The New York Yankees are another step closer to taking the AL East title after beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Saturday in the Bronx.
New York has won its past seven games and will wait to see how the Toronto Blue Jays fare against the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend, with the race tight against Toronto for the division crown. The Blue Jays host the Rays on Saturday and Sunday, and Toronto holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York, so the Yankees need a Toronto loss and a win of their own on Sunday, or two Blue Jays losses.
Meanwhile, there’s a full slate of AL games this weekend with postseason ramifications as the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers seek a postseason berth. Both will get in if they win their respective games Saturday or if the Houston Astros lose to the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers face the Boston Red Sox at 4:10 p.m. ET, the Guardians host the Texas Rangers at 7:15 p.m. ET, and the Astros play at the Angels with a 9:38 p.m. ET first pitch Saturday.
Here’s what Saturday’s games mean for each team.
Yankees 6, Orioles 1
Nothing else matters
The Yankees need to treat Game No. 162 like Game 7 of the World Series. A win Sunday and they’ll preserve their chance at swiping the AL East crown — and the all-important first-round bye — from the Blue Jays. They’ll go into the day with a rested bullpen thanks to seven scoreless innings from impressive rookie Cam Schlittler on Saturday.
The Yankees will have to do it against formidable Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish, who gave up just one run in six innings against the Yankees on Sept. 21. They may be without star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who left Saturday’s game in obvious pain after getting hit on the left forearm. Initial tests didn’t show any damage for Chisholm, the Yankees said. The Yankees saved their biggest game of the season for last. — Brendan Kuty, Yankees beat writer
The Yankees could use a first-round bye if Jazz Chisholm needs to miss any time. (Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)
Trey Yesavage delivers for Blue Jays to push AL East race to final day
Five months ago, Trey Yesavage was in Low A, facing the Bradenton Marauders and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. On Saturday, he posted five shutout innings to help the Blue Jays topple the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. The win sends the American League East race down to the final day of the regular season.
The Jays and Yankees remained tied in division standings at 93 wins. As Toronto owns the tiebreaker, it can clinch the franchise’s first division title since 2015 with a Sunday victory.
After the Yankees beat Baltimore, the Jays required a win to keep pace on Saturday. Yesavage, in his third big-league start, delivered. In his home debut, the righty set a new high in pitches (94) and velocity (96.9 mph). He handed things off to the Jays’ bullpen after five to finish the crucial victory.
The Jays will turn to Kevin Gausman with the division in play on Sunday. Gausman owns a 2.52 ERA in his past eight starts, but the Jays are 2-6 in those outings. A victory earns Toronto a pass to the Division Series and needed time for injured players like Bo Bichette (knee) and Chris Bassitt (back).
This story will be updated as other AL games wrap on Saturday. Check back for more.
(Photo: Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)
