The heavens opened up in New York yesterday, delivering unto us severe storms and a Yankees win after a couple delays. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to go into the activity of scoreboard watching with a win in hand, knowing that it’s all gravy if the Yankees’ rivals falter across the league. Let’s go through what you may have missed on Thursday.

Athletics (31-46) 6, Houston Astros (43-32) 4 (ten innings)

After an encouraging start to the year, the Athletics have been just dreadful, going 10-29 over their previous 39 games. They sat at 30-46 entering last night’s game, looking up at the Astros, who as usual had assumed midseason command of the AL West. But even as a season slips away, you’ll occasionally find games that keep the fire going. The A’s and Astros played a thriller, with the Athletics coming out on top to salvage a split in the four-game set.

The A’s put together a solid offensive showing against Houston starter Colton Gordon, and indeed, their offense hasn’t been the problem this year, their 108 wRC+ ranking fourth in the AL. Willie MacIver and Lawrence Butler got the party started in the second, each of them stroking high-arching home runs off Gordon, MacIver’s dinger the first of his career:

Meanwhile, lefty Jacob Lopez had his finest start of the season for the A’s, holding the Astros to one run over six innings while striking out nine, departing with a 2-1 lead. The 27-year-old has flashed a little bit this year, punching out 49 over 36 innings.

The A’s tacked on after Lopez’s departure. MacIver was involved again, driving a run in with a forceout in the sixth. And in the seventh, it was young Jacob Wilson’s turn to star, driving his ninth homer of the year deep into the night for a 4-1 lead:

The A’s were in the driver’s seat, and with two down and two on in eighth, they wasted no time going to Mason Miller for a four-out save. But Victor Caratini turned things around with one mammoth swing:

The game went to extras, and Michael Kelly gave the A’s a chance, working out of a two-on one-out jam by getting Jake Meyers to ground into a double play. Nick Kurtz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the tenth with the winning run 90 feet away and one down. It was a tough assignment for the rookie, a lefty swinger facing Josh Hader, perhaps the most intimidating lefty reliever in the game. But Kurtz delivered one last big swing:

Kurtz’s ninth of the year gave the A’s a dramatic 6-4 walk-off win. For a late-night matchup featuring a team that’s already achieved also-ran status, this was quite a fun contest.

Detroit Tigers (48-27) 9, Pittsburgh Pirates (29-46) 2 [Game 1]

With both Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes lined up to start on Thursday, Pittsburgh and Detroit could have given us a matchup of arguably the two very best starting pitchers in baseball. Instead, Skubal went in game one of the doubleheader with Skenes lined up for the nightcap, and Skubal and the Tigers cruised to an easy victory to start off their afternoon.

It was mostly business as usual for Skubal, though the lefty did encounter some trouble. He loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, needing a strikeout and flyout to escape unscathed. Skubal pretty much settled in from there, retiring 12 of 13 at one point before allowing a single to Billy Cook and a double to Nick Gonzales in the fifth, allowing the Pirates to get on the board.

But by then, Detroit had already opened up a gap, hanging seven runs on Andrew Heaney over four innings. Most of the damage came in the second, as the Tigers loaded the bases with one out in a 1-0 game. Gleyber Torres drove in one with a sac fly, before a walk to Jahmai Jones loaded the bases again. Riley Greene delivered the big blow with a bases-clearing double:

The Tigers would tally two more in the fifth, on Zach McKinstry’s solo homer, his eighth, and on Colt Keith’s sac fly that put Detroit up 9-1. Pittsburgh scored a pyrrhic victory, Tommy Pham’s sac fly in the bottom of the sixth scoring a run and chasing Skubal after just 5.2 innings. But the Pirates could do little against relievers Carlos Hernández and Dylan Smith, and the Tigers eased to a 9-2 victory.

Pittsburgh Pirates (30-46) 8, Detroit Tigers (48-28) 4 (10 innings) [Game 2]

In the nightcap, it looked like it would be the same old story for Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes impresses, but is let down by his shoddy supporting cast. Indeed, Skenes pitched well enough to win only to see his bullpen blow a lead, but a late extra-innings rally allowed the Pirates to salvage a doubleheader split.

