If September 17 was any indication, expect a lot of chaos between now and the end of the 2026 MLB regular season. The Guardians, the club that pulled off a wild comeback last year, are now in control of the AL Central once more. Meanwhile, the Astros’ loss to the Royals opened the door wide open for the Rangers.
Guardians take AL Central lead
The Guardians defeated the White Sox 3-2 to take the lead in the AL Central, passing Chicago and moving ahead by half a game.
Down 2-0 in the fifth, Tommy Pham notched his first MLB hit and home run of the season, a three-run shot to give the White Sox a 3-2 lead. However, the Guardians were not done.
Rookie Petey Halpin launched a three-run shot off Sean Newcomb to give the Guardians a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Jose Ramirez added insurance with an RBI double later that inning.
Rangers take down Boston again
For the second straight night, the Rangers defeated the Red Sox. Texas beat Boston 7-3 to move to .500.
It was a back-and-forth game. Willson Contreras hit a two-run shot in the first to make it 2-0. The Rangers tied it up with runs in the first and second, before the clubs each scored one in the fifth inning.
The Rangers scored three in the seventh, as Brandon Nimmo drove in one with an RBI double. Ezequiel Duran notched a two-run double to make it 6-3. Then in the eighth, Corey Seager singled in Alejandro Osuna to make it 7-3.
Houston falls to Royals
The Royals defeated the Astros 5-2 in Houston.
Michael Massey had three hits, one of which was his 12th home run of the season. John Rave also went deep for his sixth of the year. Daniel Lynch IV tossed five scoreless innings to win his sixth game of the year.
With that loss for the Astros, both the Rangers and Houston are now tied for first in the AL West. As noted in August, the Astros have the tiebreaker.
Blue Jays defeat Tigers
The Blue Jays picked up a big win against the Tigers, defeating Detroit 5-1 before a pivotal series against the Rangers.
Max Scherzer went five innings and allowed just one run against his old team. Brett Bateman and Myles Straw each had two hits, while Nathan Lukes, George Springer, and Ernie Clement drove in runs alongside Straw.
Toronto is now 1.5 games back of the White Sox for the last AL Wild Card spot.
Padres keep pace in Wild Card
Speaking of the Wild Card, the Padres won 9-3 over the Rockies, keeping pace with the Cubs and Phillies. Both Chicago and Philadelphia won earlier in the night.
Ethan Salas had a grand night. Just a couple of days after he picked up his first MLB hit, the 20-year-old catcher hit his two first two home runs in Coors Field.
Robbie Ray struck out six and allowed three earned runs over six innings. Ray won his 13th game of the season.
Everything else
- Giants def. Cardinals 6-5 (10)
- Twins def. Yankees 5-4 (13)
- Reds def. Dodgers 6-2
- Rays def. Athletics 4-3
- Brewers def. Pirates 5-4
- Phillies def. Nationals 3-0
- Orioles def. Mets 7-1
- Cubs def. Braves 8-4
- Marlins def. Diamondbacks 4-3
- Mariners def. Angels 7-2
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