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Yankees fans are frustrated at how the team played over the weekend. Red Sox fans laugh as they take first place. This week the standings can change again for better or worse for the top four teams. Let’s see what happened over the weekend and what is to come this week in the MLB AL East.
BOSTON RED SOX
The series started with a retirement ceremony for Dustin Pedroia. Players, current and former, gathered to celebrate the career of a loved player. Martin Perez started for the Red Sox, lasted only 3.2 innings, and gave up three runs. Although they were all unearned from an error by Xander Bogaerts, it still tied the game in the second inning. Bogaerts’ error was the team’s 57th error which leads MLB. Christian Vazquez went 2 for 3 with a walk and Hunter Renfroe went one for one with two walks. Adam Ottavino reminded the Yankees why it was a mistake to trade him for salary relief. Matt Barnes got into some trouble in the 9th inning but managed to get out of it with a double play by DJ LeMahieu.
Taking this energy into the weekend. pic.twitter.com/SP49OsaX0N — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 26, 2021
The next two games were just dominance by the Sox. Nathan Eovaldi pitched an absolute gem against the Yankees and Eduardo Rodriguez followed on Sunday. With the Rays’ loss against the Angels, the Sox are back in first place for now.
Nate's Night: 7.2 IP 7 H 1 R 0 BB 6 K pic.twitter.com/xgCqgHVcm3 — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 27, 2021
The next series for the Sox is against the Royals and then they head west to face the A’s and Angels. The last time the Sox faced the Royals, they lost the series. They look for redemption this week and try to add on to their lead in the division.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
The Rays opened the series against the Angels with a win. They went with an opener as Andrew Kittredge went two innings and gave up two runs. One of them via the home run by Shohei Ohtani. The Rays offense took the lead in the bottom of the first before Josh Fleming gave up the tying run for the Angels. The Rays then took the lead in the seventh inning and kept it. Austin Meadows had a good night going 3 for 4. Kevin Kiermaier also went 3 for 4 for the night. Fleming later was placed on the IL with a right calf strain and recalled Louis Head from Triple-A.
https://twitter.com/RaysBaseball/status/1408614218270535680
The Rays ended up with a series win but their loss on Sunday cause the Red Sox to take first place again. They now play a two-game series against Max Scherzer and the Nationals then take on the Blue Jays for three games. The only thing the Rays can do is continue to win games and hope the Red Sox fall into a bad stretch.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Jays winning streak came to an end on Friday as the Orioles came from behind to win the game in 10 innings. George Springer went 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Lourdes Gurriel Jr went 3 for 4 on Friday night. Alek Manoah pitched six innings and gave up one run. Tyler Chatwood gave up three runs and Tayler Saucedo blew the lead in the same inning. Trent Thornton gave up the winning run for the Orioles in the 10th.
The Jays won the next two games against the Orioles completing a series win. The Jays are currently in third place after the Yankees got swept by the Red Sox. The Mariners come into town for four games and then the Jays try to gain ground on the Rays.
NEW YORK YANKEES
After taking the series from the Royals, the Yankees entered Fenway Park feeling good about themselves. The first game of the series, however, wasn’t great for them. The offense tied the game in the second inning but it wasn’t held for long. Domingo German lasted four innings and gave up four runs. The go-ahead run in the fourth for the Red Sox was unearned due to an error by German failing to get Rafael Devers out on a grounder. Lucas Luetge has been a gem for the Yankees as he continues to pitch well. Jonathan Loaisiga redeemed himself from his last outing by getting four strikeouts in the 7th inning. Zack Britton left the game after getting one out due to a hamstring issue. He said he is expected to return after the 10 days on the IL and refused to get the MRI.
Luke Voit continues to hit going 2 for 4 for the night. Gary Sanchez went 0 for 3 with a walk. Gio Urshela returned to the lineup on Friday and went 2 for 4. Miguel Andujar found a step in his swing going 3 for 4 and played left field. The Yankees had the opportunity to score at least another run when Phil Nevins waved Urshela home on a ball that Renfroe had a pretty easy play on. Nevins later took accountability for it after the game.
The next two games for the Yankees were just bad. Mental mistakes were made galore. The Yankees are digging themselves a hole in landing a postseason spot. They are now in fourth place after the Jays won against the Orioles.
START OVER
Next up in the series are the Angels. The Yankees at worse, have to split the series. After that, they need to take two of three against the Mets before heading to the west coast. The starting pitching needs to avoid giving up runs early in the game. The offense should not have to play catch up within the first three innings.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
The Orioles ended their losing streak on the road with a come-back-from-behind win against the Blue Jays. Matt Harvey pitched 5.2 innings and gave up three runs. Singles by Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander brought the O’s closer as Austin Hays brought in the tying run on a double. The game went to the 10th inning when the Orioles took the lead and Cole Sulser closed out the game.
The Orioles started a new losing streak on the road with the losses on Saturday and Sunday. Trey Mancini has announced that he will be participating in this year’s home run derby. He is certainly one guy everyone will root for and be excited to watch.
MLB has invited Trey Mancini to compete in the 2021 Home Run Derby, per @danconnolly2016 pic.twitter.com/L0sWLXsKyS — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 26, 2021
LET’S SPIN IT
The Yankees need to have their pitching and hitting clicking at the same time. As a Yankees fan, it is starting to be frustrating to watch this team continuously have to play catch-up within the first three innings of the game. The Red Sox continue to show they are playing comfortably against the Yankees.
The last time the Red Sox won six straight games against the Yankees was in 2009. They went 8-0 that year before the Yankees played better for the remaining of the season series. The standings can continue to change this week. It isn’t close but no spot is safe at this moment.
Be sure to follow on Twitter for more MLB NL East updates.
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