Nathan Eovaldi’s gem elevates Yankees to first place tie with Blue Jays
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The Toronto Blue Jays run may have thrust them into the spotlight recently, but the New York Yankees are still very much a threat in the American League East. They proved as much Monday, beating the Houston Astros 1-0.
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With the win, New York pulled into a tie with the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Both teams are currently 69-55 on the year.
The Yankees were led by Nathan Eovaldi during the contest. Eovaldi tossed eight scoreless frames, giving up just four hits. He struck out seven and walked three.
If you did your research prior to the game, Eovaldi’s success against Houston shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
There was one problem for Eovaldi, however. Houston starter Scott Feldman was just as good. Feldman also tossed eight scoreless frames. Because of that, both pitchers received no-decisions despite their stellar efforts.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Beltran struck. With the bases loaded, Beltran managed a sacrifice fly, plating home the only run of the contest.
The Yankees will continue their series against the Astros on Tuesday. The Blue Jays will begin a series at Texas.
REDS EXPLODE FOR 10-RUN INNING
The Cincinnati Reds haven’t had a ton to celebrate this season. That changed Monday, as the team registered a 10-run inning in a 12-5 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Things looked bleak early, as the club actually trailed by five runs. That changed in the sixth inning. Eugenio Suarez kicked things off with a solo home run.
After Joey Votto walked, Brandon Phillips got in on the act, adding a two-run shot. A single by Todd Frazier was followed up with a Jay Bruce double, making it a one-run game.
The Reds didn’t stop there. The club loaded the bases for Skip Schumaker, who promptly singled in two more runs. Suarez came up again, and plated two more runs with a double.
Votto was intentionally walked, putting two men on base. Phillips came up again, and smashed a triple, scoring two more runs.
When the dust cleared, the Reds had plated 10 runs during the inning.
With the win, the Reds improved to 52-71 on the season.
RED SOX SURVIVE LATE WHITE SOX RALLY
The Boston Red Sox looked to have Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox in hand until the ninth inning. The club held on for the 5-4 victory, but it wasn’t easy.
Boston went into the frame holding a three-run lead. Jean Machi came in to shut things down, but ran into trouble almost immediately.
Jose Abreu doubled to lead things off. After a groundout, he was driven in by an Avisail Garcia single. Adam LaRoche followed that up with a single, putting the tying run on first.
Alexei Ramirez grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Garcia from third. With the tying still at first, Carlos Sanchez flew out to left to end the game.
Boston improved to 57-68 with the win.
J.A. HAPP IS LOVING HIS NEW CLUB
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a lot of success turning around pitchers in recent years. J.A. Happ might just be the team’s latest reclamation project. Happ was fantastic during the club’s 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday.
Happ’s first start with his new club didn’t go as planned, but he’s been fantastic since.
That was the case Monday. Happ tossed six scoreless frames, giving up just four hits. He walked one and struck out six during the contest.
Pitching coach Ray Searage obviously deserves credit if Happ has turned a corner. Searage has turned around a number of pitchers recently, including Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett and Edinson Volquez, among others.
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With the win, the Pirates improved to 75-48 on the year.
Want to see more from Monday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
