Rivalry Roundup: Bobby Witt Jr. grand slam not enough vs. Tigers
09/17/2024 10:00 AM
Results between AL Central rivals added more heat to the AL Wild Card race.
The Yankees enjoyed a well-deserved offday after taking three of four from Red Sox. The Orioles also had the day off, so the Bombers' lead in the division remained at three.
Cleveland Guardians (87-64) 4, Minnesota Twins (79-71) 3
The Twins held a pretty firm grip on this contest throughout, however the Guardians' MLB-best bullpen put up all zeroes once again to allow their offense to slowly but surely fight there way into a winning position. Minnesota jumped out to an early lead, scoring three in the third. Carlos Correa kicked it off with a one-out double before two-out walks of Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers loaded the bases. A passed ball charged to Bo Naylor allowed Correa to score and Lewis and Jeffers to move up to second and there, and a Byron Buxton single would drive in the pair.
Cleveland got on the board in the fifth, first putting runners on the corners on a Brayan Rocchio hit by pitch and Angel Martínez double, an Andrés Giménez single driving in the former while the latter was thrown out at the plate. They then cut the lead to one in the seventh on a Martínez single with the bases loaded following a Kyle Manzardo walk, Will Brennan single, and Naylor walk. Facing one of the best relievers in baseball in Griffin Jax in the eighth, Manzardo came through with the decisive hit, a two-run homer to win the game after Josh Naylor led off with a double.
Detroit Tigers (78-73) 7, Kansas City Royals (82-69) 6
Bobby Witt Jr. drove in five runs but it wasn't enough against a young Tigers team desperate to steal their way into the postseason. Four of those runs came on a third inning grand slam, the transcendent shortstop's 32nd home run of the season. Detroit clawed one back in the fourth on a Zach McKinstry triple and Trey Sweeney sac fly, but Kansas City immediately erased it in the bottom-half, MJ Melendez smacking a one-out triple and scoring on a Maikel Garcia single.
It was pretty much all Tigers from there, the Detroit outfit scoring three in each of the fifth and sixth. Parker Meadows led off with a single, advanced to second on a Seth Lugo wild pitch, and scored on a Matt Vierling single and Witt throwing error. Colt Keith followed with a two-run blast and just like that the Royals' lead was down to one. Kansas City restored a two run cushion in the bottom-half, Kyle Isbel leading off with a triple and coming home to score on a Witt single, his 200th hit of the season. However, in the sixth, Andy Ibáñez and Jake Rogers opened the frame with a pair of singles, both scoring on a Wenceel Pérez pinch-hit double, himself then driven in by a Vierling single.
With the win and the Twins' loss, the Tigers pull to within 1.5 games of the final AL Wild Card spot.
San Diego Padres (86-65) 3, Houston Astros (81-69) 1
Yu Darvish neutralized the potent Houston offense for six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks. His offense opened the scoring in the first on a pair of two-out doubles, first by Jurickson Profar followed by Manny Machado to drive the former in. They doubled their lead in the fourth on a Jackson Merrill leadoff home run, the 24th of the year for the NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner.
The Astros halved the deficit in the eighth, Jose Altuve leading off with a double and scoring on a Yordan Alvarez single. However, Jurickson Profar responded in the bottom-half with a leadoff home run. The Padres had a few opportunities to blow this game open, Luis Arraez striking out with a pair on to end the second, his first strikeout in 37 games, the longest such streak in the last 20 years. Then in the fifth, Machado flew out to strand the bases loaded and was later thrown out trying to steal second in the eighth, erasing what would have been another run as San Diego followed with a pair of hits, but regardless three runs was enough to secure the win.
