2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, May 22-24

As the weeks continue trekking along, we continue simulating 2020 MLB season games. Here are the results for May 22-24 for the American League.

As they have done repeatedly throughout the 2020 MLB season simulation, the Astros this weekend took up residence in an East Coast city and acted like they owned the place. This time it was the Boston Red Sox who provided the hospitality in the form of 9-2, 6-5, and 15-4 Astros victories.

The outcomes ran Houston’s record to 14-2 against AL East opponents through the first one-third of the simulation. The Astros are 3-0 in Tampa Bay, 3-0 in Boston, and 2-1 in Toronto.

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They have yet to visit New York or Baltimore; fans there may be forewarned.

The Astros never gave fans at Fenway a hope. By the third inning of Friday’s opener they led 6-1, more than enough wiggle room for Justin Verlander, 8-3. He struck out seven before being pulled after six innings, there being no further point to his labors. Michael Brantley homered twice and drove in three runs, Yordan Alvarez and Yuli Gurriel both also homered.

The Red Sox only really mounted a challenge Saturday when Martin Perez pitched them to a 5-4 lead through six innings. But the Astros tapped reliever Michael Walden for the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh, Jose Altuve’s with Alex Bregman aboard home run doing the damage. Roberto Osuna picked up the save in relief of Austin Pruitt, who relieved Zack Greinke in the third.

The Sunday finale was as lacking in drama as Friday’s event. Alvarez hit a three-run home in the top of the first, Houston took a quick 7-1 lead against Darwinson Hernandez, and the rest was bookkeeping. Gurriel homered three times, running his total for the series to four, and the visitors hit five overall. Brad Peacock, 4-2, got credit for the win.

In other simulated weekend action, New York took two of three from the Seattle Mariners, Toronto swept Baltimore, and the Tampa Bay Rays won two of three in Detroit.

Central-leading Minnesota hung on to capture two tight decisions from the Chicago White Sox, Texas took two of three from Kansas City, and the Oakland Athletics hammered the Angels three straight.

In the weekend’s interleague series, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept visiting Cleveland.