The Red Sox and Yankees rely on each other to win their series in order to gain in the standings. The Rays and Jays are trying to bring them down. The Orioles continue to do their thing and just play baseball. Let’s see what happened this week and what is to come on the weekend in the MLB American League East.
BOSTON RED SOX
The four-game series against the Jays started with Nick Pivetta. He went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs. After J.D. Martinez suggested to Alex Verdugo that he take batting practice in the field, Verdugo went 2-for-4 and hit his 10th home run. Rafael Devers also went 2-for-4 and hit his 27th home run. Franchy Cordero went 2-for-4 and Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-3. The Sox won the game 5-4 after being behind in the 5th inning. Matt Barnes got his 22nd save.
Game two was postponed due to weather but made up the next day with a doubleheader. Garrett Richards started and gave up four runs in four innings. Yacksel Rios and Brandon Workman put zeros up but the Sox offense couldn’t come from behind. Devers went 2-for-4. They lost 4-1.
Tanner Houck pitched four innings and gave up one run in the second game of the doubleheader. Enrique Hernandez and Devers went 2-for-3. Kevin Plawecki went 3-for3. Jarren Duran showed his speed on an inside-the-park home run that was ruled an error by Springer. Sox won the game 4-1.
The series finale was a laugher for the Jays. Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 3.1 innings and gave up six runs. Phillips Valdez gave up three runs in 1.2 innings and Brandon Workman gave up four runs in two innings. Plawecki made his Red Sox pitching debut going scoreless in his inning. The Sox lost 13-1.
Sox head to Tampa to face the Rays with a 1.5 game lead in the division. Martin Perez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Pivetta are scheduled to pitch over the weekend.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
Shane McClanahan started for the Rays against the Yankees. He went six innings and gave up 3 runs. Brandon Lowe went 3-for-4 and hit his 22nd home run. Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4. The Rays threatened to take the lead but ended up losing 4-3.
Michael Wacha went head-to-head with Nestor Cortes Jr. in game two. Wacha gave up one run in five innings pitched. The offense only had three hits and the game was tied until the 10th inning. Andrew Kittredge inherited runners on base after Pete Fairbanks was removed with an injury. The Rays ended up losing 3-1. Cash later said it was inflammation in the shoulder and not expected to be serious.
The Rays got their revenge on the Yankees in the series finale. Luis Patino pitched six scoreless innings. Yandy Diaz and Austin Meadows went 3-for-5. Meadows hit two home runs and Brett Phillips hit a grand slam in the 6th inning. Ji-Man Choi also hit his 7th home run in the 6th inning where the offense scored 10 runs. The Rays avoid the sweep 14-0.
Hertz levels are off the charts@Brett_Phillips8 📈 pic.twitter.com/5STYr3QTDw — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 29, 2021
The Red Sox come into town to fight to keep first place. The Rays are 1.5 games behind and can easily take first place by Monday. Josh Fleming, Ryan Yarbrough, and Shane McClanahan are scheduled to pitch.
NEW YORK YANKEES
The bullpen woes continue for the Yanks. Fortunately, it didn’t cost the first game against the Rays. Jordan Montgomery went 5 scoreless innings. The offense had a 3-0 lead until Chad Green pitched. He gave up two runs. Zack Britton gave up a run after Ryan LaMarre hit a solo home run to make it 4-2 in the 8th.