Rays Get Past Verlander to Snap Astros' Win Streak
The Houston Astros had to feel good about themselves heading in to Tuesday night, just one victory away from breaking a franchise record win streak, with their ace, Justin Verlander, taking the mound. Although, the Tampa Bay Rays had other things in mind on this night, as they were able to put an end to the Astros' 12-game win streak with a 2-1 victory. C.J. Cron connected with his 16th home run, while Wilson Ramos broke a tie with an eighth-inning RBI single, as Houston was unable to break the mark that was set by the 1999 and 2004 teams. Cron's solo shot in the second inning snapped a career-long 0-for-23 slump, as it was his first hit since June 12th. The drought featured 18 strikeouts for the Rays' first baseman. Matt Duffy scored on Ramos' single after leading the eighth off with a double, before moving to third on Jake Bauers' groundout. The Astros struggled to support their ace, as they finished just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Verlander definitely did his part by allowing just one run on six hits and striking out 10 over 6.2 innings. Hector Rondon suffered his second loss out of the Astros' bullpen after allowing a run on two hits in his lone inning of work. The closest the Astros got to a run outside of the only score they had was George Springer getting thrown out at home in the first inning on a fly ball by Evan Gattis. Alex Bregman's RBI single in the third inning was the only source of run production for the defending champs, as they struggled to figure out Rays' starter Blake Snell. The right-hander improved to 9-4 by going seven innings and striking out six to overcome his seven walks. These two teams will continue their series on Wednesday night.
Yankees Power Past Mariners at Home
It is no surprise that a New York Yankees team is using the long ball to have consistent success, as this year's team continues to hit the ball out of the park en route to wins. The Yankees hit four home runs on Tuesday night to take care of the red hot Seattle Mariners with a 7-2 win at Yankee Stadium. Those four long balls supported Domingo German, who struck out nine over seven innings to earn his second win in the big leagues. The rookie allowed just two hits in the longest outing of his young career, Of the four home runs the Yankees had, Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks each connected for two-run shots off of Marco Gonzales. Hicks has now gone deep in three straight games, as he recorded three hits from the leadoff spot in Tuesday's win. Gleyber Torress and Giancarlo Stanton also connected for solo blasts, as the Yankees moved a season-high 26 games over .500 and a game ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the top spot in the AL East. German had allowed the first two runners of the night to reach on a hit and an error, but then retired 19 batters in a row before Nelson Cruz hit his 18th home run in the seventh inning. The right-hander was coming off his first career win against the Tampa Bay Rays last week and did not walk a batter, while throwing 67 of his 96 pitches for strikes. His team has now won 15 of 19 games overall, as A.J. Cole threw two scoreless innings to end the game that lasted just two hours, 28 minutes. The M's will remain in the Bronx for Game 2 of the series on Wednesday night.
Cubs Use Walk-Off to Split Doubleheader With Dodgers
The Chicago Cubs have had seven games postponed due to weather this season, including Monday night, which caused their intriguing series with the Los Angeles Dodgers to be put on hold until Tuesday. Their doubleheader did no disappoint on Tuesday, including Albert Almora Jr. hitting a walk-off single in the 10th inning of Game 2 for a 2-1 Cubs' win. Kris Bryant got the inning started with a triple, before Brock Stewart intentionally walked Javier Baez to face Almora, which did not work out for him. The Cubs trailed after an Austin Barnes RBI single in the sixth, but they quickly responded on Kyle Schwarber's 13th home run in the seventh. It was a fairly good pitching matchup, which included the return of Rich Hill for the Dodgers, who went on the disabled list on May 20th. Hill lasted six innings and allowed just three hits without giving up a run. Mike Montgomery retaliated by going six innings and giving up a run on five hits. He has a 1.21 ERA in five starts since replacing the injured Yu Darvish in the starting rotation. The walk-off win for the Cubs gave them a doubleheader split, as the Dodgers earned a one-run win of their own in Game 1, 4-3. Kyle Farmer had the go-ahead two*run double in the ninth inning for Los Angeles, who was frustrated by the umpires strike zone the entire afternoon. That included Yasmani Grandal getting thrown out, while Matt Kemp and manager Dave Roberts also got into it with the man calling balls and strikes. Despite being the hero in the nightcap, Almora had a chance to extend his team's lead with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, but popped out to end the threat. Farmer's game-winner came in the pinch-hitting role, which he is 6-for-16 with two doubles in, despite hitting just .238 overall. Justin Wilson surrendered the knock to suffer the loss, while Edward Paredes moved to 2-0 after getting the final out in the eighth. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 18th save, as the Dodgers got support from Joc Pederson's leadoff home run and an RBI from Yasiel Puig. Bryant doubled twice and drove in two, while Anthony Rizzo also knocked in a run for the Cubs, who will host the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.
