We’re officially in August, meaning the six-month marathon is starting to turn into a sprint. And for the Astros, the club sprinted up the standings in recent weeks. Now, Houston is in control of first in the AL West.
Astros take control of first in AL West
The Houston Astros defeated the Texas Rangers 11-2 in a game that had significant consequences on the AL playoff race.
It was a grand day for the Astros’ offense. Yainer Diaz had four hits, one of which was his eighth home run. Jeremy Pena had three, while Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes picked up two. Hunter Brown picked up his third win of the season.
That victory pushed the Astros, for now, to first in the AL West. But aside from that, the Astros have now won the season series against their in-state division rival, securing a potential tiebreaker.
Orioles comeback to beat Phillies
Andrew Painter struck out six and only allowed two runs over six innings in his return to the Majors. Unfortunately for Painter and the Phillies, the bullpen couldn’t hold on, as the Orioles came back to win 6-4 over Philadelphia.
Home runs from Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto pushed the Phillies up by two after Pete Alonso‘s two-run home run in the first. But in the seventh, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run double off Orion Kerkering. Later that inning, a two-run triple by Gunnar Henderson made it 6-4.
The Orioles improved to 54-56 on the season.
Twins win, Guardians lose
Things are getting interesting in the AL Wild Card race, as the Twins and Guardians enter August tied for that third & final spot.
Minnesota fell behind 2-0 thanks to a two-run Cal Raleigh double in the first. The Twins, though, were able to score five runs, four of which came off home runs, to defeat the Mariners. Yoendrys Gomez and the Twins’ bullpen tossed four innings of scoreless baseball.
As for the Guardians, Cleveland’s bullpen spoiled a tremendous effort by Tanner Bibee. Arizona scored four runs in the eighth to pull off a 4-1 victory over the Guardians.
The two clubs are now 56-55.
Tigers win in blowout after Mize scratched
The Tigers hit three home runs and scored 13 overall runs, as Detroit defeated the Athletics 13-1.
Four pitchers combined to log nine innings for the Tigers, who scratched Casey Mize hours before the contest. Mize, set to be a free agent after 2026, is among the many potential trade-bait pitchers across the league.
Dillon Dingler had two hits, one of which was his 23rd home run of the season, and four RBI. Max Clark, in his MLB debut, picked up three hits on the day. So did Spencer Torkelson and Javier Baez.
Boston takes first game in LA
The Red Sox defeated Mookie Betts and the Dodgers in the first game of the team’s series in Los Angeles.
Cole Irvin logged six innings in bulk relief for the Dodgers, and he entered the seventh with a 4-3 lead thanks to Shohei Ohtani‘s 24th home run of the season. But in the seventh, Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run home run to put Boston up 5-4.
Boston would score four more to win 9-4. Brayan Bello tossed four innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.
Everything else
- Yankees def. Cubs 2-0
- Reds def. Pirates 8-7
- Blue Jays def. Cardinals 3-1
- White Sox def. Rays 6-1
- Marlins def. Mets 5-2
- Braves def. Nationals 6-2
- Rockies def. Royals 3-1
- Brewers def. Angels 6-2
- Padres def. Giants 7-0
Check out more of our MLB coverage, including the updated playoff picture.