Saturday’s game against the Rays was not pretty viewing for Yankees fans. The Yankees held two separate late leads against Tampa Bay, but couldn’t hold onto either. In the 10th inning, the Rays took advantage of the auto-runner and bunted the Yankees to death, eventually scoring twice in the frame to overtake the Yankees.
With the Yankees now firmly in their first annoying stretch of the 2026 season, let’s see what the competition around the AL did in Saturday’s games.
Minnesota Twins (8-7) 7, Toronto Blue Jays (6-8) 4
The Blue Jays only actually allowed the Twins to score in one inning of the game. The issue is that inning was a seven-spot, which was plenty enough to doom Toronto.
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The Jays started the game decently enough, as Daulton Varsho hit a two-run homer in the first to give them the lead. However, things flipped in a hurry a couple innings later.
In the third, Brooks Lee led off with Minnesota with a homer, but Toronto starter Eric Lauer then recorded an out. It would be a while before he got his next one. The next five Twins’ batters all reached base, with Josh Bell giving them the lead with a two-run single. Lauer then finally got the second out, but Trevor Larnach responded with a three-run homer to break the game open.
On the mound, Joe Ryan mostly cruised for the Twins, allowing just two those runs on two hits in seven innings. The Blue Jays picked up a couple runs off Minnesota’s bullpen in the ninth, but it was too little, too late. Further worrying for Toronto will be that George Springer suffered a fractured toe after fouling a pitch off his foot. As of last night, he was undergoing further scans to see what the severity and what the next steps were going to be.
Boston Red Sox (5-9) 7, St. Louis Cardinals (8-6) 1
The Red Sox used a five-run ninth to get some separation and pull away from the Cardinals, who had previously threatened to rally.
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For much of the game, Willson Contreras’ two-RBI double in the fourth inning held up as the lone run-scoring moment. Red Sox offseason signing Ranger Suarez was looking the part for them, as he allowed just three hits in six scoreless innings. The Cardinals’ pitching wasn’t terrible themselves, as those two runs were the only they had allowed for much of the game, despite other chances for Boston.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jordan Walker got St. Louis on the board with a homer, however that would be the extent of their rally. The Red Sox responded with five runs on six hits in the top of the ninth to take any drama out of the ninth inning.
Seattle Mariners (6-9) 8, Houston Astros (6-9) 7
J.P. Crawford’s walk-off single allowed the Mariners to come all the way back after trailing by as many as five runs.
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The game featured some wild swings early. Initially, the Mariners took a lead in the bottom of the first, but the Astros immediately responded with seven runs over the second, third, and fourth innings. However, Seattle then put up a five-spot in the fifth to climb all the way back, with Julio Rodríguez finally getting in the home run column to tie the game up.
The game remained tied going into the ninth, despite the Astros recording 17 hits on the game. The Astros’ Bryan Abreu got the first out of the bottom of the ninth, but then proceeded to walk the bases loaded. Crawford then dropped a single into left field, allowing the Mariners to get the walk-off win.
As mentioned, the Astros had plenty of chances, but they finished the game with 13 runners left on base.
Other Games
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Detroit Tigers (6-9) 6, Miami Marlins (8-7) 1: The Tigers scored five runs over the first three innings and never looked back in a win over the Marlins. On the mound, Casey Mize gave Detroit 5.2 solid innings, allowing just one run. On offense, Riley Greene led the way, driving home four runs and going 2-for-3 with a walk.
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Cleveland Guardians (9-6) 6, Atlanta Braves (9-6) 0: Cleveland’s Parker Messick allowed just four hits and two walks in 6.2 shutout innings and the Guardians cruised past the Braves. José Ramírez gave the Guardians a lead with a homer in the third at-bat of the game, and they never looked back from there, as Messick dominated and Cleveland slowly and surely added to their lead.
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