Carlos Rodón looked about as good as you could have expected in his first big league game back from an almost two-month injury absence, limiting the Orioles to a run on two hits and two walks in four innings. Trent Grisham continued his recent red-hot streak with a homer and a two-run single to drive in all three of the Yankees runs as they took the opener in Baltimore, 3-1, to become the second team in the AL to 70 wins.

It was a much-needed win to gain ground on the Rays and maintain their narrow cushion ahead of the Red Sox, so let’s see how those games as well as others around the AL transpired. This roundup does not include the still-departed Mariners, who suffered a 22-0 annihilation at the hands of the Brewers. (Remember when the M’s were a couple innings shy of their first World Series last year? Goodness.)

Toronto Blue Jays (62-65) 10, Tampa Bay Rays (75-50) 5

Nick Martinez has been a revelation for the Rays after signing a one-year deal in the offseason, but the Blue Jays handed him his worst start of the season — six runs on nine hits and two walks in just 3.2 innings. His opposing starter, Trade Deadline acquisition José Soriano, also got tagged for nine hits but managed to bend without breaking as he allowed three runs in 5.2 innings.

All six of the runs against Martinez came before the Rays managed a response, starting with a pair in the first as Alejandro Kirk doubled, George Springer singled him home, and Jesús Sánchez drove in Springer with a double, all with two outs. Kirk struck again with a two run homer in the third after Nathan Lukes drew a leadoff walk. Then in the fourth, Ernie Clement, Brett Bateman, and Kirk all singled, Kirk’s plating Clement for his third RBI before a wild pitch also allowed Bateman to score.

Tampa Bay cut that six-run deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth. Yandy Díaz, Ryan Vilade, and Cedric Mullins all singled to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home their first run and a Taylor Walls single plated a further pair. However, Toronto kept the pressure on in the fifth, Kazuma Okamoto leading off with a booming home run to set a new Blue Jays rookie record with 25 so far on the year. Clement then singled, advanced to second on a sac bunt, and scored on a Bateman single.

The Blue Jays pushed into double-digits in the seventh, Clement reaching on his third single of the game before Josh Smith left the yard with a two-run blast. Now trailing by seven, Tampa managed a pair of consolation runs in the eighth. Díaz, Liam Hicks, and Vilade opened the frame with three straight singles to load the bases, Mullins and Richie Palacios then lifting consecutive sacrifice flies. It certainly wasn’t a good day for the pitchers, the two teams combining for 30 hits. With the loss and the Yankees’ win, Tampa’s lead in the division was reduced to five games.

As for the Jays, they’re half a game back in the ever-bizarre Wild Card mix, which is so packed that the O’s went from holding a playoff spot to trailing three other teams and tied with the also-losing Tigers thanks to just one shaky inning. The Rangers’ Cal Quantrill-aided 5-0 shutout win over the Nationals has them at least temporarily in the pole position.

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Chicago Cubs (74-53) 4, Chicago White Sox (65-60) 3

Pete Crow-Armstrong left the yard in consecutive ABs, following his walk-off blast Monday night with a leadoff homer tonight, Michael Busch following with a solo shot of his own to spot the Cubs a two-run first inning lead. The White Sox responded with three unanswered, one each in the second, third, and fourth. Drew Romo got the Southsiders on the board with an RBI single, Munetaka Murakami led off the third with an absolute tank, and Tristan Peters gave them the lead with an RBI double the next inning.

Alex Bregman leveled the score at three apiece with an RBI single in the seventh, and that would not be his only clutch hit on the night. After an almost one hour rain delay interrupted the eighth inning, Carson Kelly led off the bottom of the ninth with a double, PCA was issued an intentional walk, and Bregman called game with a line drive single to center as the Cubs walked off their crosstown rivals on consecutive nights. Still, the Pale Hose are four games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central.

Cleveland Guardians (61-65) 8, San Francisco Giants (51-74) 1

In his third start for Cleveland after joining from the Nationals at the deadline, Foster Griffin held the Giants to a run on five hits in six innings, the only damage a Bryce Eldridge solo shot in the second. However, the story of this game was their other big deadline acquisition, Jo Adell. He demolished a 455-foot, three-run homer in the first, drove another pair in with a single in the second, and plated his sixth run in the fourth with another single. Cleveland scored their final two runs on RBI groundouts by Angel Martínez and Patrick Bailey, both times with the bases loaded.

It should be noted that Cleveland remains a half-game back of the division rival Twins in both the AL Central and Wild Card races, as Minnesota won in Atlanta last night 4-1 behind a two-run Josh Bell homer and a double by Ryan Jeffers that also plated a pair. Neither Cleveland nor Minnesota are currently in a playoff spot, however.

Boston Red Sox (68-58) 9, Arizona Diamondbacks (66-61) 4

This game looked like it could be a wild back and forth affair, but only Boston could sustain pressure throughout the entire contest. Deadline blockbuster addition Adley Rutschman kicked things off with a two-run single with the bases loaded in the first, Caleb Durbin driving in the third run of the frame with a sac fly. However, Arizona responded by loading the bases themselves in the third to set up a monster grand slam by Gabriel Moreno to momentarily grab the lead, 4-3.

From there, the Red Sox scored six unanswered runs. Rutschman clubbed a no-doubter solo home run in the bottom of the third (his first with Boston) and Durbin manufactured the second run of the frame with a single, advance, stolen base, and scamper home on a wild pitch. Andruw Monasterio added an RBI single in the fifth, Mickey Gasper led off the sixth with a home run with Willson Contreras chipping in an RBI single later in the frame, and Gasper drove in Boston’s ninth and final run with an RBI single in the seventh.

Los Angeles Angels (50-76) 8, Houston Astros (63-63) 1

Angels rookie George Klassen authored by far the best start of his young career in just his fifth big league outing, tossing seven scoreless allowing just one hit and three walks against seven strikeouts. Houston managed just three hits on the day, their only run coming via a Cam Smith solo homer in the eighth. Los Angeles meanwhile scored one each in the third, fourth, and fifth. Nolan Schanuel opened the scoring with an RBI single, Josh Lowe hit one into the Crawford Boxes for a solo shot in the fourth, and Zach Neto smacked an RBI double an inning later. The aforementioned Rangers win over the Nats thus pushed the unassuming club to just one game behind the .500 Astros in the AL West.