Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Jays clinch playoff spot, Mariners dominate Astros

We’ve made it to the final week of the regular season, the most intense period of scoreboard-watching there is. The Yankees are playing well, and still have everything to play for; even if their division odds remain long, if they can sweep their way through the lowly White Sox and Orioles, they still have a shot. Elsewhere, there are scintillating races in the AL Central and West, as well as a fight for the last Wild Card spot. Let’s go through how things shook out on Sunday.

Toronto Blue Jays (90-66) 8, Kansas City Royals (78-78) 5

Despite a four-game losing streak, the Blue Jays stood just one game from clinching a spot in the AL playoffs. At last, they got off the schneid, avoiding a sweep in Kansas City to book a trip to the postseason for the fourth time in the last six years.

Toronto used a couple of three-spots to build a lead against Michael Wacha and the Royals. With two on and one down, Andrés Giménez opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second, followed by a successful safety squeeze from Tyler Heineman to make it 2-0. George Springer then came up with an RBI double, giving Springer 25 doubles and 80 RBIs in this resurgent campaign:

Carter Jensen drove in two against Trey Yesavage in the fourth to cut it to 3-2, but the Jays surged forward again in the fifth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brought in two with a double, and Addison Barger came up with a double of us own, and suddenly Toronto led 6-2:

RBI singles from Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez in the bottom of the fifth kept KC in it, but the Jays were able to hold on. Ernie Clement and Gimenez drove in a run each in the ninth to make it 8-5, and Jeff Hoffman nailed down the ninth for his 31st save.

The Blue Jays are headed back to the playoffs, and remain two games ahead in the AL East with six to play. It’s been a great year for Toronto, a thorn in the side of the Yankees all summer, with their hard-running, clean-defending style of play confounding New York at times. They’ve proven a formidable rival all year, and may continue to be so come October.

Seattle Mariners (87-69) 7, Houston Astros (84-72) 3

The Mariners waltzed into Houston and stole the Astros’ soul. Seattle blasted Jason Alexander for an early seven-spot, leaving no doubt they’d sweep their away out of Texas and leave with an iron grip on the AL West.

The M’s did benefit from some good fortune in the second, starting of with a bunt single and infield single, before a clean line drive single from Josh Naylor loaded the bases with none out. Alexander walked Victor Robles to force in the game’s first run, and a batter later, J.P. Crawford unloaded:

Crawford’s high-arching blast left the Houston crowd in stunned silence once again, and the Mariners led 5-0. But that wouldn’t be the end of it, Randy Arozarena singling, and Cal Raleigh following with a bullet home run, his 58th of the season:

Raleigh enters the final week with Aaron Judge in his sights, attempting to match or exceed Judge’s AL home run record, and to outdo Judge for AL MVP honors.

Alexander departed having recorded just four outs, and yielding all seven runs. Houston’s bullpen actually did excellent work in relief, limiting Seattle to just one hit the rest of the way, but it was no matter. Logan Gilbert, Seattle’s likely Game 1 playoff starter, was strong, holding the Astros to one run over six innings, striking out four and walking one. Houston pushed across a couple late, but they were never much in the game, Seattle’s sweep seemingly fait acocmpli.

Seattle has the AL West nearly locked up, three games clear with six to play, with the tiebreaker in hand. Their magic number to clinch the division is three.

Tampa Bay Rays (76-80) 7, Boston Red Sox (85-71) 3

The Red Sox were able to keep the Rays at bay most of this weekend, pulling away late to secure wins in the first two games of this series. On Sunday night, the Rays pulled off the same trick, bending but not breaking against Boston to avoid a sweep.

Boston seemed to have chances all night, but the Rays were able to carefully dance through. In the first, Joe Boyle struck out Nathaniel Lowe with the bases loaded to strand three. In the fourth, rookie Carson Williams gunned out a runner at home to prevent a big inning from Boston. In the fifth, the Red Sox put four runners on base but scored just once thanks to a caught stealing.

It all added up to a night where Boston banged out ten hits and five walks but scored just three times. On the other side, the Rays put up a crooked number early and didn’t look back. They loaded the bases with no one out in the first, and Christopher Morel came through with a two-run double:

The Rays scored one more on an Alex Bregman throwing error to go up 3-0. Boston got one off Boyle in the fourth, but Brandon Lowe hit a solo shot in the sixth to make it 4-1:

Boston’s best shot came in the seventh against Bryan Baker. They strung together four singles, scoring two, with two still on with one down, but Baker retired Lowe and Ceddanne Rafaela to end the inning with the lead still intact. The Rays added three insurance runs in the eighth to remove some suspense, Morel singling two home to cap off a four-RBI day. The Red Sox fell 7-3, and though their playoff odds are still robust, their chances of catching the Yankees are now slim, three games back with six to play.

Atlanta Braves (73-83) 6, Detroit Tigers (85-71) 2

The Tigers’ sad-trombone-noise of a September continues apace, Detroit turning in a flat performance as they lost their sixth straight.

They ran into a fairly sharp Spencer Strider, the erstwhile ace turning in five shutout innings, striking out six and walking three. Once so dominant, Strider has had a rough season, but he’s closed strong, with a tidy 2.10 ERA over his last five starts. A return to form for Strider will be necessary in 2026 if the Braves hope to rebound from this year’s disaster.

Casey Mize was just a little too shaky on the other side. Mize gave up three singles in the third to allow the game’s first run, a Ha-Seong Kim homer in the fourth, and an RBI triple to Drake Baldwin in the fifth that made it 3-0:

That collective groan let out by the Detroit crowd when Baldwin’s liner got past Riley Greene can only be described as a wounded sound.

The Tigers offense stayed quiet, and the game was 3-0 into the ninth, where the Braves put it away. Tanner Rainey came on and allowed three runs as Detroit’s comeback chances faded, an RBI each for Gleyber Torres and Greene in the bottom of the ninth notwithstanding. The sky is simply falling in Detroit.

Other Games

• Minnesota Twins (67-89) 6, Cleveland Guardians (84-72) 2: The Guardians leapt ahead early in this one, and looked like they might ease to their 11th straight win, a Steven Kwan homer highlighting a two-run first. They led 2-0 into the third, having held the Twins scoreless for 23 consecutive innings. Finally, the Twins woke up, Kody Clemens singling home a run in the third. Minnesota trailed into the sixth, but Brooks Lee smashed a two-run homer to take the lead, and Royce Lewis hit a pinch-hit, three-run dinger in the seventh to add an exclamation point. Cleveland still sits just one game behind the Tigers in the AL Central.