AROUND THE HORN
Yankees: A day after Yankees ace Gerrit Cole exited his start because of tightness in his left hamstring, manager Aaron Boone said the star righthander was feeling better about his situation. “I think he’s encouraged. I don’t think we have anything definitive yet,” Boone said before Wednesday night’s game against the Blue Jays. “I think the next 24, 48 hours is going to determine where we move and how he responds but I think he was encouraged by how he felt coming in here,” he said. Boone said Cole wasn’t getting an MRI but also said the team would see “if that’s in the cards.” Cole was pulled with two outs in the fourth inning of a 5-1 loss Tuesday. He allowed three runs, two of them earned, and five hits in 3 innings. Cole threw 70 pitches as the Blue Jays put together several lengthy at-bats against him. He struck out two, tying the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler for the MLB lead with 217. Cole is 14-7 with a 2.78 ERA. He had been 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA in four starts since missing time following a positive test for COVID-19.
Giants: Lamonte Wade Jr. and Evan Longoria each had two RBIS during a fourrun rally in the ninth inning and the streaking Giants beat the Rockies 7-4 on Wednesday in Denver. The Giants (90-50) won their fourth straight and became the first team in the majors to win 90 games. They began the day with a one-game lead in the NL West over the rival Dodgers. Brandon Crawford homered and Brandon Belt had three hits for the Giants. Tyler Rogers (6-1) worked a scoreless eighth and Jake Mcgee pitched the ninth for his 30th save. The Giants trailed 4-3 when Carlos Estévez (2-4) walked pinch-hitter Buster Posey to open the ninth and two straight singles loaded the bases. Wade lined another single to right-center to give the Giants the lead. Longoria doubled to center to cap the comeback. Elías Díaz, who also had two doubles, put Colorado ahead 4-3 with his 16th HR in the sixth. Giants starter Anthony Desclafani gave up three straight singles, including one to pitcher Jon Gray that drove in the first run, before exiting with one out in the fifth. A groundout and Trevor Story’s double gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead. The Giants tied it on Crawford’s three-run HR — his 20th — in the sixth off Gray, who was activated from the injured list for the start. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out eight in five-plus innings . ... Giants manager said RHP Johnny Cueto won’t start throwing on the side for another 10 days. Cueto, 35, who’s 7-7 with a 4.09 ERA, has been on the IL for a week due to a right elbow strain. Kapler didn’t rule out a return before the postseason.
Mariners: José Marmolejos hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the ninth and J.P. Crawford padded the lead with two-run HR as the Mariners avoided a sweep with an 8-5 win over the host Astros. With the score 4-4, Luis Torrens singled with one out in the Mariners ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Dylan Moore. Jarred Kelenic walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch by closer Ryan Pressly (5-2). Marmolejos grounded a single to center to put the Mariners ahead. Blake Taylor relieved and Crawford connected for a drive to right field. The Mariners trailed most of the game before tying it at 4 on a two-run double by Kelenic with two outs in the seventh. Diego Castillo (3-5) struck out the side in the eighth for the win. Paul Sewald gave up a solo homer to Alex Bregman in the ninth before retiring the next three batters to end it. Recentlysigned Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run HR and Jose Altuve had a solo shot for the AL West-leading Astros. José Urquidy permitted four hits and two runs in three innings in his second start since coming off the IL. The Mariners’ Tyler Anderson allowed seven hits and four runs in 4 innings.