The Yankees took home a solid win on Friday, scoring in each of the second through fourth innings, while the pitching staff shut out the lowly Athletics. They were able to hold on to their spot atop the American League East for now, amidst a busy day around the junior circuit.

Let’s take a quick look at what went down to kick off the weekend.

Minnesota Twins (40-42) 4, Detroit Tigers (51-32) 1

The Twins took home a solid win on Friday against the first place Tigers. Minnesota peppered the scoreboard in the middle stretch of the ballgame, and kept things quiet on the pitching side.

David Festa and Sawyer Gipson-Long both kept this game scoreless through three innings, but in the top of the fourth the Twins began to make their move, as they tallied a run in each of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. The parade began with a Brooks Lee RBI double, followed by a Byron Buxton solo shot an inning later, his 18th on the year.

Lee grabbed another RBI in the sixth with a single, and the Twins scored their fourth and final run with a safety squeeze in the seventh inning. The combination of some big hits and a little small ball was enough to fuel them on offense, as Festa was able to work 5.2 scoreless innings, racking up six Ks.

It was a big win for the Twins, who are doing their best to creep into the Wild Card race, sitting just a couple of games back following the much-needed victory.

Houston Astros (49-33) 7, Chicago Cubs (48-34) 4

The Astros won on Friday, helping them to build up to a seven game lead in the American League West. They went up early, and did all their damage in the third and fourth innings, taking home a mostly smooth interleague win.

The game was scoreless into the third inning, before Yainer Diaz made perhaps the decisive swing, producing a three-run blast to give Houston a lead they would never surrender.

They left the third inning up 4-0, and added three more in the fourth when Cam Smith belted his sixth homer of the season, another three-run shot that put them up 7-0. All the while, Brandon Walter was delivering an excellent start, tossing six innings of one-run ball.

The Cubs were able to rack up four total runs after the fifth inning, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early damage, as Josh Hader ultimately locked down his 22nd save of the season.

Other Games

Baltimore Orioles (35-46) 22, Tampa Bay Rays (46-36) 8: The O’s took out a season’s worth of frustration out against Tampa Bay. Although the Rays once held a 6-0 lead, they ultimately lost by 14 runs, as the Orioles plated 22 runs. They scored 17 in their final four innings, with the big performance coming from Gunnar Henderson and old friend Gary Sánchez, who each had four hits and a homer in this one.

St. Louis Cardinals (45-38) 5, Cleveland Guardians (40-40) 0: The Guardians were utterly dominated by Sonny Gray on Friday. The veteran right-hander went the distance, tossing a complete game shutout on less than 90 pitches, and he struck out 11 batters along the way. It was about as good as it gets for Gray, as he helped to sink Cleveland back to .500.

Toronto Blue Jays (44-37) 9, Boston Red Sox (40-43) 0: The Red Sox were also held out of the run column, as they sink to three games under .500 with the loss. José Berríos tossed seven excellent shutout innings, and George Springer racked up a couple of RBI, keeping the Jays very much involved in the AL playoff picture.

Seattle Mariners (42-39) 7, Texas Rangers (40-42) 6: It took 12 innings, but the Mariners took home a hard fought victory on the road in Texas. Logan Gilbert grinded through 5.1 innings, but their 16 hits were ultimately enough to get the job done, highlighted by six hits between JP Crawford and Julio Rodríguez.