​Things haven’t always gone smoothly for the Yankees lately, but they’ll head into the All-Star break on a positive note. To cap off the weekend in Washington, D.C., New York pulled off a trio of comeback wins against the Nationals. There are still many areas where the club must improve and several swings of luck that need to go their way for the rest of the season, yet they did manage to finish the first half with a couple of victories.
Amid the Yankees’ late-week resurgence, action continued around the league, with several games influencing the standings in the American League. Here’s a look at how other notable teams fared as they closed out the first half.
Seattle gained ground before the break, edging the Rays thanks to three RBI efforts from J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena. The Mariners opened things up early, with Victor Robles driving in a run on a sacrifice fly and Crawford adding an RBI double to extend Seattle’s lead. The fourth inning, however, saw Weston Wilson and Arozarena go deep, the latter producing a three-run shot that helped break the game open. A starter’s misfortune for Seattle came when Emerson Hancock departed after just 1.2 innings due to a hand injury from a comebacker, though X-rays proved negative. Seattle’s bullpen steadied the ship, allowing only four hits across the final 7.1 innings. Tampa Bay did muster a pair of runs in the eighth on a Jonathan Aranda homer, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback, as Seattle’s bullpen shut the door.
In another matchup, the Texas Rangers defeated the Houston Astros 6-5 in a dramatic eighth-inning rally and a ninth-inning walk-off. Texas led 3-0 and 4-1 before Houston clawed back and even took the lead on a Cam Smith homer in the top of the eighth. Kyle Higashioka answered in the bottom of the frame with a game-tying knock, and Texas captured the win in the following inning on Nimmo’s RBI single. The late heroics capped a rollercoaster of a game, giving the Rangers a much-needed victory in a tight divisional race.
The Chicago White Sox continued to surge, routing the Oakland Athletics 9-1 to move into a tie for the AL Central lead at the All-Star break. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, Chicago struck back with six runs in the bottom half, highlighted by a Braden Montgomery three-run homer. The early burst carried the day, and a combination of Noah Schultz’s solid pitching and a dominant bullpen sealed the lopsided win for the South Siders.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians stayed in the thick of things, topping the Miami Marlins 5-2 to maintain their pace in the standings. Cleveland never trailed, scoring two runs in the top of the first on RBI hits from Brayan Rocchio and Kyle Manzardo, and they rode strong pitching from their bullpen to secure the victory and keep themselves in contact with the leaders as the season heads toward its second half.