Detroit went with an opener strategy but saw it backfire, Tyler Holton allowing three runs as an opener, and Skenes ultimately being handed a 4-0 lead after two. Skenes was dominant early, striking out six over his first four frames and carrying a shutout into the fifth when the Tigers got on the board. Skenes issued two walks in the fifth, and with two down Gleyber came up with a big two-run double:

Skenes would exit after six having allowed two runs, striking out nine but walking five in what wasn’t his sharpest start. He was in line for a rare win, but Isaac Mattson gave up a back-breaking game-tying two-run shot to Keith in the seventh:

The Pirates felt destined to waste another Skenes start, but the game got to extras, and following a rain delay, Pittsburgh surged in front with a big top of the 10th. Brant Hurter gave up four runs on four hits, Ke’Bryan Hayes coming up with the winning run with an RBI single, and Joey Bart and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also driving in runs. David Bednar recorded the final five outs for the Pirates to secure the win.

Other Games

Baltimore Orioles (32-42) 4, Tampa Bay Rays (41-34) 1: The Orioles managed to shrug off a devastating loss on Wednesday night (one that saw them squander an 8-0 lead) thanks to some sharp starting pitching and one timely big swing. Charlie Morton turned in one of his best starts in what’s been a trying season, holding the Rays to one run over six innings, striking out seven while walking none. Drew Rasmussen was effective for Tampa, and the game went to the sixth tied at one. There, Rasmussen allowed a single to Gunnar Henderson, and reliever Edwin Uceta came on and issued a walk. With two down and in an 0-2 count, Colton Cowser impressively barreled a high fastball deep into the Tampa night:

Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker and Félix Bautista held on for Baltimore as the Orioles continue to try and march back toward .500. Unfortunately, this game was marred by a scary incident in which Rays pitcher Hunter Bigge was struck by a lined foul ball in the seventh inning. Bigge was conscious and flashed a thumbs-up sign as he was carried off the field on a stretcher.

Arizona Diamondbacks (37-37) 9, Toronto Blue Jays (40-34) 5: The D-backs did themselves and the Yankees a favor, cruising past Toronto in the finale of this series to avoid a sweep. Ryne Nelson fired 5.2 innings of one-run, one-hit ball, while his offense hit Kevin Gausman hard. Eugenio Suárez in particular had a day, smashing a two-run homer in the second and a two-run double in the third. Pavin Smith added a two-run shot in the sixth as Gausman ultimately exited after 4.1 innings having allowed seven runs on seven hits and three walks. The right-hander has been shaky of late, with his ERA inflating to 4.60. Alejandro Kirk, who went 3-for-4, and Jonatan Clase each went deep late as the Jays cut into the deficit to make the final score look a bit closer.

San Francisco Giants (42-33) 2, Cleveland Guardians (37-36) 1: This one was nip and tuck the whole way, the Guardians clipping Logan Webb for a run in the third on Carlos Santana’s RBI single and trying to hold on from there. Gavin Williams did his part, firing six shutout innings, but the Giants finally broke through against Matt Festa and Nic Enright in the seventh. In a 2-2 count with two on and one down, Wilmer Flores came through with a huge two-run double that would prove to be the difference in the game. Randy Rodríguez and Camilo Doval pitched clean eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as the Giants notched their first win since trading for Rafael Devers. Webb earned the win with seven sparkling innings of one-run ball, striking out nine and walking none.

Minnesota Twins (37-37) 12, Cincinnati Reds (39-36) 5: Byron Buxton led an onslaught on Nick Martinez and the Reds. Buxton homered twice off Martinez in the first two innings, and Kody Clemens went deep against Martinez as well, with Minnesota chasing the right-hander after just 2.2 innings after allowing seven runs. Chris Paddack was shaky for the Twins, allowing four runs over five innings, including a two-run shot from Gavin Lux in the third, but he didn’t need to be sharp as the Minnesota offense rolled. Buxton finished 3-for-6, while Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-5 with four driven in, and Carlos Correa went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.