The Red Sox look to be on the right track again. The Yankees look to take another series. The Blue Jays continue their west coast trip against a wild card contender. Let’s see what happened over the weekend and what’s to come this week in the American League East.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
Shane McClanahan went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs in Friday’s win against the Twins. Nelson Cruz went 2-for-4 and hit his 24th home run. Kevin Kiermaier went 2-for-5 and hit his 3rd home run of the season. Mike Zunino went 2-for-4 and hit his 24th home run. Evan Phillips got his first save by pitching the last three innings. The Rays won 10-4.
Michael Wacha went five innings and gave up seven runs against the Twins. The Rays offense only had three hits in the 12-0 loss.
Luis Patino went three innings and gave up two runs in the series finale. Wander Franco went 2-for-4 and hit his 6th home run. Zunino hit his 25th home run and went 2-for-4. Randy Arozarena went 2-for-5. The Rays lost 5-4 in a walk-off after they tied the game in the 7th inning.
Fun Fact: If you or anyone you know watches the show, The Bachelorette, game three will be sort of part of a 1-on-1 date the new bachelorette, Michelle, has with one of the guys as her love journey is being filmed. They threw the ceremonial first pitch of the game.
(UPDATE): Michelle and Joe Coleman just received jerseys from the Twins mascot, TC Bear, and threw out the first pitch. Then kissed. Ooooo kissy kissy pic.twitter.com/SL7vOwxiEY — RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) August 15, 2021
The next series will be against the Orioles back in Tampa. The White Sox enter Tropicana Field over the weekend.
BOSTON RED SOX
The O’s came into Fenway just to be swept. Nick Pivetta went six innings and gave up one run. Kyle Schwarber was reinstated from the IL and made his Red Sox debut. He went 0-for-2. Bobby Dalbec went 3-for-4. Hunter Renfroe hit his 20th home run and went 2-for-4. Jarren Duran went 2-for-4. Garrett Richards pitched the last three innings without giving up a run. The Red Sox won 8-1.
It was Sale day on Saturday. Chris Sale made his first start since his last in August 2019. He went five innings and gave up two runs. Alex Verdugo went 4-for-5. J.D. Martinez went 2-for-5 and hit his 22nd home run of the season. Schwarber had the day off. Dalbec hit two home runs in the game. Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-3. The Red Sox won 16-2.
Feelin' (HR) 22 💣 pic.twitter.com/sxdPxTDLhm — Red Sox (@RedSox) August 14, 2021
The Red Sox completed the sweep against the Orioles. Eduardo Rodriguez went six innings and gave up only one run. Martinez hit his 23rd home run of the season. Schwarber got his first hit as a Red Sox and went 2-for-4. This is the first game Schwarber and Martinez played together with JD in left field and Schwarber as the DH. The Red Sox won 6-2.
The next stop after the off-day is in New York as they face the Yankees starting with a doubleheader on Tuesday and ending their NY trip with a game on Wednesday. Then after another off-day, the Rangers come to Fenway over the weekend.
NEW YORK YANKEES
The Yankees continued their series against the White Sox in Chicago. After losing the first game in Iowa, they look to redeem themselves.
Jameson Taillon went five innings and gave up three runs. Aaron Judge went 3-for-4 and hit his 26th home run. After the game was tied at three, the offense took the lead in the 8th inning. Chad Green blew the lead in the 8th and the game went into extra innings. After taking the lead with the ghost runner scoring, Joey Gallo hit his second home run in the game to add two more runs. Zack Britton gave up a run and only got one out with the bases loaded. Albert Abreu had to get the last two outs for the win. The Yankees won 7-5.
Nestor Cortes pitched six innings and gave up one run in the series finale. Luke Voit went 3-for-5 and hit his 5th home run. Rougned Odor hit his 14th home run. The Yankee bullpen struggles continued with Lucas Luetge giving up two runs in the 9th inning. Wendy Peralta had to get the final two outs. The Yankees take the series and win 5-3.
Luke and Listen. pic.twitter.com/Z67BBaBgoR — New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 15, 2021
The postponed game against the Angels will be made up today. Gerrit Cole will be reinstated and start the game. The Red Sox come in for three games in two days. Jordan Montgomery and Luis Gil are said to be starting in the doubleheader on Tuesday.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Robbie Ray pitched seven innings and gave up two runs. The offense tied the game in the 4th innings until the Mariners walked it off in the 9th. They lost 3-2.
Hyun Jin Ryu went 6.1 innings and gave up four runs. Teoscar Hernandez went 3-for-4 and hit his 19th home run. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.went 3-for-5. The Jays lost 9-3.
Steven Matz went five innings and gave up one run. Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 and hit his 3rd home run of the season. Hernandez went 3-for-4 and hit his 20th home run. Santiago Espinal went 3-for-4. Marcus Semien hit his 27th home run. The Jays avoided the sweep and won 8-3.
The next series is in Washington, DC to face the Nationals for a quick 2-game set before facing the Tigers at home.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
On Thursday, Chris Davis announced his retirement.
Chris Davis has announced his retirement. pic.twitter.com/3QKvErwTzn — Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 12, 2021
The weekend against the Red Sox started with Spenser Watkins on the mound. He went four innings and gave up six runs. Pedro Severino went 2-for-4. Richie Martin hit his first home run of the season. The O’s lost 8-1 against the Red Sox.
Jorge Lopez went only 3.1 innings and gave up seven runs. Adam Plutko got only two outs and gave up seven runs as well. Austin Hays and Trey Mancini each homered against Sale. The O’s lost 16-2.
The O’s couldn’t avoid the sweep with Keegan Akin on the mound. He went four innings and gave up three runs. Jorge Mateo went 2-for-4. The O’s lost 6-2.
The Orioles next head to Tampa to face the Rays for four games before playing against the Braves at home.
LET’S SPIN IT
The AL East standings have the Red Sox now three games behind the Rays. The Yankees are 5.5 games behind the Rays and one game behind the Red Sox in the loss column. That will change by Thursday morning. The Jays are two behind the Yankees in the loss column. This week can see a drastic change in the American League East as the Rays face the White Sox and the Red Sox face the Rangers over the Weekend.
Boston Red Sox IV: A New Hope, the Return of Chris Sale
Featured Image via Getty Images
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