The Yankees offense came alive in the middle game against the Cardinals, dropping a dozen runs to set up a chance for the sweep. Ben Rice tied a career high with seven RBIs while Aaron Judge finally got to check St. Louis off his list as the final MLB team to homer against. It’s a good thing they won, with the Blue Jays and Red Sox also victorious to hold serve in the division, though there were results elsewhere that had implications on the Wild Card race.
Toronto Blue Jays (73-51) 14, Texas Rangers (61-63) 2
The Blue Jays were simply too much to handle for Patick Corbin, the lefty starter giving up seven runs on eight hits in just 2.1 innings. Jon Gray didn’t fare much better, ceding four runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings as the first man out of Texas’ bullpen. That made Eric Lauer’s job pretty straightforward, and he still gave the Blue Jays five innings of one-run ball.
A lot of the damage was done in the second inning, Toronto batting around and scoring six, the big blow a Myles Straw three-run homer.
The Blue Jays continued to pour it on from there. Straw homered in his next at-bat, this one a two-run variety in the third. They scored three more in the fifth that included a Daulton Varsho two-run bomb and then three in the seventh on a three-run blast from Davis Schneider as the ball was truly flying out of the Rogers Centre. Meanwhile, the Rangers have gone 1-7 since taking two of three from the Yankees to fall back below .500.
Boston Red Sox (68-56) 7, Marlins (58-65) 5
The Red Sox jumped on Cal Quantrill for seven runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings, the second time in his last three starts that Quantrill has given up seven runs. Masataka Yoshida opened the scoring in the first with a two run single. Then in the third, Jarren Duran slugged an RBI double and Trevor Story a three-run homer to go up, 6-0.
Alex Bregman tacked on another run with an RBI single in the fourth to make this one look like a laugher. However, the Marlins steadily clawed back starting with a solo shot from Troy Johnston in the fifth, the first big league home run of the rookie’s career. AgustÃn RamÃrez added his own solo shot to lead off seventh, setting up a grandstand finish in the ninth. RamÃrez singled to lead off and advanced to second on a Heriberto Hernández single. Eric Wagaman drove both home with a triple and came around to score on a Derek Hill RBI single, and just like that the Marlins brought the tying run to the plate. However, Javier Sanoja to ground out to end the game as Miami has gone 3-10 since sweeping the Yankees.
Houston Astros (69-54) 5, Baltimore Orioles (56-67) 4
A day after Orioles starter Brandon Young carried a perfect game into the eighth inning, the Astros responded by walking off Baltimore in 12 innings. Houston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a Carlos Correa RBI single in the second and RBI singles from Jacob Melton and Correa in the fourth. A Dylan Carlson two-run blast in the fifth drew Baltimore within one, but Jose Altuve connected on a solo shot in the seventh to double their advantage. Jackson Holliday came up big with a two-run shot in the eighth and this game was off to extras.
Both sides traded zeroes for the first three innings of extras, leading to one of the more unique walk-off endings you are likely to see. In the bottom of the 12th, Keegan Akin intentionally walked Altuve and Christian Walker to load the bases with one out. It looked like he got just the double play ball needed to escape the jam, but Holliday’s relay throw from second to first was wild and the game was over.
Detroit Tigers (73-52) 8, Minnesota Twins (57-66) 5
The Tigers went 4-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 men on base and still won this one with relative comfort. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead through three, Spencer Torkelson kicking things off with an RBI single in the first followed by a Kerry Carpenter home run to lead off the third.
However, the Twins snatched the lead in the fifth, Brooks Lee first tying the game with a two-run triple before scoring the go-ahead run on a Byron Buxton sac fly. Detroit responded by scoring four unanswered, one in the sixth on a Riley Greene sac fly with the bases loaded and then three in the seventh on a Trey Sweeney RBI single, Jahmai Jones RBI double, and run-scoring wild pitch. Minnesota responded with a pair in the bottom-half to once again cut the deficit to one. However, Detroit grabbed both those runs back in the ninth as the pinch-hitting Jones contributed run-scoring hits in both his ABs.
New York Mets (65-58) 3, Seattle Mariners (68-56) 1
The Mets finally halted their skid thanks to a remarkable start from Nolan McLean on his MLB debut. The 24-year-old rookie righty threw 5.1 scoreless allowing two hits and four walks against eight strikeouts. Francisco Lindor opened the scoring with an RBI double in the third. New York added a further pair in the seventh on a Juan Soto sac fly and Pete Alonso RBI double, while Eugenio Suárez gave Seattle a consolation run with a solo home run in the ninth.
Atlanta Braves (55-68) 10, Cleveland Guardians (63-59) 1
The Braves exploded for ten runs, eight of those going on Slade Cecconi’s ledger as the Cleveland starter allowed ten hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. Ronald Acuña Jr., Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris II, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Nick Allen all had multi-hit nights for Atlanta. Allen kicked things off with a two-run double in the second and Harris made it a formality with a three-run tank in the fifth.