Hard to find better than the East Division of the American in major league baseball. By virtue of a 6-4 11th-inning victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at Tropicana Field, the Baltimore Orioles surpassed the .500 mark with a 46-45 record.
• Read also: The Blue Jays win in extremis
• To read also: Cédric De Grandpré: a Quebecer in the process of being drafted
Despite this positive record, the formation of Maryland is in last place in its section, respectively behind the Boston Red Sox (48-43), the Toronto Blue Jays (49-43), the Rays (50-41) and the New York Yankees (62-28). The Yankees and the Red Sox were to cross swords in the evening.
Coming back to the Orioles, they capitalized on a Ryan Mountcastle single in the second extra inning, as Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins were at third and second base, respectively, to break a 4-4 tie and grab with a two-point lead.
Young receiver Adley Rutschman also had a say in the victory for his team. His solo home run in the eighth inning forced the extra innings first, while his sacrifice fly in the 10th inning temporarily gave the eventual winners the lead.
Ramirez puts on a show for the Guardians
In Cleveland, Jose Ramirez angered Guardians fans by driving in half of his points in a 10-0 win over the Detroit Tigers.
The third baseman made a name for himself on his team’s first turn at bat, sending pitcher Michael Pineda out of bounds, while Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario were on the trails.
Ramirez returned to the charge in the next assault, once again against Pineda (2-5). This time, the 29-year-old capped off a five-point push for his team with his second homer of the game, this time for two runs.
This offensive effort also put an end to the evening of work for Pineda, who was shown the exit door after only two innings of work, he who gave up eight runs on nine hits.
For his part, Ramirez ended his night at work with two hits and five RBIs.
Maldonado grand slam propels Astros
In Houston, Martin Maldonado scored a grand slam in the second set and that was more than enough for the Astros, who beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0.
Maldonado thus brought himself to the plate, in front of pitcher Jared Koenig (1-3), while Yuli Gurriel, Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick each occupied a cushion, with two outs already on the clock. The receiver emptied the trails in one go.
On the mound for the crowd favorites, 39-year-old veteran Justin Verlander (12-3) scored his 12th victory of the campaign by shutting out his opponents for six innings, allowing only six hits in addition to making the bite of the dust to 10 opponents.
