The Yankees enjoyed their Monday off, headed to Baltimore for a three-game set with the Orioles. Coming off of a disappointing series against the Jays, albeit with a strong finish, the Bombers have plenty of ground to make up in the East during the final months of the season, though they still hold the top wild card spot in the Junior Circuit.
Despite the Bombers taking the day off, there was plenty of other relevant action to take in on Monday.
Tampa Bay Rays (75-49) 7, Baltimore Orioles (61-64) 6
Tampa Bay staged a solid comeback against the O’s to wrap up their four-game series in the Trop. The O’s had taken the first three games, so the Rays made up an important half-game in the East with their win.
The Orioles opened up scoring with Coby Mayo’s 16th homer, a solo shot in the second. An inning later, however, the Rays answered back with the same from Yandy Díaz. Outside of the solo blasts, the first three innings were quiet for starters Shane McClanahan and Brandon Young. The following innings would be anything but.
In the top half of the fourth, Baltimore plated a pair on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s single through the middle, which put them up 3-1. The Rays punched back immediately in the bottom half, as homers from Ryan Vilade and Jorge Mateo flipped the score and put them up 4-3.
The O’s would not be outdone, as the derby continued in the fifth, as homers from Pete Alonso and Encarnacion-Strand prompted another lead change and had the O’s up once again, 6-4. After holding that lead for a while, the action kicked in once again in the seventh.
With a pair of runners on base, Jonathan Aranda’s single into left field cut the Rays’ deficit to just one, and had them in prime position to take the lead once again. Two Batters later, Jonny DeLuca cashed in on the opportunity, chopping a grounder into left field that scored a pair, and rewarded Tampa Bay with the final lead change of the night.
The win on Monday was Tampa Bay’s 75th of 2026, and with the Yankees off, they netted a free half-game in the East, as they continue to sit on a fairly comfortable cushion.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (67-58) 11, Arizona Diamondbacks (66-60) 1:
Unlike the Rays, the Red Sox cruised to a much easier win on Monday. Scoring in six different innings, with multiple runs in four of them, Boston posted 11 runs while keeping the D-Backs in check. Willson Contreras belted his 25th homer of the season as part of his two-hit night, while Wilyer Abreu and Mickey Gasper each tallied multiple RBIs. On the mound, Brayan Bello was the bulk guy, and did a nice job, allowing just one run across 4.2 innings of work. Like the Rays, the Sox made up a free game on the Yankees with their win.
Chicago Cubs (73-53) 7 Chicago White Sox (65-59) 5(10 innings):
The Cubs won a dramatic game on Monday in this iteration of the Crosstown Classic. The White Sox had control through much of this game, plating five runs, thanks to big days and a pair of homers from Randal Grichuk and Andrew Benintendi. The Cubs scored two early on with homers from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki,, and eventually tied things up late in the game thanks to Nico Hoerner. Crow-Armstrong led things off for the Cubbies in the 10th, and promptly sent the north-siders home happy with a walk-off blast that also secured a 30-30 campaign for the young star.