The Opener: Rays/Yankees, Gore, Alonso

After just three games on Monday, the schedule is much more plentiful today. There are 16 games on the Tuesday slate. All but one of the matchups are in the evening. 1. Rays can clinch AL East The Rays and Yankees have a day/night doubleheader on tap for Tuesday. Tampa Bay can lock up the AL East with a win in either game, with a celebration to come in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. “I don’t know if there’s a better city to clinch in than New York,” Rays righty Griffin Jax told reporters (h/t Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). “So, yeah, we’ll be enjoying it for sure when it happens.” The Rays wrapping up the division would most likely put the Yankees in the top AL Wild Card spot. New York is five and a half games up on the Red Sox in the Wild Card race. 2. Gore expected to start Tuesday Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore has been cleared to start tonight against the Mets. Gore only lasted four innings in his most recent outing as he dealt with back spasms. Every game is important for Texas at this point in the season. The club is currently one game ahead of the Astros in the AL West. Manager Skip Schumaker could turn to his bullpen at the first sign of trouble for Gore. It was Nathan Eovaldi who played the hero in Gore’s last start, coming on for the final four innings to close out a win. Fellow veteran Trevor Williams has been used in a similar fashion lately. It’ll be all hands on deck for the Rangers from here on out. 3. Alonso reaches 40 homers Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso carried the offense on Monday against the Blue Jays. He slugged a first-inning homer off Trey Yesavage to get Baltimore on the board. Alonso then launched a go-ahead two-run shot off Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the eighth inning. The second homer was No. 40 for Alonso this season. His first campaign with the Orioles has been one of his best as a big leaguer. Alonso’s 144 wRC+ matches his career high, which he set as a rookie with the Mets in 2019. A career-best 11.4% walk rate has spurred a career-high .359 OBP. Alonso has even been a neutral defender at first base by Defensive Runs Saved, a big improvement on his -9 DRS last year with the Mets. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images View Comments (4)