Wander Franco hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth and the AL wild-card-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 9-8 after a bullpen meltdown in the top of the inning Friday night. Franco homered to right off Nick Sandlin (5-5) for his first career walkoff shot. Through a translator, Franco said it was his first walkoff hit since he played with Class A Bowling Green.
For the second straight night, a Cleveland rookie tamed Toronto's tough lineup. Tanner Bibee pitched seven strong innings and Ramón Laureano drove in the game's only run after arriving just hours before his Cleveland debut, giving the Guardians a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday. On Monday, Gavin Williams struck out 12 in seven innings.
Cavan Biggio hit a two-run homer to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Monday night after losing starting pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu to a knee injury. Biggio’s 415-foot drive to center field came off reliever Enyel De Los Santos (4-2) and scored Daulton Varsho. Toronto had been held to one hit over the first seven innings by Guardians rookie Gavin Williams, who struck out a season-high 12.
Whether it's veterans Aledmys Díaz and Tony Kemp staying ready off the bench or JJ Bleday moving back over to left field as Esteury Ruiz returned from injury, the unselfish Oakland Athletics know they have to be flexible and fiery and do whatever it takes to try to win games. Seth Brown hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning with pinch-hitters Díaz and Kemp aboard as the A's snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Saturday night.
Ty Blach tossed five strong innings, Ryan McMahon had two hits and drove in both runs, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics 2-0 on Sunday to salvage the final game of the three-game series. Matt Koch, Brent Suter and Daniel Bard each pitched an inning before Justin Lawrence capped the shutout with a clean ninth to earn his eighth save.