The Red Sox look to erase some games behind the Rays. The Yankees look to continue to move forward despite the number of players out. The Jays start their west coast trip in hopes to gain ground. Let’s see what happened this week and what is to come over the weekend in the American League East.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
Luis Patino started game one and went six innings. He gave up the four runs the Red Sox scored. Brandon Lowe went 3-for-4 and hit his 25th home run of the season. Randy Arozarena, who returned from the COVID-19 IL, went 2-for-4. Down by two in the seventh, the Rays tied the game against Garrett Whitlock. They then scored four runs off of Matt Barnes that gave them the 8-4 win.
Josh Fleming started game two and gave up 10 runs in 3.1 innings. It was surprising how long Kevin Cash left him considering the number of runs given up. Lowe hit his 26th home run off of Nathan Eovaldi in the sixth inning. Brett Phillips hit a grand slam in the ninth off of Phillips Valdez. Mike Zunino also hit a home run in the ninth. The Rays lost 20-8.
More proof that we don't quit no matter the score pic.twitter.com/xDIVKxU8iB — Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 12, 2021
Drew Rasmussen went four innings and gave up one run in the series finale. Wander Franco hit his 5th home run of the season and Mike Zunino hit his 23rd. Kevin Kiermaier went 3-for-3. The Rays won 8-1.
The Rays head to Minnesota for a series against the Twins. Shane McClanahan and Luis Patino are scheduled to pitch.
BOSTON RED SOX
The Red Sox looking to get revenge on the Rays sent Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound. He went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs. Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-4. Rafael Devers hit his 28th home run of the season and Hunter Renfroe hit his 19th of the season against his former team. The Sox had a 4-2 lead until the seventh inning. Garrett Whitlock gave up the two runs that tied the game. Matt Barnes came into the 9th inning to keep the game tied and gave up four runs. The Sox lost 8-4.
The Sox made sure that they were winning the game on Wednesday and it looked concerning in the 9th. Nathan Eovaldi went seven innings and gave up only one run, a home run by Lowe. J.D. Martinez went 4-for-4. Renfroe and Enrique Hernandez when 3-for-5. Bogaerts went 2-for-4 and hit his 17th home run of the season. Bobby Dalbec went 2-for-3 with two walks. Valdez pitched in the 9th in what seemed like should be an easy inning. He gave up seven runs which included a grand slam. Luckily the offense scored 20 runs because that could have been ugly for the Sox. They won 20-8.
Tanner Houck was on the mound for the series finale. He went five innings and was charged with four runs, three earned. Austin Davis and Hansel Robles gave up four runs. The offense only had two hits in the game. They lost 8-1.
The Sox will face the O’s over the weekend. Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, and Eduardo Rodriguez are scheduled to pitch.
NEW YORK YANKEES
The Yankees faced the Royals this week and let me tell you, it felt like a chore watching that series. The Yankees bullpen had a tough time keeping almost every lead the offense gave during the series.
Jameson Taillon started in game one. He went six innings and was charged with one run that was inherited by Jonathan Loaisiga. The story of the game is how the pitching staff blew four leads. From the 7th inning until the 10th, every time the offense scored, the pitching gave up the same amount of runs. The game finally was over in the 11th inning when the offense scored three runs and Wandy Peralta only gave up one before recording the last out of the game. Aaron Judge went 2-for-4. Luke Voit and DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-5. Tyler Wade went 2-for-3 scoring three of the eight runs by the team. A five-hour game ended with the Yankees winning 8-6.
BULLPEN IS TIRED
Game two had Nestor Cortes starting. He went 5.2 innings and gave up five runs, four earned. Stephen Ridings followed and gave up two runs. Kyle Higashioka hit his 7th home run of the season. Anthony Velazquez got his first major league hit. The Yankees lost 8-4.
In the series finale, the offense started the game scoring three runs. It was a bullpen day and although this bullpen is in need of a day off, they did their job. Lucas Luetge pitched two innings and gave up only one run. The other run given up to the Royals was by Albert Abreu. Wade went 2-for-3 with a walk. He has been filling in pretty well unexpectedly. LeMahieu and Rougned Odor went 2-for-4. Zack Britton got his first save of the season. The Yankees won 5-2.
The Tyler Wade Game (via @Yankees)pic.twitter.com/1MVmZNVGxC — Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 11, 2021
FIELD OF DREAMS
Thursday started with Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery rejoining the team after recovering from COVID-19. They haven’t officially been reinstated but Aaron Boone said that they could join the rotation next week depending on how their bullpen sessions go over the weekend.
Absolute chills. #MLBatFieldofDreams pic.twitter.com/JsejH3OsWI — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 12, 2021
The Yankees started their series against the White Sox at Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA. Andrew Heaney got the ball to start. He gave up seven runs and three home runs. Since being with the team, he has given up eight home runs. Judge hit two home runs. Brett Gardner hit his fifth home run. Wade went 2-for-4. Giancarlo Stanton hit his 18th home run that gave the Yankees the lead in the ninth inning against Liam Hendriks. Britton blew the save with a two-run home run. Yanks lost 9-8.
The Yankees will have a much-needed off day today and finish the series against the White Sox.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
The Jays started their series with the Angels with a doubleheader. Steven Matz pitched in game one. He went 4.2 innings and gave up 4 runs, 2 of them earned. Marcus Semien went 3-for-4 and Teoscar Hernandez went 2-for-3. The Jays lost 6-3.
Ross Stripling started game two. He went two scoreless innings. Trevor Richards, Adam Cimber, and Jordan Romano also pitched scoreless innings. Bo Bichette and Hernandez went 2-for-4. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.went 1-for-4. The Jays won 4-0.
Alek Manoah went 6.2 innings and gave up two runs in game three. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.hit his 13th home run and went 3-for-5. Hernandez hit his 18th home run. Springer went 2-for-4 with two home runs. The Jays won 10-2.
The next trip in the west for the Jays is Seattle as they look to get closer to the second wild-card spot.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
The Tigers came into town. Keegan Atkin went three innings and gave up six runs. Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 with two home runs. DJ Stewart hit his 8th home run of the season. Austin Hays went 2-for-4. The O’s lost 9-4.
Matt Harvey went five innings and gave up three runs. Santander hit his 10th home run and went 3-for-4. Ryan McKenna went 2-for-4. The O’s lost 5-2.
John Means started the series finale. He went 4.1 innings and gave up six runs. Stewart hit two home runs in the game. Cedric Mullins went 3-for-4. The O’s get swept by the Tigers with the loss.
I love this song. 🎶 Home run // DJ Stewart pic.twitter.com/fyn6t5bLuU — Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 12, 2021
The O’s head to Fenway for the weekend. Spenser Watkins and Jorge Lopez are scheduled to pitch.
LET’S SPIN IT
The Red Sox are now five games behind the Rays. The Yankees and Jays are very close to each other so expect them to switch back and forth between third and fourth place for a bit. It won’t be an American League East standing if teams stayed put in their place. Next week should shake up the standings a bit.
Field of Dreams: If you build it, 8,000 will come
Featured Image via Charles Wenselberg/New York Post
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