With September approaching, the standings can soon be locked in. The Yankees and Red Sox are trying to claw their way to the top as the Rays keep going higher. I guess you can consider September the most exciting time in baseball. Rosters will expand starting Tuesday. 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 six innings and gave up two runs. Mike Zunino hit his 27th home run. Chris Mazza went three innings and got his first save of the year. Rays won 6-3.
Michael Wacha went 4.1 innings and gave up only one run. Randy Arozarena hit his 17th home run. Yandy Diaz went 2-for-4. Andrew Kittredge got his 4th save of the season. The Rays won 4-3.
Chris Archer went four innings and gave up two runs. Joey Wendle went 3-for-4 and Jordan Luplow went 2-for-4. The bullpen gave up six runs but the Rays won 12-8. The Rays are now 18-1 against the O’s this season.
We took the lead right away today and refused to give it back (#RaysUp x @SiriusXM) pic.twitter.com/Bfoy4PvxL6 — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 29, 2021
The Rays head back home to face a four-game series against the Red Sox. Luis Patino, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane McClanahan are scheduled to pitch. Then the Twins come into town over the weekend.
NEW YORK YANKEES
Gerrit Cole went six scoreless innings. Giancarlo Stanton hit a monster home run, which was his 24th. Aaron Judge went 3-for-5 with a home run, which was his 28th. Luke Voit, hit his 8th home run and Kyle Higashioka hit his 9th. Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-5. The Yankees won 8-2.
472 ft. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/LeBQKDYRmZ — New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 28, 2021
Nestor Cortes Jr. went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs. It wasn’t the best outing by Cortes this season. Judge hit his 29th home run and went 3-for-4. This 3-2 loss ended the 13-game winning streak the Yankees had going.
Jordan Montgomery went six innings and gave up one run, which was unearned. Stanton went 2-for-4 and Tyler Wade went 1-for-1, later to be pinched-hit for. Chad Green gave up a 2-run home run to Tony Kemp in the 8th inning. The Yankees lost 3-1 and the series was a split.
Next, the Yankees head to Anaheim to continue their west coast trip. Corey Kluber will return, as Albert Abreu was optioned, and start the game tonight. Andrew Heaney is said to piggyback Kluber once he reaches his pitch count. Jameson Taillon will pitch against Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday. Gerrit Cole will pitch in the series finale. The O’s then enter the Bronx over the weekend.
BOSTON RED SOX
Eduardo Rodriguez went seven innings and gave up three runs. Jonathan Arauz hit his 1st home run of the season which gave the Red Sox the lead. Adam Ottavino got his 9th save of the season. The Red Sox won 4-3.
Nathan Eovaldi went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs. Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-5 and hit his 27th home run. J.D. Martinez also went 3-for-5 and his 24th home run was the game-winner for the Sox in extra innings. Ottavino got his 10 save of the season. The Sox won 5-3.
What seemed like a sweep for the Sox, turned into a loss. Tanner Houck went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs. Martinez went 2-for-4. Rafael Devers went 2-for-5 with a home run. The Sox somehow managed to lose this game 7-5.
Drive 'em home, J.D. pic.twitter.com/boxJRYVFXd — Red Sox (@RedSox) August 29, 2021
The next four games are crucial for the Sox as they face the Rays in Tropicana Field. Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, and Eduardo Rodriguez are scheduled to pitch. Tuesday’s game will be a bullpen day in order to give Sale an extra day off. The Sox play the Indians again but in Fenway over the weekend.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Steven Matz went six innings and gave up one run against the Tigers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.went 2-for-4. The Jays lost 2-1.
Alek Manoah went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs. Alejandro Kirk hit his 4th home run. Bo Bichette went 2-for-5 and Corey Dickerson went 3-for-4. The Jays won 3-2 in 10 innings.
Jose Berrios went seven innings and gave up an unearned run. Bichette went 3-for-4 with a home run. Guerrero Jr went 2-for-4. The Jays won 2-1.
🔥 @JOLaMaKina is the 7th pitcher in team HISTORY to have a start with 7+ IP, 10+ Ks, 0 BB, and 0 ER! pic.twitter.com/Qt9dzJfziV — Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 29, 2021
The Jays next face the O’s at home. Robbie Ray, Hyun Jin Ryu, and Steven Matz are scheduled to pitch. Then the A’s come into town over the weekend.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Matt Harvey went six innings and gave up three runs against the Rays. Austin Hays went 2-for-4 and hit his 14th home run. Cedric Mullins went 2-for-5 and hit his 23rd home run. Tanner Scott gave up three runs in the inning he pitched. The O’s lost 6-3.
John Means went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs. Pedro Severino and Jorge Mateo went 2-for-4. The O’s loss 4-3.
The O’s can’t be good spoilers when it is needed. Spenser Watkins went five innings and gave up six runs. Ryan Mountcastle went 4-for-5 and hit his 24th home run. Trey Mancini went 3-for-5. Mullins went 2-for-5 with a home run. The O’s lost 12-8.
The O’s head to Toronto to play against the Jays. Chris Ellis, Keegan Akin, and Matt Harvey are scheduled to pitch. Then the O’s head to the Bronx over the weekend.
LET’S SPIN IT
The Yankees ended up splitting the series against the A’s. As much as it would have been great to take the series, a split was the worst they could do. They are three games ahead of the Sox in the loss column. The Rays lead the division by six games now. This week can be interesting for the American League East standings with September approaching.
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Featured Image via Associated Press
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