The Tampa Bay Rays have quite some ways to go if they want to catch up to the New York Yankees in the AL East. But they still have plenty to play for as far as a Wild Card berth is concerned, and performances like what they got on Tuesday night from Isaac Paredes are just what they need. The first baseman is hitting just .209, but this was his day to fully enjoy himself as he hit three home runs (on his first three at-bats) to help set up a narrow 5-4 victory.
The win is a big win for Tampa as it prevented a sweep of the series and handed the Yankees just a third loss in their last 20 games. As far as the playoffs go, Tampa is just a half-game behind Boston for a Wild Card spot currently. Elsewhere, the Cleveland Guardians took ownership of the AL Central lead on Tuesday evening via their 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins in 11 innings. They led 3-0 early on the road but were pegged back and forced into extras where an Andres Gimenez single proved to be the winning run. That makes it eight from their last ten, handing them the lead of the division at present. Shohei Ohtani had a big night on Tuesday as well, but his Los Angeles Angels team still lost 12-11 to the Kansas City Royals despite that outstanding showing. Ohtani slammed two home runs and racked up eight RBIs in the 11th-inning defeat, piling more misery on top of the Angels following a tough run in the last month or so. They are five games under .500 after the loss and a full 11 off the pace of Houston in the AL West.
