After losing on Friday night with yet another substandard offensive showing, the Yankees looked better on Saturday. A four-run second inning that featured big hits from Spencer Jones and Cody Bellinger propelled the Yankees to a fairly comfortable win, as Carlos Rodón was good enough in his five innings.
With the Yankees picking up the victory, were they able to take advantage in the playoff race. Let’s take a look at action around the league on Saturday in the Rivalry Roundup.
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Tampa Bay Rays (85-57) 6, Texas Rangers (70-73) 3 – 10 innings
The Rays snatched away a chance for the Yankees to gain a game, as Jonathan Aranda’s 10th-inning home run gave Tampa Bay the lead back after they had lost a late edge.
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Having scored in the top of the first on a Junior Caminero homer, the Rays led for most of the game. It took the Rangers until the sixth inning to get on the board as Drew Rasmussen was very good for Tampa Bay: one run in seven innings on just three hits.
Texas was down to their last couple outs when Evan Carter homered to start the eighth. Three batters later, Justin Foscue drove home pinch-runner Cam Cauley home with a double, bringing Texas back level. However, the Rangers couldn’t plate that run, nor could they walk off the Rays in the ninth, and that eventually came to haunt them.
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After a sacrifice bunt moved the auto-runner over to start the 10th, Texas and pitcher Jacob Latz decided to intentionally walk Yandy Díaz. That backfired spectacularly, as Aranda crushed a Latz offering to right-center field for a three-run homer. Texas had no answer in the bottom of the inning, and Tampa Bay held their ground in the division.
Other Games
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Boston Red Sox (78-65) 5, Baltimore Orioles (69-74) 0: Sonny Gray threw seven innings of shutout ball to lead the Red Sox to a win over the O’s. It took a little while for Boston’s offense to do anything, as Chris Bassitt was decent himself, but they eventually got him for three runs in the sixth and added on from there. A bases-loaded Eli White single broke the deadlock, as the Red Sox took over from that point. The O’s are suddenly skidding and three games out in the Wild Card.
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Minnesota Twins (68-74) 6, Chicago White Sox (74-68) 4: Munetaka Murakami reached the 30-homer mark for the season, but the Twins got the last laugh on the night. Murakami’s homer helped Chicago get out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but they were held in check for most of the rest of the game, as a Ryan Jeffers homer in the fifth swung the game in Minnesota’s favor.
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AL Rock Fight
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Detroit Tigers (65-77) 6, Cleveland Guardians (72-71): Framber Valdez threw seven strong innings to deal a blow to the Guardians. Valdez allowed just three hits and a walk in seven scoreless frames. Detroit took a lead when Riley Greene homered, but it was fairly close until the late innings, when a three-run eighth gave them a comfortable margin, not that they needed more considering Valdez’s day.
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Arizona Diamondbacks (75-68) 4, Houston Astros (73-70) 3 – 10 innings: Gabriel Moreno drove home a run in the 10th that proved to be the decider in Houston. The Astros led for much of the game, but Arizona scored a run each in the seventh and eighth, eventually sending the game to extra innings. Houston had the meat of their order up in the bottom of the 10th, with Yordan Alvarez leading off, but they had no reply to Moreno’s single.
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Toronto Blue Jays (72-71) 4, Kansas City Royals (63-80) 3: Kazuma Okamoto’s go-ahead single in the seventh inning ended up being the difference as the Jays won in Kansas City. Toronto never trailed in this one, but the Royals did keep answering until Okamoto’s RBI hit ended up being the game-decider. Oh, and because Toronto caught Cleveland in the Wild Card race with dead-even records, they currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Guardians. The season doesn’t end today, but right now, the defending AL champions would surprisingly be back in playoff baseball, after all the messes of 2026.
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