Alas, after a brilliant week in which they bashed the league’s cellar-dwellers as their top division rivals had a more bumpy time, the Yankees’ seven-game winning streak came to an end yesterday. While it was always a little unrealistic to expect the Yankees to sweep both the Nationals and White Sox (as the 2024 Pale Hose could attest, even the truly worst teams generally win once out of every four games), it was still disappointing to see them fall in the finale in Chicago, and as you’ll see later on, it cost them some ground as we come to the final stretch in the playoff race. Here’s what went down on Sunday.
Toronto Blue Jays (79-58) 8, Milwaukee Brewers (85-53) 4
The league-leading Brewers looked great for the first two games in Toronto, and they sent Brandon Woodruff to the mound with a good shot at a sweep. Instead, the Blue Jays battered Woodruff to salvage the final game.
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William Contreras had Milwaukee up early, his 17th homer of the year putting the Brewers ahead 2-0 in the first. But Toronto responded with force in the home half. With two on and two out, Nathan Lukes doubled down the line to tie it, and Ernie Clement followed with an RBI single to put Toronto up 3-2. George Springer added an RBI double in the second, though in the third, it was Milwaukee’s turn to respond. Brice Turang led off with a solo shot, and after a Jackson Chourio double, Contreras tied the game at four with a single.
But given a reprieve, Woodruff just couldn’t hold. Three consecutive singles from Springer, Addison Barger, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the fourth nudged Toronto back in front 5-4. Woodruff went back out for the fifth, and with two on and one down, he gave up an RBI double to Tyler Heineman. Myles Straw at last chased Woodruff from the game with a two-run single.
After all that action early on, things settled down once the bullpens got involved. Tobias Myers was solid in relief, tossing 2.2 shutout innings to give Milwaukee’s offense a chance to get back into the game, but no rally materialized. The Brewers were unable to get a runner as far as scoring position against Toronto’s bullpen until the ninth, at which point it was too little too late. Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman worked around a couple hits to close it out, and Toronto extended their AL East lead back to three games (3.5 over Boston).
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Boston Red Sox (76-62) 5, Pittsburgh Pirates (61-77) 2
The Yankees had to be thrilled that the Pirates managed to take the first two games of this series in Boston from the Red Sox, but Pittsburgh couldn’t quite get the sweep across the finish line. Lucas Giolito turned in a solid start while the Red Sox used one big inning against Mitch Keller to salvage a game.
Giolito turned in six innings of one-run ball, dealing with some wildness but doing enough to keep the Pirates off the board. They only damaged him in the fourth inning thanks to Giolito shooting himself in the foot, as Giolito walked the bases loaded with two outs before letting a run in with a wild pitch.
That’s all Pittsburgh would manage off Giolito, and the Red Sox responded against Keller in the fifth. Roman Anthony grounded in a run with runners on second and third with one out to tie the game. Keller had a chance to stop the bleeding there, but he hit Alex Bregman with a pitch to bring up Jarren Duran. Duran roped one into the right-center gap, the ball feeding all the way to the triangle at Fenway. Pittsburgh’s outfielders fumbled with the ball briefly, and Duran was absolutely on his horse the whole way, motoring home with an inside-the-park home run:
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Ceddanne Rafaela would chip in an RBI single in the sixth for a bit more insurance as the Red Sox cruised from there. Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth while Aroldis Chapman tossed a scoreless ninth for his 27th save.
Los Angeles Angels (64-72) 3, Houston Astros (75-62) 0
A day after Kyle Hendricks and Spencer Arrighetti turned in a surprising pitcher’s duel in Houston, we got another great pitching matchup, with Astros ace Hunter Brown squaring off with the Angels José Soriano. Though not a big name, Soriano quietly has looked like a very solid major-league starter, and he outdid Brown as the Angels took another from their division rivals.
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Soriano flat-out dominated Houston, firing seven shutout innings while allowing just one hit and striking out eight. The right-hander leads with a power sinker that sits between 97 and 98 mph, which he used to get ahead of the count against the Astros, before finishing them off with his curve:
Brown was strong on the other side, allowing just one run over six innings, the damage a home run from Oswald Peraza, the former Baby Bomber putting together a great series:
That was the only scoring until the eighth, when the Angels put up a couple of insurance runs. Lance McCullers Jr. struggled with his command in relief, allowing two walks and a hit-by-pitch in the eighth inning. The Angels took advantage, with Mike Trout doubling home a run and Luis Rengifo adding an RBI single to make it 3-0. Houston never looked like rallying, and Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save and the 472nd of his career (six behind Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third all-time).
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Detroit Tigers (80-58) 5, Kansas City Royals (70-67) 0
The Tigers had had a tough week, losing five of six, so they had just the man they wanted on the mound on Sunday to turn things around. Tarik Skubal was outstanding again as Detroit took two of three in Kansas City.
Skubal fired seven shutout to lead Detroit, though the shape of his start was somewhat atypical. Skubal gave up just four hits and two walks, but only struck out four, his third-lowest mark in a game this year. He generated eight whiffs, roughly half his usual output for a start. Instead, Skubal played the role of contact manager, avoiding the Royals’ barrels and rarely finding himself in trouble despite the relative lack of swing and miss.
Michael Wacha initially matched Skubal frame for frame, and the game went to the fifth scoreless when Detroit finally broke through. After a Spencer Torkelson walk and Zach McKinstry single, Jake Rogers sent one off the wall in center for a two-run triple:
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Colt Keith followed with an RBI double, and Gleyber Torres an RBI single to chase Wacha and put the Tigers up 4-0. That would be more than enough for Skubal and Co., Kyle Finnegan working the eighth and Rafael Montero the ninth as Detroit eased to the finish.
Other Games
Seattle Mariners (73-64) 4, Cleveland Guardians (68-67) 2
It was a tight series in Cleveland, the Guardians taking the first two games by just one run but Seattle managing to avoid a sweep on Sunday. Cleveland struck first, Daniel Schneemann hitting a two-run homer off Bryce Miller in the third inning for a 2-0 lead. But that’s all Miller would allow, as he navigated six innings while allowing just two hits. Randy Arozarena tied the game in the fifth with a two-run dinger of his own off Tanner Bibee, and Julio Rodríguez drove in the winning runs with a two-run single in the seventh off Matt Festa, with both runs charged to Bibee. Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, and Andrés Muñoz were all perfect for the Mariners, Muñoz recording his 32nd save. With Houston losing, Seattle sits just two back of the Astros in the AL West as September begins.