2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, July 6-9

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(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

The Orioles take 2 of 3 from the Mariners, but still have the worst record in the AL. Boston runs its record to 14 straight in this 2020 MLB season sim.

When the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners met this week in Seattle, it was to settle a status neither desired: worst team in the 2020 MLB season AL simulation.

That the Orioles won twice in the three-game series didn’t actually help them avoid that designation. Heading into the final weekend before the All-Star break, they remain percentage points behind the Mariners at the bottom of the AL pecking order.

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But it did provide a small measure of hope for the future, particularly given that they will host the Mariners for three more games following the break. For Orioles fans, perhaps that will be the moment to actually get ahead of somebody in the standings.

The Orioles took the series by running roughshod over the Mariners Monday, then dividing a pair of one-run games. Alex Cobb was solid if not spectacular Monday, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs in a 10-5 decision.

Richie Martin had three hits, while Jorge Rondon, Austin Wynns, Pedro Severino, and Hanser Alberto all drove in two runs.

Tuesday’s 4-3 win was a tougher slog. Kohl Stewart gave up just two runs in his seven innings and left with a 4-2 lead thanks to home runs by Dwight Smith Jr. and Renato Nunez. Mychal Givens shut down a brief ninth inning Mariners rally to pick up his 12th save.

That positioned the Orioles to actually jump ahead of Seattle in the AL standings with a Wednesday win. The game was a 1-1 tie until the bottom of the eighth when Shed Long’s pinch-hit single off Hunter Harvey sent home Dylan Moore, who had drawn a base on balls. Long’s hit, only Seattle’s third of the game, made a winner out of Taijuan Walker, who allowed just that single run and five hits in eight innings.

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In other mid-week action, the Boston Red Sox ran their season-high winning streak to 14 games with a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. The Yankees lost a two-game series to the Mets, and the Tampa Bay Rays split a pair of games with the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the AL Central, Cleveland won twice at Cincinnati. The Minnesota Twins won two of three against the Kansas City Royals, then opened a four-game weekend series against the Blue Jays with an 8-5 victory. The White Sox lost twice to the Cubs.

In the West, the Los Angeles Angels won three of four against the visiting Detroit Tigers, while Texas lost two of three in Miami. The division-leading Astros emerged with two victories in a three-game homestand against the NL East’s Philadelphia Phillies, while their chief rivals, the Oakland A’s, split a pair of games with the San Francisco Giants and then lost the opener of a four-game series with the Mariners.

In this 2020 MLB season simulation, in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox are on a roll.

By blitzing the Blue Jays while the Yankees were taken down by the Mets, Boston opened up a four and one-half game division lead, something that would have been unthinkable two weeks ago when they were in third place five and one-half games out.

Since then Boston has out-scored its 14 opponents by an average of 7-2. The Jays made as good a run at the Red Sox as any team has done recently, losing two of their three games by a single run. The result, however, was the same.

Boston unleashed its wrath on Toronto Monday, scoring seven times in the third inning to open up an 8-0 lead in what would become a 9-2 victory. Alex Verdugo and the scorchingly hot Mitch Moreland both homered, Moreland’s driving in three runs. Nathan Eovaldi, 7-4, got an easy win.

Moreland absolutely tortured the Jays Tuesday, homering in the second, fourth, and sixth innings. Still, the game was tied 3-3 until the seventh when Rafael Devers took Anthony Bass deep for a 4-3 Boston win.

The Blue Jays appeared to have Wednesday’s finale in the bag, leading 8-3 into the bottom of the eight. That’s when the Sox unleashed a five-run attack on reliever Wilmer Font, the key shot being Jonathan Lucroy’s three-run home run.

That tied the game and sent it into extra innings, when Devers’ walk-off RBI double off A.J. Cole scored Verdugo with the 9-8 winner.

The Yankees ran afoul of Stephen Matz Tuesday. Completing seven innings, Matz allowed one run and five hits in a 9-1 victory. Pete Alonso homered twice and Michael Conforto hit a three-run home run to highlight a five-run first off loser Jonathan Loaisiga, 8-6.

The Mets added Wednesday’s win 8-5 behind Matt Adams, who homered twice and drove in five runs.

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W-L Pct GB

Boston Red Sox 54-39 .581 —

New York Yankees 50-44 .532 4.5

Toronto Blue Jays 50-44 .532 4.5

Tampa Bay Rays 47-47 .500 7.5

Baltimore Orioles 34-62 .354 21.5

In this 2020 MLB season simulation, in the AL Central, it’s a two-team race.

With the Indians winning twice in Cincinnati, Minnesota felt pressure to keep from falling further behind in the division. The Twins responded well, handling the Royals 5-1 Monday behind Kenta Maeda (8-5), and 5-3 Wednesday. In that game, Ehrie Adrianza’s two-run walk-off blast against Randy Rosario was the difference.

Minnesota also won the Thursday opener of its weekend series with Toronto 8-5 on home runs by Josh Donaldson, Byron Buxton, and Adrianza.

The only setback came Tuesday when the Royals pummeled a half dozen Twins pitchers for a dozen runs on 17 hits and eight walks. Adalberto Mondesi homered twice and hit safely five times, leading the rout.

The White Sox are slowly watching their wild card hopes fade, and their two games against the Cubs only added to the heartbreak. The North Siders won 2-1 Tuesday on Javier Baez’s seventh-inning home run off Lucas Giolito, which broke a 1-1 tie.

The Cubs won another thriller Wednesday, this time breaking a 4-4 tie in the top of the ninth inning on a Kris Bryant bomb off Evan Marshall. Nomar Mazara drove in two runs for the Sox, but they only offset the two driven in by Anthony Rizzo for the Cubs.

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W-L Pct GB

Cleveland Indians 62-30 .674 —

Minnesota Twins 60-35 .632 3.5

Chicago White Sox 48-45 .516 14.5

Kansas City Royals 36-59 .379 27.5

Detroit Tigers 35-58 .376 27.5

(Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

In this 2020 MLB season AL sim, in the AL West. the Angels make their run.

The Angels approach the All-Star break with the likelihood of a plus-.500 record, something that seemed out of reach as little as two weeks ago. They intensified that prospect by taking three of four from the Detroit Tigers.

On Monday Julio Teheran delivered seven innings of four-hit ball and Los Angeles won 4-1. Albert Pujols doubled home two key runs.