Austin Wells snapped a tie game with a three-run homer in the seventh inning as the New York Yankees rallied for a 10-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday that extended their lead atop the American League East.
The Yankees scored seven times over the seventh and eighth innings to erase a 4-3 deficit and take the opener of this three-game series between AL post-season contenders.
New York also received some assistance from its biggest rival, as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 12-3 win over Baltimore that increased the Yankees' advantage over the second-place Orioles to 1 1/2 games in the division race.
Wells added a run-scoring double and Alex Verdugo had a two-run homer among his two hits for New York. Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge also knocked in runs in the win, with Torres ending 3 for 5 and Judge collecting two hits.
Salvador Perez went 4 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for Kansas City, which currently holds the AL's second wild card. The Royals also received a solo homer from Hunter Renfroe, but had a four-game winning streak snapped after failing to protect a one-run lead in the seventh inning.
James McArthur (5-7) entered with one out in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a single to Torres before walking Juan Soto in front of Judge, who ripped a single to left to bring in Torres and tie the game at 4-4.
Wells followed with a blast deep into the seats in right center field to put New York ahead.
The Yankees tacked on three more runs in the eighth. Oswaldo Cabrera doubled and later scored on a Torres single, and New York loaded the bases with none out before Judge hit into a double play to bring in another run. Wells then delivered a double that plated Anthony Volpe for a 10-4 advantage.
Verdugo's two-run homer off Brady Singer in the fourth inning gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead, though the Royals pulled even in the fifth when Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a single and scored all the way from first on Perez's blooper to right that fell in for a hit.
Kansas City went ahead an inning later on Renfroe's homer off Carlos Rodon, who struck out nine in six innings but permitted four runs - three earned.
Perez singled in a run in the first inning and homered in the third to put Kansas City up 2-0, but the Yankees later countered with three runs in the fourth.
Jasson Dominguez, called up from the minors before the game, singled in the fourth and eventually scored on Perez's throwing error as the young Yankee outfielder stole third base. Verdugo followed with his 12th homer of the season for a 3-2 New York edge.
Mets rally late to down Blue Jays, boost play-off hopes
New York's other team also improved its play-off standing, as the red-hot Mets scored twice in the eighth inning to pull out a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Mets got their late runs on a wild pitch and a passed ball to win for the 10th time in 11 games and move one game clear of Atlanta in the race for the National League's third and final wild card spot. The Braves were handed a 1-0 loss by the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
Tyrone Taylor scored the tying run after pinch-running for Jesse Winker, who drew a lead-off walk against Tommy Nance in the eighth with the Blue Jays ahead 2-1. Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement's throwing error on an infield single hit by Francisco Alvarez allowed Taylor to reach third, and Taylor scored when Nance uncorked an errant pitch.
Alvarez moved to third on the play, then crossed the plate when Blue Jays catcher Brian Serven couldn't handle Nance's pitch for a passed ball.
Relievers Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz held Toronto scoreless over the final two innings, with Stanek recording the win and Diaz working the ninth for his 17th save.
Mets starter Tylor Megill left with a no-decision despite yielding just one hit and striking out nine over six scoreless innings, as the Blue Jays scored twice off New York's bullpen in the seventh to erase a 1-0 deficit.
Toronto loaded the bases with one out on a hit batter and singles by Clement and Alejandro Kirk. Jose Butto then hit Leo Jimenez with a pitch to force in the tying run, and Nathan Lukes followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Jays ahead.
The Mets had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth. After Pete Alonso walked and Jose Iglesias was hit by a pitch, J.D. Martinez delivered a single to right to score Alonso from second.
Cantillo's gem lifts AL Central-leading Guardians over White Sox
Joey Cantillo took a perfect game into the seventh inning en route to his first major league win as the Cleveland Guardians held on for a 5-3 victory over the lowly Chicago White Sox.
Cantillo (1-3) retired the first 20 Chicago hitters before Andrew Benintendi singled with two outs in the seventh. The rookie left-hander surrendered a run-scoring single to Andrew Vaughn after that before completing his superb seven-inning stint with 10 strikeouts.
David Fry and Bo Naylor supported Cantillo with solo homers as Cleveland increased its lead in the AL Central to 3 1/2 games over second-place Kansas City. The Guardians also remained a game back of the New York Yankees for the AL's best record.
Chicago, meanwhile, set a franchise record with its 13th straight home loss. The White Sox fell to 33-112 overall and remained on pace for the most losses in a season in modern MLB history, set by the 1962 New York Mets (120).
The Guardians quickly jumped out to an early lead when Steven Kwan opened the game with a single, stole second, and scored on a base hit from Josh Naylor, who was then brought in by Lane Thomas' double for a 2-0 advantage.
Fry's homer in the third and Bo Naylor's blast in the fourth extended the margin to 4-0. The Guardians then tacked on another run in the fifth despite not recording a hit during the inning.
After Cleveland loaded the bases on two walks and an error, Chicago's Jairo Iriarte forced in a run by issuing a free pass to Jhonkensy Noel.
Benintendi stole second after breaking up Cantillo's perfect game bid before Vaughn drove him in with a single to get the White Sox on the board in the seventh.
