The Toronto Blue Jays, who face the New York Yankees on Tuesday, can breathe a little easier as their closest rivals in the standings, the Texas Rangers, lost 4-2 to the Boston Red Sox on Monday night at the Globe Life Field.
The Rangers’ offense was non-existent in this matchup. In fact, the two minor points the club scored were the work of shortstop Marcus Semien, who hit a remarkable home run in the first inning.
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Coach Bruce Bochy’s team led 2-1 until the sixth inning. Then the Red Sox woke up and took the lead in the eighth inning thanks to a single by Rob Refsnyder, who scored two RBIs. The Massachusetts-based club hasn’t looked back.
With this setback, the Rangers (82-68) are now one game behind the Blue Jays (83-67), who are in second place among teams drafted in the American League. John Schneider’s team therefore has the opportunity to extend their slim lead at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
The twins bow heavily
The day after a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins were no match for the Reds in Cincinnati, losing 7-3.
Édouard Julien, who stood out the day before with a three-run home run, was much less visible on Monday. The Quebecer made four at-bats and had just one walk.
Fortunately for the Twins (79-72), they are not in danger in the standings. The Central Section leaders still have a good margin compared to the Cleveland Guardians (72-79). They also suffered an embarrassing 6-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals (49-102), one of the worst teams in major baseball.
An important plateau for Wainwright
In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright joined a select group by recording his 200th career win in the Cardinals’ 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 42-year-old veteran spent seven innings on the mound and allowed just four hits.
Wainwright is the 122nd Gunner to reach this plateau and the fifth among active players, joining Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.