Saturday day was a day that ends in “Y,” so that mean the Yankees’ offense didn’t produce much. Just like Friday, the Blue Jays held the fake Bronx Bombers to just one run, scoring only a bit more than that themselves to take the victory.
The Yankees themselves put in a frustrating performance, but could any teams around them in the standings add to the frustration? Let’s check in with today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.
Baltimore Orioles (60-63) 4, Tampa Bay Rays (74-48) 3- 10 innings
The Orioles did the Yankees another favor and also helped their own Wild Card hopes (the AL really sucks this year), downing the Rays in extra innings.
The teams traded single runs off and on, but the Orioles got the better upper hand and took a 3-2 lead going into the late innings. They held that advantage going into the bottom of the ninth, where Andrew Kittredge picked up two quicks outs. However, Tampa Bay then recorded three-straight singles while down to their last out. The third in that sequence, from Junior Caminero, tied the game up. Kittredge got the third out after that, but the game was now headed to extras.
It didn’t take long for the O’s to strike back and regain the lead. On the second pitch of the top of the 10th, Tyler O’Neill singled to score the automatic runner and put Baltimore back in front. The Orioles then loaded the bases and threatened to put up a crooked number, but failed to, which seemed like it could have ominous consequences.
While O’s reliever Cam Sanders walked one batter, that’s as close as Tampa Bay got to a rally, as Baltimore held onto their lead that time around.
Other Games
- Chicago White Sox (64-58) 4, Detroit Tigers (60-63) 3: Andrew Benintendi’s go-ahead single in the seventh inning ended up being the decider as the White Sox picked up another key win in the AL Central race. Chicago had opened up a 3-1 lead, but the Tigers got back to even on a Gleyber Torres’ double in the fifth. Following Benintendi’s big hit, the White Sox bullpen handled business the rest of the way.
- Seattle Mariners (58-66) 10, Houston Astros (63-61) 4: The Mariners jumped out to a decent lead and tacked on a bunch late to pull away from the Astros and cut into their AL West lead. Led by a Victor Robles’ triple, the M’s put up a four spot in the second and took a 5-1 lead into the later innings. While the Astros would eventually get some of those runs back, Seattle put up another five runs over the eighth and ninth, thanks in part to Cole Young’s 3-for-5 with four RBI game.
- Boston Red Sox (66-57) 4, Pittsburgh Pirates (60-65) 0: While the Yankees didn’t lose ground to Tampa Bay, the Red Sox picked up a full game behind them as Sonny Gray shutout the Pirates. In seven innings, Gray held Pittsburgh to just six hits and a walk while keeping the Bucs off the board. While Wilyer Abreu’s second inning homer gave Boston an early lead, the game remained very close for the majority, as Jared Jones and Pittsburgh’s bullpen kept things close. However, the Red Sox eventually pulled away with a three-run ninth inning, as their bullpen finished off the shutout.