The Houston Astros had to feel good about themselves heading in to Tuesday night, just one victory away from breaking a franchise record win streak, with their ace, Justin Verlander, taking the mound. Although, the Tampa Bay Rays had other things in mind on this night, as they were able to put an end to the Astros' 12-game win streak with a 2-1 victory. C.J. Cron connected with his 16th home run, while Wilson Ramos broke a tie with an eighth-inning RBI single, as Houston was unable to break the mark that was set by the 1999 and 2004 teams. Cron's solo shot in the second inning snapped a career-long 0-for-23 slump, as it was his first hit since June 12th. The drought featured 18 strikeouts for the Rays' first baseman. Matt Duffy scored on Ramos' single after leading the eighth off with a double, before moving to third on Jake Bauers' groundout. The Astros struggled to support their ace, as they finished just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Verlander definitely did his part by allowing just one run on six hits and striking out 10 over 6.2 innings. Hector Rondon suffered his second loss out of the Astros' bullpen after allowing a run on two hits in his lone inning of work. The closest the Astros got to a run outside of the only score they had was George Springer getting thrown out at home in the first inning on a fly ball by Evan Gattis. Alex Bregman's RBI single in the third inning was the only source of run production for the defending champs, as they struggled to figure out Rays' starter Blake Snell. The right-hander improved to 9-4 by going seven innings and striking out six to overcome his seven walks. These two teams will continue their series on Wednesday night.
Yankees Power Past Mariners at Home
It is no surprise that a New York Yankees team is using the long ball to have consistent success, as this year's team continues to hit the ball out of the park en route to wins. The Yankees hit four home runs on Tuesday night to take care of the red hot Seattle Mariners with a 7-2 win at Yankee Stadium. Those four long balls supported Domingo German, who struck out nine over seven innings to earn his second win in the big leagues. The rookie allowed just two hits in the longest outing of his young career, Of the four home runs the Yankees had, Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks each connected for two-run shots off of Marco Gonzales. Hicks has now gone deep in three straight games, as he recorded three hits from the leadoff spot in Tuesday's win. Gleyber Torress and Giancarlo Stanton also connected for solo blasts, as the Yankees moved a season-high 26 games over .500 and a game ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the top spot in the AL East. German had allowed the first two runners of the night to reach on a hit and an error, but then retired 19 batters in a row before Nelson Cruz hit his 18th home run in the seventh inning. The right-hander was coming off his first career win against the Tampa Bay Rays last week and did not walk a batter, while throwing 67 of his 96 pitches for strikes. His team has now won 15 of 19 games overall, as A.J. Cole threw two scoreless innings to end the game that lasted just two hours, 28 minutes. The M's will remain in the Bronx for Game 2 of the series on Wednesday night.
Cubs Use Walk-Off to Split Doubleheader With Dodgers
The Chicago Cubs have had seven games postponed due to weather this season, including Monday night, which caused their intriguing series with the Los Angeles Dodgers to be put on hold until Tuesday. Their doubleheader did no disappoint on Tuesday, including Albert Almora Jr. hitting a walk-off single in the 10th inning of Game 2 for a 2-1 Cubs' win. Kris Bryant got the inning started with a triple, before Brock Stewart intentionally walked Javier Baez to face Almora, which did not work out for him. The Cubs trailed after an Austin Barnes RBI single in the sixth, but they quickly responded on Kyle Schwarber's 13th home run in the seventh. It was a fairly good pitching matchup, which included the return of Rich Hill for the Dodgers, who went on the disabled list on May 20th. Hill lasted six innings and allowed just three hits without giving up a run. Mike Montgomery retaliated by going six innings and giving up a run on five hits. He has a 1.21 ERA in five starts since replacing the injured Yu Darvish in the starting rotation. The walk-off win for the Cubs gave them a doubleheader split, as the Dodgers earned a one-run win of their own in Game 1, 4-3. Kyle Farmer had the go-ahead two*run double in the ninth inning for Los Angeles, who was frustrated by the umpires strike zone the entire afternoon. That included Yasmani Grandal getting thrown out, while Matt Kemp and manager Dave Roberts also got into it with the man calling balls and strikes. Despite being the hero in the nightcap, Almora had a chance to extend his team's lead with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, but popped out to end the threat. Farmer's game-winner came in the pinch-hitting role, which he is 6-for-16 with two doubles in, despite hitting just .238 overall. Justin Wilson surrendered the knock to suffer the loss, while Edward Paredes moved to 2-0 after getting the final out in the eighth. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 18th save, as the Dodgers got support from Joc Pederson's leadoff home run and an RBI from Yasiel Puig. Bryant doubled twice and drove in two, while Anthony Rizzo also knocked in a run for the Cubs, who will host the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.
