2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, May 25-28
By Bill Felber
2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games (May 25-28)
American League East
By escaping Tampa Bay with two narrow victories, the Blue Jays leapfrogged Boston into second place in the East. They trail the slumping Yankees by three and one-half games. The two teams are not scheduled to meet again until early July in Toronto.
Tampa’s only victory came Tuesday when Yonny Chirinos pitched six shutout innings and Yoshitorro Tsutsugo delivered the biggest night of his season. Tsutsugo homered twice and doubled, driving across seven runs in a 9-3 win.
The victory followed by one night Tampa’s 6-4 victory over the Tigers in the Monday wrapup of their series. Tyler Glasnow, 3-4 pitched six innings in that one, handing Jordan Zimmerman his second defeat against five victories.
On Wednesday the Jays broke a 3-3 tie with three 10th inning runs, Jonathan Davis’ first home of the season being the big one. But it was all closer Ken Giles could do to hold down the Rays, who touched him for two runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to the second of Austin Meadows’ two doubles. With the tying run at third, Giles fanned Brandon Lowe to end the game.
Toronto scored six times in the final two innings Thursday to hand Mike Shoemaker an 11-6 win, running his record to 5-4. Toronto drove Rays starter Brendan McKay from the mound with five runs in two and two-thirds innings, then battered Colin Poche for five runs toward the game’s end. Catcher Ryan McGuire led a 15-hit Toronto attack with two home runs and five RBIs.
The Red Sox sank to third because they could get nothing more than a split at home against the Kansas City Royals. Boston survived the opener 4-3, stringing 10th innings singles by Alex Verdugo, Rafael Devers, and Xander Bogaerts for the walk-off. The Red Sox had an easier time in Tuesday’s 8-1 decision, Collin McHugh, 7-3, giving up one run in five innings.
Then things turned bad for the Red Sox. On Wednesday Mike Montgomery, 3-4, needed only final-out help from Jorge Lopez to clean up a 9-0 one-hit decision. Montgomery held the Sox to a sixth-inning single by Michael Chavis, striking out seven and walking four.
On Thursday the Royals squared the series, winning 7-5 on two home runs by Salvador Perez. Danny Duffy, 6-3, got the win; Ian Kennedy earned his eighth save.
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W-L Pct GB
New York 32-26 .552 —
Toronto 28-29 .491 3.5
Boston 27-31 .466 5
Tampa Bay 26-33 .441 6.5
Baltimore 22-36 .379 10