For all that can be said about the season as a whole, the Yankees cannot be faulted for their efforts in the final two weeks. With their 6-1 victory over the Orioles in the penultimate game of the regular season, they have now won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11 to apply maximum pressure to the division-leading Blue Jays. The two teams remain tied atop the AL East standings with Toronto holding the tiebreaker, setting up one of the most exciting Game 162 scenarios in recent memory. That race isn’t the only one that will be decided on the final day of the season thanks to the other results around the AL, so let’s jump right into the action.
Toronto Blue Jays (93-68) 5, Tampa Bay Rays (77-84) 1
The Blue Jays and Rays kicked off their contest around the seventh inning of the Yankees game, meaning that news of the Yankees’ win about an hour later could not have escaped the Blue Jays players’ notice. To their credit, if they were aware of the result it didn’t show on the field as they rather comfortably took care of business against the Rays.
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It started with another nails starts from rookie Trey Yesavage, who shone in his MLB debut against the Rays before getting knocked around by the Royals. This start much more closely mirrored that first outing against Tampa Bay, Yesavage tossing five scoreless allowing five hits and two walks against five strikeouts to earn the first win of his career. The Rays had their chances, putting a pair on in the first and loading the bases in the third, but both times the 22-year-old righty slammed the door with a strikeout.
Rays starter Joe Boyle wasn’t nearly as effective, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. Three of those runs came in the second inning with the bottom of the Toronto order did the damage. Addison Barger led off with a single followed by a Davis Schneider walk to put a pair on with no outs. Boyle retired the next two hitters but the reprieve was short-lived, Ernie Clement doubling home both base runners before scoring himself on an Andrés Giménez single.
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After the Blue Jays tacked on another run in the fifth and with Yesavage out of the game, the Rays finally got on the board in the sixth, Jonathan Aranda leading off with a home run. However, that was all the offense Tampa could manage, Alejandro Kirk collecting his own leadoff home run in the seventh to restore the Jays’ four run lead and conclude the scoring for the contest. With the win, Toronto remains in control of the division lead thanks to the tiebreaker, meaning the Yankees have to win and they have to lose for New York to win the division on the final day of the regular season.
Detroit Tigers (87-74) 2, Boston Red Sox (88-73) 1
This matchup featured neither of the teams’ aces and all but guaranteed first and second place finishers in the AL Cy Young race, but the two starters sure pitched like their respective teams’ seasons were on the line. Keider Montero picked a good time for one of his best starts of the season, giving the Tigers 4.1 innings of one-run ball on five hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts, while Boston rookie Connelly Early made the most important start of his life, holding the Tigers to two runs on four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts across five innings in just his fourth big league appearance.
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Fresh off their walk-off win on Friday to clinch a playoff spot, the Red Sox offense looked a tad hungover and managed their lone run in the second. Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a single, advanced to second on a Carlos Narváez single, and scored on a a Nick Sogard single. They could have had more if not for perhaps the catch of the season from Javy Báez — certainly a season-saving catch as he fully laid out into short left to rob David Hamilton of a potential check-swing RBI single.
The Tigers responded in the fifth, Dillon Dingler reaching on a one-out single and advancing to third on a two-out single from Báez. Parker Meadows walked to load the bases, setting up Jahmai Jones for the go-ahead two-run single. It was the biggest hit of what has been a remarkable campaign from the one-time Yankee, Jones posting a 159 wRC+ across 150 plate appearances since carving out a role as an invaluable Swiss Army knife for Detroit. Both bullpens would lock it down from there as the Tigers held on for a 2-1 victory to clinch a playoff spot and avert what looked to be the most stunning late-season collapse in history, going from a 15.5-game lead over Cleveland to the final Wild Card team.
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This marquee series to end the year has massive implications on the AL playoff picture. There is still plenty to play for in Game 162 between these two teams — Detroit can still win its division with a win and a Guardians loss while a Boston win would guarantee them the second Wild Card spot.
Los Angeles Dodgers (92-69) 5, Seattle Mariners (90-71) 3
Neither team had much to play for having wrapped up their respective divisions earlier in the week, but it was still a useful tuneup for likely postseason starters Tyler Glasnow and Logan Gilbert. Shohei Ohtani got a rare night off with Los Angeles resting a fair number of their starters, whereas Seattle remained with pretty much their A-lineup.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the top of the fifth, Miguel Rojas smacking a one-out double and scoring on a Dalton Rushing two-run bomb. Seattle did all of their scoring in the bottom half, Randy Arozarena leading off with a single, Julio Rodríguez following with a one-out single and then stealing his second bag of the game to secure the second 30-30 season of his career, and Jorge Polanco bringing both home with a three-run blast.
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Kiké Hernández knotted the scores at three apiece with an RBI single in the seventh, and it looked like this game might head for extra-innings if not for further heroics from Kiké in the ninth. Michael Conforto and Alex Call drew a pair of walks to open the frame and Kiké drove them both home with an RBI double to account for three of his team’s five runs on the night.
Other Games
Cleveland Guardians (87-74) 3, Texas Rangers (81-80) 2
From 15.5 games back in the division to sitting atop the AL Central with one to play, the Guardians completed the job in the most Guardians way possible. Earlier in the week, they scored three decisive runs against Tarik Skubal and the Tigers without the ball leaving the infield; tonight it was a walk-off hit-by-pitch. After Josh Jung opened the scoring with an RBI double in the top of the first, Cleveland rookie Johnathan Rodríguez picked a hell of a time to launch his second career home run — a two-run blast following a José Ramírez two-out single. Adolis García leveled the score at 2-2 with a solo shot in the fourth, and that’s where this game would remain until the bottom of the ninth.
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Rodríguez walked and Kyle Manzardo singled with two outs, forcing the Rangers to intentionally walk Gabriel Arias to load the bases and get to rookie C.J. Kayfus. With their season hanging in the balance, Kayfus got plunked by an 0-1 fastball to walk it off and ensure Cleveland enters the final day of the regular season as the division leader thanks to the tiebreaker over Detroit.
Houston Astros (86-75) 6, Los Angeles Angels (72-89) 1
For the first time since 2016, the Astros will miss the playoffs. Despite a victory over the Angels, it was too little too late from Houston as Seattle and Cleveland surged to displace them from the playoff picture. They had a 92-percent chance of making the postseason at the Trade Deadline, but six losses in their last seven games entering tonight ultimately eradicated their chances. Christian Walker had the big night with a pair of solo home runs while Zach Cole and Jesús Sánchez also left the yard and each drove in a pair, but it will be a baseball-less October for the squad from H-Town.
As a final note, it might be helpful to recap the different scenarios that can play out on the final day and thus reshape the playoff picture. If the Yankees win and the Blue Jays lose, New York wins the division and Toronto become the top seeded Wild Card team. Any win by the Blue Jays means it’s the Yankees who have to play in the Wild Card round. In that scenario, a Red Sox victory on Sunday means they and the Yankees would face off in the Wild Card round. If the Red Sox lose and the Guardians win, then the Yankees would face the Tigers in the Wild Card whereas a Red Sox loss and Cleveland loss results in a Yankees-Red Sox Wild Card matchup.