Poor air quality in Cleveland yesterday resulted in the postponement of the Pirates/Guardians game, and the two sides will make it up with a split doubleheader today (start times of 12:10pm CT and 6:10pm CT). Jared Jones and Gavin Williams will be the opposing starters in Game 1, while Logan Allen is expected to be called up to start the nightcap for the Guards and Braxton Ashcraft will start for the Bucs. This is the second straight Saturday with a doubleheader for the Pirates, who swept their twin bill with the Brewers on July 11.
1. Red Sox turn it up to 11
Speaking of doubleheaders, the Red Sox defeated the Rays by 10-0 and 5-3 scores on Friday, as Boston extended its win streak to 11 games. The 48-48 Sox are back at the .500 mark for the first time since Opening Day, as the team’s remarkable 16-2 record in their last 18 games has resurrected what seemed like a lost season. Boston is now just percentage points behind the Twins for the final AL wild card slot, and eight games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. Patrick Sandoval looks to take the Red Sox a step closer as today’s starting pitcher, while the Rays send Ian Seymour to the mound.
2. Lopsided scores around the game
The second half began with a bang (or a thud) for multiple teams on Friday, as Boston’s 10-0 win over Tampa was one of five games decided by at least seven runs. The Nationals’ 23-4 thrashing of the Athletics was the biggest rout of the bunch, as the 23 runs tied the second-highest single-game run total in the history of the Nationals/Expos franchise. Andres Chaparro went 4-for-5 with eight RBI to lead Washington to victory, and the A’s lost their tenth straight game. The Braves also enjoyed a 15-1 cakewalk over the Rangers, in a game that got so weird that pitcher Victor Mederos got a two-run single off catcher Kyle Higashioka (in for mop-up duty) in the bottom of the eighth. Mederos is now 1-for-1 at the plate in his MLB career, and his single marked the first hit from a full-time pitcher since the universal DH was implemented before the 2022 season.
3. Royals score wild walkoff in extras
The Padres scored in the top of the ninth to force extra innings in Kansas City last night, then scored three more runs in the top of the 10th to make it a 6-3 game. Since superstar closer Mason Miller was already used in the bottom of the ninth, however, San Diego turned to Kyle Hart to try and close things out Friday, with disastrous results. The Royals delivered four singles in five at-bats against Hart, with Carter Jensen‘s two-run single acting as the walkoff in a 7-6 victory. The loss drops the Padres back under the .500 mark to 48-49, in a blow to the team’s attempts to stay in contention and avoid having to sell at the trade deadline.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.mlbtraderumors.com ’
