As the Yankees made one move to try and shore up a hole on Friday with a trade for third baseman Ryan McMahon, some other holes reemerged in the action on the field. Another struggle session from the Yankees’ bullpen turned a game the Yankees led for a decent chunk into a 12-5 loss to the Phillies in the series opener. The loss continued the Yankees’ recent struggles and also showcased a pretty blatant weakness the team needs to address before the trade deadline.
Elsewhere around baseball, the Yankees did get a bit of help, so let’s see what went down on Friday with today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.
Los Angeles Dodgers (61-43) 5, Boston Red Sox (55-50) 2
The Dodgers at least gave the Yankees a hand, as Teoscar Hernández’s three-RBI game helped them beat the Red Sox at Fenway.
After a Tommy Edman single gave LA the lead in the second, they opened up a 3-0 lead thanks to a bases-loaded Hernández walk and an Andy Pages sacrifice fly in the third inning. Boston struck back with two runs in the bottom of the third courtesy of RBI hits from Jarren Duran and Alex Bregman. That ended up being most of their offense, though.
Boston had plenty of innings in which they could’ve tied or taken the lead, but they couldn’t manage another breakthrough against Emmet Sheehan or the Dodgers’ bullpen. Eventually, Hernández went deep as the Dodgers got some breathing room and sealed the win.
Toronto Blue Jays (62-42) 6, Detroit Tigers (60-45) 2
As the Yankees’ issues continued, the Blue Jays stayed hot as they picked up another win over the Tigers, taking over the best record in baseball in the process.
While Detroit did briefly lead thanks to a Dillon Dingler RBI double, Toronto took full control over the course of the fourth and fifth innings. An Addison Barger double and a Tigers’ error allowed the Jays to score two in the fourth, before they broke things open in the fifth. Bo Bichette led the way with a two-RBI double as part of a four-run fifth for Toronto.
The Tigers picked up another run off José BerrÃos before the Jays’ starter left, but he was solid other than that, allowing just two runs on five hits in six innings. Toronto’s bullpen combined to face the minimum over the last three innings, sealing another win for them.
Athletics (44-62) 15, Houston Astros (60-44) 3
The Athletics’ Nick Kurtz put up one of the all-time great statline games, going 6-for-6 with four home runs as the A’s blew out the Astros.
The team formerly known as Oakland jumped all over Houston early, scoring nine runs over the first four innings. Kurtz actually only hit one of his homers as part of that barrage, but did drive in four and score three runs in that time.
As the A’s then kept piling on the runs, it fully became the Kurtz show. He also went deep in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings, becoming the first rookie to record a four home run game.
At no point was Houston ever truly in this game, as they surrendered another 10 hits, not even counting what Kurtz did.
Other Games
Cincinnati Reds (54-50) 7, Tampa Bay Rays (53-51) 2: Four hits from Elly De La Cruz and three RBI from Tyler Stephenson led the Reds to an interleague win over the Rays. While Tampa Bay kept things close early, Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez managed to string together a solid outing, while the Rays’ Zack Littell did not. The Reds eventually pulled away over the last couple innings to pick up the win.
Los Angeles Angels (50-54) 3, Seattle Mariners (55-49) 2 – 10 innings: Zach Neto’s walk-off single won it for the Angels, after the very nearly blew a chance in the 10th. Neto was their last chance in the inning after a fielder’s choice play immediately proceeding Neto’s at-bat ended with an out at home.