Rivals Watch is a weekly look at what writers covering the Blue Jays’ key competitors in the AL East are saying about those teams.
What a difference a day makes
The Baltimore Orioles were riding high Thursday morning after a dominant performance from starter Kevin Gausman—and a solo dinger from Mark Trumbo, his MLB-leading 42nd of the season—propelled them past the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, 1-0. Gausman allowed just four hits over his eight scoreless innings, outduelling 20-game winner and Cy Young-frontrunner Rick Porcello in the process.
The 25-year-old righty has posted a 0.82 ERA over his last five starts, and he’s not the only O’s hurler in the middle of a stretch-run surge: Ubaldo Jimenez, Chris Tillman and Dylan Bundy all turned in quality outings on Baltimore’s recent road trip, combining with Gausman to allow just six runs spread across 26.1 innings—good for a 2.05 ERA.
Great news for Orioles fans, right?
Well, a day and a 7-6 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays later, and the Baltimore Sun is lamenting the fact that Yovani Gallardo and Wade Miley could cost the club a playoff spot. Here’s why.
What a difference a day makes, pt. 2
Meanwhile, that same one-run Orioles win reawakened Red Sox fans’ fears about their team’s inability to win close games. Five of Boston’s last six losses have come by a single run. The latest prompted the Boston Herald to insist that the close defeats weren’t a cause for concern, before quickly pointing out that they could easily become one.
A day and a 7-5 walkoff win over the New York Yankees later, and those same fans can celebrate what the Boston Globe is already calling “one of the greatest Red Sox regular-season victories of all time.”
Cut to the core
It’s been a rough couple of days for the New York Yankees—and closer Dellin Betances in particular. With the Dodgers in the Bronx on Wednesday night, Betances came in for the ninth with the game tied 0-0. After a fielding error by second baseman Starlin Castro allowed Corey Seager to reach base, the big right-hander gave up an RBI double to Justin Turner. Later in the frame, Turner scored when Betances airmailed a short throw to the plate. LA won 2-0.
“It just didn’t feel good out of my hands,” Betances said of his error. “I felt like I grabbed the tip of [the ball] with my hands. The throw kind of sailed on me. I got to be better.”
Better he wasn’t on Thursday night in Boston. Betances again entered in the ninth, this time with one out, one on and a 5-2 lead. After walking Dustin Pedroia, the 28-year-old gave up RBI singles to David Ortiz and Mookie Betts before Hanley Ramirez sealed the deal with a three-run walk-off homer.
“I was trying to go to the moon,” Ramirez told reporters after the game. “That’s why I was sitting on a fastball the whole time. Just stay back and let it rip.”
The loss prompted plenty of criticism about manager Joe Girardi’s handling of the Yanks’ bullpen. Some argued that Betances came in too late; others pointed to his heavy recent workload as evidence that he was run down and maybe shouldn’t have come in at all.
There’s good news, though
Things weren’t all bad for the Yankees on Thursday. Billy Butler, who New York signed on Wednesday to bolster their bench down the stretch, went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI in his debut in pinstripes. And starter Masahiro Tanaka was stellar on the mound, allowing just four hits and one run over seven innings before the bullpen cost him the W.
Here’s what it would take for Tanaka to win the AL Cy Young.
