Toronto completes late comeback, reclaiming AL East lead
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It looks like the Toronto Blue Jays are going to be involved in quite the fight with the New York Yankees for the American League East division. The club responded to that competition by picking up a late 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.
[On this week’s StewPod: Angels pitcher Hector Santiago talks about his huge autograph collection.]
Things looked bleak in the ninth inning, but Toronto kept fighting. The team entered the frame down by one run, and exited with the lead.
Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson came on for the save, but struggled with his command. Tolleson walked Russell Martin to lead things off. After getting a quick out, Tolleson walked the second batter of the inning, putting the potential go-ahead run on base.
Tolleson was able to notch another out, bringing Troy Tulowitzki to the plate with two outs. On the sixth pitch of Tulo’s at-bat, he singled to left, tying things up.
Josh Donaldson came up with a chance to give his team a lead, and, not surprisingly, that’s what happened. Donaldson hit a ground ball to third baseman Adrian Beltre, but ran full speed out of the box. Beltre made a throwing error on the play, allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate.
Roberto Osuna entered in the bottom of the frame, and was able to work around a one out single, shutting the door.
With the win, Toronto now leads the AL East by one game over the Yankees.
METS GET SYNDERGAARD HIS FIRST ROAD WIN
New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard managed his first road win of the season Tuesday, but it came with some help from his hitters. The Mets’ bats helped the rookie quite a bit during the team’s 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Syndergaard looked excellent at the start of the contest. Through the first two innings, he had already notched four strikeouts.
Things started to unravel in the third. A leadoff double put Syndergaard in a tough spot. He would rebound, however, striking out the next two hitters. With two outs, though, things fell apart.
Syndergaard allowed a two-run shot against Freddy Galvis, bringing the Phillies within one run. He should have been out of the inning after getting Odubel Herrera to ground to second, but Kelly Johnson’s throwing error put Herrera on base. Ryan Howard took advantage of that error, hitting his own two-run blast and giving his club the 4-3 lead.
After letting Syndergaard down earlier in the game, the Mets would pick him up a few innings later. The team rallied for three runs in the sixth, actually putting Syndergaard in line for the win.
They would hold on to that lead, eventually pulling off a 6-5 win. With the victory, the club improved to 69-56 on the year.
STRASBURG’S STRONG START LEADS TO WIN
For much of the season, Stephen Strasburg’s struggles have baffled Washington Nationals’ fans. If Tuesday’s 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres is any indication, he might be over those issues.
Strasburg turned in a strong performance, allowing two runs over six strong innings. He gave up just two hits while striking out seven during the game.
Since returning from the disabled list, it looks like Strasburg has regained his vintage form.
With the win, the Nationals improved to 63-61 on the year. They remain 5.5 games behind the Mets in the National League East.
MIGUEL SANO CAN’T BE STOPPED
The Minnesota Twins are still a big contender for the wild card in the American League, but they are already showing why next year might be even scarier. Rookie Miguel Sano continued his assault on baseballs during Tuesday’s 11-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sano wasted no time getting to work, blasting a three-run homer in the first inning of the contest. Sano has played in just 45 major-league games, but already has 12 home runs. That’s quite the accomplishment.
Most HR in first 45 career games (Twins): Miguel Sano 12 Kennys Vargas 9 Josmil Pinto 9 Kent Hrbek 9 Marty Cordova 9 Tom Brunansky 9
— Ace of MLB Stats (@AceballStats) August 25, 2015
While Sano was called up fairly late in the season, he’s quickly moving into Rookie of the Year territory. He’ll have to fend off Houston Astros superstar Carlos Correa for the hardware, which may prove difficult, but it’s clear that Sano has talent.
After suffering through some poor seasons, that’s really all the Twins can ask for right now.
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With the win, Minnesota improved to 64-61 on the year.
Want to see more from Tuesday’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
