. Read on for more.

Houston Astros (37-40) 5, Baltimore Orioles (49-27) 1

The O’s and ‘Stros slugged it out for 25 total runs on Friday, ultimately in favor of Houston. Saturday wasn’t much more fun for the Orioles, but it was a bit friendlier to both pitching staffs. The ever-impressive Corbin Burnes was on the hill for the Orioles, but the Astros bats were too much to handle.

Both squads tallied their first runs in the second inning, when Jordan Westburg swatted a solo homer, his 12th of the season, for Baltimore, and Mauricio Dubón plated a run for Houston with a sac fly. The Astros took a lead they would never give up when the third inning rolled around. Yordan Alvarez punished a Burnes mistake 440 feet into center field — it was a two run blast that put Houston up 3-1.

It was a big afternoon for Chas McCormick as well, as the other two runs in this one came off of his bat. In the fifth, he blasted a 3-2 pitch up and over the Crawford Boxes in left, and in the eighth he swatted a ball into the right field seats for some more insurance.

Meanwhile, Ronel Blanco did all the ‘Stros could ask for on the mound, giving up just the one run in his seven innings of work. On the flip side, this was Burnes’ first start of the year allowing more than three earned runs, making the W all the more earned for Houston. The Orioles’ loss combined with the Yankees’ win to drop them a game and a half behind New York in the AL East.

Seattle Mariners (45-34) 9, Miami Marlins (26-50) 0

On the heels of a tough loss to the last place Marlins, the Mariners turned around and pummeled the Fish in south Florida. A combination of a gem from Logan Gilbert and nine runs was more than enough to get it done.

An odd start in the first inning saw the Mariners go up 2-0 thanks to a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Cal Raleigh. They began to run away with things in the fourth inning, when they added four more runs. Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss both plated a run with singles, while the M’s got two more thanks to an error by Marlins’ first baseman Josh Bell.

The dribbler under the glove put Seattle up 6-0, while Gilbert was spinning a gem. The talented right-hander ultimately got through eight scoreless innings of work, striking out six while allowing four hits to the Marlins. It was his second straight outing of eight scoreless innings, so clearly Gilbert is finding his grove as we head to the midpoint of the season.

A homer from Canzone and a pair of runs in the ninth put the M’s up 9-0, and that would be all she wrote in this one. The Mariners maintained their spot in first place, while the other sea-bearers from Miami dropped their 50th game of the season.

Other Games

Pittsburgh Pirates (37-39) 4, Tampa Bay Rays (37-40) 3: The Rays and Pirates, with surprisingly similar records dueled out a close one on Saturday. Jared Jones flashed his excellent stuff for the Buccos, striking out eight over seven innings, while an Oneil Cruz homer and a three-run third inning was enough for the Pirates to scrape by.

Texas Rangers (36-40) 6, Kansas City Royals (42-36) 0: Logan Gilbert wasn’t the only AL West righty who kept things scoreless in their outing Saturday, as Jon Gray tossed six scoreless while giving up just two hits for the Rangers. The big hit for Texas came off the bat of Wyatt Langford, who swatted a grand slam in the eighth inning.

Boston Red Sox (41-36) 4, Cincinnati Reds (36-40) 3: The Red Sox have temporarily suppressed their .500 curse, winning another in Cincy on Saturday. The Reds got on the board first with a pair of blasts from Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz, but four unanswered runs after the fifth inning surged the Sox ahead in the end, including a homer from famed Red Sock Dominic Smith.

Cleveland Guardians (48-26) 6, Toronto Blue Jays (35-41) 3: The Guardians added on to their significant Central lead with a win over the Jays. Ben Lively gutted through 5.2 innings, while a quartet of homers from the Guardians was enough to cruise past the last place Jays in northeast Ohio.