Rays reach 90 wins by blanking Blue Jays
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen combined with four relievers on a three-hitter, Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi homered, and the Rays became the first AL team to reach 90 wins by beating the Blue Jays 2-0 in Toronto on Tuesday.
After losing four of their previous five, the East-leading Rays hit the 90-win mark for the eighth time — all in the past 14 seasons.
The Blue Jays, who had won 12 of their previous 13, fell into a tie with the Yankees for the lead in the AL wild-card race. Boston, which played later in Seattle, was a half-game back.
Pitching well and playing good defense to defeat a postseason contender put the Rays in an October frame of mind.
Catcher Mike Zunino “came in after the game and said, ‘That’s what a playoff game feels like,’ ” Rasmussen said. “To go out there and see how well our pitching staff did, and also how well our defense played — that really gives our team a lot of confidence. We can match up with the best of them.”
Toronto right-hander Jose Berrios (11-8) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings before leaving because of soreness in his left abdominal muscle.
“He felt something on his side,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. “Of course, he was doing a great job. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. He’s getting treatment right now.” Yankees 7, Orioles 2: Aaron Judge started a five-homer barrage that backed Gerrit Cole and visiting New York won consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 1 and 3. Cole (15-7), returning from left hamstring tightness that cut short his Sept. 7 start against Toronto, allowed one run and four hits in five innings.
Rangers 8, Astros 1: All-Star outfielder Adolis Garcia tied Texas’ rookie record set by Pete Incaviglia (1986) by hitting his 30th home run as the host Rangers won. Houston starter Zack Greinke, in his return from the COVID-19 injured list, allowed eight runs and three homers in five innings.
Cubs 6, Phillies 3: St. Mary’s alum Patrick Wisdom tied the franchise rookie record set by Kris Bryant (2015) with his 26th home run and former A’s prospect Alfonso Rivas hit his first career homer for visiting Chicago.
Pirates 6, Reds 5: Wade Miley surrendered six runs on 10 hits as visiting Cincinnati, fighting for a wild-card berth, lost for the sixth time in eight games. Pittsburgh starter Dillon Peters (1-2) threw five shutout innings.
Cardinals 7, Mets 6: Edmundo Sosa hit the go-ahead single in a three-run 11th inning and St. Louis held off host New York. The Mets scored twice in the 11th, but Kwang Hyun Kim retired pinch-hitter Albert Almora Jr. with two runners on for the final out.
Rockies 5, Braves 4: Brendan Rodgers and Trevor Story homered for visiting Colorado. Atlanta’s Adam Duvall, the NL RBI leader with 101, hit his 35th homer.
White Sox 9, Angels 3: Rookie Gavin Sheets hit a long three-run homer and had four RBIs in his first three-hit game as host Chicago rolled.
Indians, Twins, split: Ryan Jeffers had four RBIs in the second game of a doubleheader as host Minnesota gained a split with a 6-3 victory over Cleveland. In the opener, Tristan McKenzie cruised through six innings as the Indians won 3-1.
Tigers 1, Brewers 0: Derek Hill hit a leadoff RBI double in the 11th inning as host Detroit snapped Milwaukee’s fivegame winning streak. Wily Peralta and four relievers combined on a four-hitter for the Tigers.
Nationals 8, Marlins 2: Ryan Zimmerman homered to help host Washington win. Lewin Diaz homered twice for Miami.