Chicago got closer in the eighth on Bryan Ramos' first major league homer, a two-run shot off Nick Sandlin that followed Lenyn Sosa's single.
The White Sox did not get a hit the rest of the way, however, as Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out two during a scoreless ninth to record his AL-leading 43rd save.
Sale, Skubal win MLB's Cy Young Awards
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Atlanta Braves lefty Chris Sale were each named the winner of their respective league’s Cy Young Award on Wednesday.
The announcement was hardly a surprise after each ace won their league's pitching triple crown during the 2024 regular season.
This is the first Cy Young for both pitchers.
Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, enjoyed a break-out year in his fourth full MLB season, and was a unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Kansas City Royals' Seth Lugo finished second and Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase finished third in the balloting, which was completed before the play-offs.
Sale received 26 of 30 first-place votes, while Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finished second, ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates righty Paul Skenes, who was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.
The 35-year-old Sale has come close to winning the award before, finishing as runner-up to Cleveland's Corey Kluber in 2017, with five other top-five finishes in voting since his first full season in the majors in 2011.
Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956, there have been 16 pitchers to win his league's pitching crown. And now, every one of them has also won that year's Cy Young.
Skubal and Sale each won an MLB-best 18 games, while Skubal led all pitchers with 228 strikeouts – three more than Sale. Sale's ERA of 2.38 was just a tick better than Skubal's 2.39.
Both were dominant down the stretch in leading their teams to the play-offs, with Sale permitting two earned runs or fewer in each of his final 18 regular-season starts, though he was unable to pitch in the season final or the Braves' NL Wild-Card series loss to the San Diego Padres because of a back injury.
Skubal posted a 1.94 ERA in his final nine outings, and then threw 13 shutout innings in his first two play-off starts in helping the Tigers surprisingly reach the American League Division Series. He ended up going 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three post-season starts.
Skubal became the fifth Tiger to win the Cy Young trophy – and first since Max Scherzer in 2017 – and Sale is the fifth Brave to earn the award – and first since Hall of Famer Tom Glavine in 1998.
Despite several close calls in Cy Young voting for Sale, he has dealt with injuries for the past five seasons, and was limited to a total of 151 innings over the past three years for the Boston Red Sox.
In his first season with the Braves, however, he threw 177 2/3 innings and was awarded the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award last Thursday.
Dodgers erase 5-run deficit, beat Yankees to win World Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second and Giancarlo Stanton’s third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.
But errors by Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts' grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.
After Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against loser Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.
Winner Blake Treinen escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom half by retiring Stanton on a flyout and striking out Anthony Rizzo.
Walker Buehler, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth for the save.
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ record-setting $700 million signing and baseball’s first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and had one single after separating his shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run single to tie the Series record of 12 RBIs, set by Bobby Richardson over seven games in 1960. With the Dodgers one out from losing Friday’s opener, Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s homer off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in 1988’s Game 1 that sparked Los Angeles to the title.
The Dodgers earned their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles - their first in a non-shortened season since 1988. They won a neutral-site World Series against Tampa Bay in 2020 after a 60-game regular season and couldn’t have a parade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Volpe hits grand slam as Yankees avoid World Series sweep
Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam and New York’s bullpen tossed five scoreless innings as the Yankees avoided a World Series sweep with an 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
Freddie Freeman homered for his sixth straight Series game, hitting a two-run drive in the first inning for the second straight night and again stunning the Yankee Stadium crowd.
Game 5 is Wednesday night, with the Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and the Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty meeting in a rematch of Game 1.
Twenty-one of the previous 24 teams to take 3-0 Series leads went on to sweeps, all but the 1910 Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago Cubs, the 1937 Yankees against the New York Giants and the 1970 Baltimore Orioles against the Cincinnati Reds. All three of those Series ended in five games.
Seeking to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 Series deficit, New York surged ahead 5-2 on Alex Verdugo’s RBI grounder in the second and Volpe’s drive against Daniel Hudson in the third. Volpe turned on a first-pitch slider at the knees and drove it into the left-field seats.
Volpe came across with New York's first run when he walked after falling behind 0-2 in the count in the second inning. He also doubled and stole two bases.
Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres added homers for the Yankees, who broke open the game with a five-run eighth. New York had scored just seven runs in the first three games.
Los Angeles closed within 6-4 in a two-run fifth that included Will Smith's homer off starter Luis Gil and an RBI grounder by Freeman. Despite a sprained right ankle, Freeman beat a relay to avoid an inning-ending double play on what originally was ruled an out but was reversed in a video review.
Wells hit a second-deck homer in the sixth against Landon Knack, and Verdugo added another run-scoring grounder in the eighth ahead of Torres' three-run homer off Brent Honeywell.
Tim Hill, winning pitcher Clay Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr., Luke Weaver and Tim Mayza strung together five innings of one-hit relief with seven strikeouts, and the Yankees avoided what would have been their first losing Series sweep since 1976.
New York's Aaron Judge drove in his first run of the Series with an RBI single in the eighth and is 2 for 15 in the four games. Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani also is 2 for 15 after going 1 for 4 with a single, his first hit since partially separating his left shoulder in Game 2.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
