The Yankees were inactive on Saturday, not because the schedule had them sitting on the couch but because the weather didn’t feel like complying. With the Rays also washed out alongside them, the top of the AL East was inactive for the field to play catch up to.
Toronto Blue Jays (25-27) 5, Pittsburgh Pirates (26-26) 2
Paul Skenes versus Patrick Corbin should’ve been a matchup nightmare for Toronto, but it went the opposite way. Three pitches into his outing, Skenes got taken deep by George Springer to lead off, giving the Jays the lead right away. That score held up until the sixth inning though, when the Pirates briefly bailed out their ace with Bryan Reynolds hitting a two-out single followed by Marcell Ozuna doubling him home.
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However, the Jays rallied right back to get Corbin back in line to pick up the win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Yohendrick Piñango both singled to put runners on for Jesús Sánchez, who doubled to bring in one of them before Ernie Clement singled another one in. That chased Skenes from the game, but another run would go against him as Andrés Giménez grounded into a double play that allowed Sánchez to score. In a hurry it was 4-1, and then Tyler Heineman led off the seventh with a blast to push the lead to 5-1.
The Pirates managed to manufacture a run back in the eighth via walks and a grounder with an error mixed in, but they went down in order in the ninth to hand Toronto the win and bring them just two games under .500.
Other Games
Minnesota Twins (25-27) 4, Boston Red Sox (22-29) 2: The Sox ran Jovani Morán out as an opener, but found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the first three batters collected hits with an Austin Martin double the big blow of the frame. A Ceddanne Rafaela RBI double in the fourth cut the deficit in half, but the Twins’ offense reignited against bulk pitcher Brayan Bello in the fifth with back-to-back singles and an error loading the bases. A sac fly and single brought home two, giving Minnesota all the runs they’d need as Boston could only get a run across in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk, Jarren Duran striking out to end it.
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Philadelphia Phillies (26-26) 3, Cleveland Guardians (31-23) 0: The Guardians gave the Cavaliers an homage by going down 0-3 in this game, but a fourth run wasn’t necessary for the Phillies to close out a shutout. Bryson Stott singled home two in the fourth and Adolis García walked with the bases loaded in the sixth to round out Philadelphia’s scoring, supporting Zack Wheeler as he pitched his second-straight scoreless outing tossing six innings with six strikeouts and just two hits allowed.
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Kansas City Royals (21-31) 5, Seattle Mariners (25-28) 0: The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one thanks to a flurry of contact, two hits and an error getting one across before some groundouts pushed in another run and Jac Caglianone finished off the frame with an RBI single. That would be all that Stephen Kolek would need, as the 29-year-old pitched a complete game shutout and generated tons of weak contact, getting just two strikeouts in the entire outing.
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Los Angeles Angels (19-34) 5, Texas Rangers (24-27) 2: Mike Trout lifted his 13th home run of the year in the first to spot the Angels a 2-0 lead, and that expanded in the fifth when Nolan Schanuel doubled in another run. Kyle Higashioka cut into that lead with a solo shot, but Oswald Peraza put it on ice in the eighth with the bases loaded, smacking a grounder through the hole in the left side to score two more.
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