Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Toronto and Boston ride the long ball to victories

Up at Fenway, the Red Sox took the opener in ths three-game set of teams that have deeply disappointed their fanbases thus far. Somewhat curiously, ther were 21 hits between the two clubs, but all of the scoring came on two swings in one inning: a Carlos Correa solo shot in the top of the third and a Jarren Duran three-run shot in the home half against Mike Burrows. View Link Jake Bennett got the win for Boston in his MLB debut, stepping in for fellow southpaw Garrett Crochet, who recently hit the IL with shoulder inflammation. Aside from the Correa homer, Bennett was up to the task, scattering five hits and two walks in his five innings. It was a theme, as the Astros kept giving themselves chances, but failed to register the big blow. The threats included two-out doubles from Yainer Diaz and Correa against Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman, respectively, and the two former Yankee affiliates were up to the task. Whitlock got Cam Smith to pop up with two men on in the eighth, and Chapman getting his old nemesis Jose Altuve to ground out to end it.

Toronto Blue Jays (15-17) 7, Minnesota Twins (14-19) 3

Deuces were wild in the first five frames of this one, as the Jays notched two-run innings in the second, fourth, and fifth, while the Twins tallied two in the third on a Byron Buxton homer. Kazuma Okamoto countered with a pair of two-run shots against Simeon Woods Richardson, registering his first multi-homer game since leaving the NPB this past offseason. View Link Patrick Corbin was the one who coughed up the dinger to Buxton but otherwise made like Bennett (or more appropriately, Bennett made like the veteran Corbin) and sprinkled around the six hits, a walk, and a plunking during his 5.1 innings, registering his first win in Toronto. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays tacked on a few insurance runs, which were helpful because Jeff Hoffman had a shaky appearance in middle relief — albeit one that included two infield singles among the three hits, and a score on a sacrifice fly. Minnesota did get the tying run in the on-deck circle with two down in the ninth when Buxton walked and Austin Martin beat out an infield single. But Louie Varland struck out Ryan Jeffers to end it as the Jays drew even with their avian friends in Baltimore at a 15-17 record.

Other Games

**Tampa Bay Rays (19-12) 3, San Francisco Giants (13-19) 0**: The Rays kept pace with the Yanks and stayed a game and a half behind first place by blanking the Giants at the Trop in the Longo Bowl. Shane McClanahan allowed four singles, a Luis Arraez double, and nothing else in his shutout work through six, which was held up by the bullpen. Although Robbie Ray surrendered fewer hits (four) across his 6.1 innings, two of them were solo shots by Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz (who departed early with left side tightness). Can’t win like that with this paltry Giants offense. View Link **Seattle Mariners (16-17) 6, Kansas City Royals (13-19) 7**: The disappointing Royals won a wild one in Seattle that saw them blow a 4-0 lead that they built in the top of the first inning alone against Bryan Woo and allow four homers, including two by Julio Rodríguez. Cole Ragans’ shaky start to 2026 continued and Daniel Lynch IV got burned in the home half of the seventh on a two-run clout by J-Rod that tied the game at 6-6. Fortunately for KC, Lane Thomas got them back in front a half-inning later on an RBI single, and each of Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg threw hitless ball to hold the M’s at bay. View Link **Texas Rangers (16-16) 5**, **Detroit Tigers (16-17) 4**: The Rangers made this one more difficult than it had to be, as they built a 4-0 lead through three with Danny Jansen homering along the way, but the four-run advantage went poof across the fourth and fifth. Former Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore’s rough transition to the American League continued; he’s surrendered 13 runs across 18.1 innings in his last four starts combined. Alejandro Osuna broke the tie in the eighth by following Jake Burger’s double off Burch Smith with one of his own. Jakob Junis and Jacob Latz were perfect in their appearances to give Texas the road victory. View Link **Cleveland Guardians (17-16) 8, The Athletics (17-15) 5**: Out in West Sacramento, the A’s had no answer for Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter, who went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, and two RBI on behalf of Cleveland, who turned a 4-2 deficit in the fourth into a comfortable 8-4 lead by the seventh-inning stretch. Rhys Hoskins also had a homer and a two-run double, with the eight-run outburst on the whole enough to withstand a bad day from Guardians starter Joey Cantillo. His bullpen picked him up, as six different Cleveland pitchers combined for five innings of four-hit ball, with Hunter Gaddis the only member of the sextet to struggle. Cade Smith went four up, four down for the save. View Link