The Boston Red Sox pulled out yet another victory on July 18, which pushed their active win streak to 12. Boston’s win was one of several highlights of the day, which also saw the Texas Rangers maintain the status quo in AL West.
Pirates & Guards split doubleheader
The first game was all Pirates. Newcomer Jacob Gonzalez had two hits, one of which was a two-run shot that drove in the game-winning run in a 7-1 Pirates victory. Gonzalez, Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, and Nick Gonzales each had two hits.
Jared Jones struck out nine and allowed one earned run to pick up his second win of 2026.
In the second game, the Guardians’ bullpen tossed 5.2 scoreless innings after Logan Allen allowed three runs (two earned) over 3.1 IP. Pittsburgh reliever Gregory Soto earned a blown save after he tried to clean things up for Brandon Eisert, who was charged with three earned runs in the eighth.
One inning later, Travis Bazzana hit a two-run shot surrendered by Dennis Santana for a walk-off.
Red Sox win 12th straight
For much of the day in a rainy Fenway Park, it looked like the Rays would break the streak.
The Rays entered the bottom of the seventh with a 6-3 lead. Victor Mesa Jr. and Jonny DeLuca each hit home runs for Tampa Bay to push the Rays ahead. But then things snowballed.
Masataka Yoshida drove in a run via a groundout. Ceddanne Rafaela doubled in Jarren Duran. And later in the seventh, Wilyer Abreu hit his second home run of the game to push Boston ahead.
With that victory, the Red Sox are one game ahead of the Mariners and Twins for the final AL Wild Card spot.
Rangers outlast Braves
Former Met Brandon Nimmo drove in two runs in the sixth inning, completing a four-run frame for the Rangers. And it was, ultimately, all the Rangers needed to win 7-6.
It was a back-and-forth game that saw the Rangers and Braves trade blows. Joc Pederson hit a solo shot off Owen Murphy, who made his first career big-league start, in the first. Eli White and Michael Harris II hit home runs.
But it wasn’t until the sixth, thanks to Nimmo and a two-run shot from Evan Carter before then, that the Rangers had a lead to hold on to.
Blue Jays shut out White Sox
It was a good day for the Jays, aside from honoring the 1992 and 1993 championship teams. Shane Bieber struck out six over six scoreless innings to earn his first win of 2026, as Toronto shut out the White Sox 1-0.
The lone run was driven in by George Springer, who tallied an RBI single in the fourth to drive in the lone run of the game.
Louis Varland tossed a scoreless inning to pick up his 20th save of the year,
Skubal excellent
The Tigers improved to 46-52 thanks, in large part, to Tarik Skubal.
Skubal struck out nine over seven scoreless innings to help the Tigers win 7-0 over the Angels. Colt Keith picked up four hits, while Spencer Torkelson drilled two home runs.
Everything else
- Cubs def. Twins 6-2
- Phillies def. Mets 6-1
- Rockies def. Reds 10-3
- Orioles def. Astros 4-2 (11)
- Royals def. Padres 6-1
- Diamondbacks def. Cardinals 5-3
- Brewers def. Marlins 8-6
- Mariners def. Giants 4-3
- Athletics def. Nationals 15-1
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