The Yankees lost on Tuesday, opening the door again for the Orioles to take advantage.

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Tuesday was not an ideal one for the Yankees, as they lost a tight game to the Reds despite a rally after going down early. They still have the most wins in the American League, and while the Guardians and Orioles grabbed wins, the tight top of the league remains as such. With a full slate of games in the books, let’s take a look at how things shaped up on Tuesday.

Cleveland Guardians (53-30) 7, Chicago White Sox (24-63) 6

The best and worst teams in the Junior Circuit squared off in Cleveland, and though it was a nail-biter much of the way, it ended the way most would have expected. Both starters for the Central dwellers grinded through respectable outings, but it was ultimately timely hitting that sealed the deal.

Down 1-0 in the third inning, the Guardians were able to quickly turn their deficit into a lead. With the light-hitting Austin Hedges on base, Daniel Schneemann homered into right field to give his club a 2-1 advantage. It was a lead that Carlos Carrasco was able to uphold through five innings, not allowing baserunners from the second to the fifth inning.

Down two runs, The Sox did knot things back up briefly in the sixth, however, when Luis Robert Jr. launched his 10th homer of the season. It took a review to confirm it, but it all counted the same, and this one was tied up at three.

The Guards doubled things up in their next chance against Chris Flexen, which started with a run-scoring error thanks to Paul DeJong. Two batters later, Tyler Freeman launched a two-run shot to bring their lead to 6-3. Robert wasn’t ready to tap out yet however, as the next inning the Sox added a run from a Lenyn Sosa double, and followed it with Robert plating a pair of runs on a single, once again tying up this AL Central matchup.

Things came down to the bottom of the ninth for Cleveland, against John Brebbia for the Sox. Andrés Giménez led the frame off with a liner up the middle. He advanced to third thanks to a groundball and a wild pitch, bringing up the hero of the night, Bo Naylor. With less than two outs, the young catcher only needed a fly ball, and he gave his squad just that. Robert caught the ball in center, but there was no chance to get Giménez, as he crossed to plate to secure the hard-earned W.

Toronto Blue Jays (39-46) 7, Houston Astros (43-42) 6

In continuing the trend of 7-6 ballgames, the Astros and Blue Jays also played a tightly contested one on Tuesday. Amidst a flurry of big innings in the middle stretch of the game, the plummeting Jays were able to push the opposite-moving ‘Stros back closer to .500.

The Jays took an early lead thanks to a knock from Justin Turner in the bottom of the first, but this game really took off in the third inning. In the bottom half, the Jays looked to be running away with things early. Spencer Horwitz started things with a two-out solo home run, and after two batters reached following the blast, George Springer got in on the fun with a homer of his own, a three-run shot to suddenly bring Toronto’s lead to 5-0.

They put up two more runs in the next inning, but the Astros would have their say in the top of the fifth against José Berríos. After a pair of baserunners reached to begin the inning, César Salazar and José Altuve followed with a pair of RBI knocks. Later in the inning, with those two still on the pond, Yordan Alvarez did what he so often does, and brought everyone home with a three-run blast. His 18th homer of the season brought the score to 7-5, and put Houston right back in it.

The scoring died down for a bit after the fifth, until the Astros cut their deficit to one when Jake Meyers managed an RBI groundout in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, the ‘Stros threatened when Jeremy Peña led the inning off with a double, but old friend Chad Green was able to hold him there, and lock in the much-needed win for the Blue Jays.

Baltimore Orioles (54-31) 2, Seattle Mariners (47-40) 0

Grayson Rodriguez showed his ability to be effectively wild against the fellow first-place Mariners. George Kirby was nearly as good for Seattle, but the O’s were ultimately able to create some space with the Yankees losing on Tuesday.

The scoring didn’t get underway in this one until the top of the fourth, when Anthony Santander plated a run with a single through the right side. It wasn’t much, but it was evidently enough for Rodriguez in this one.

The young right-hander allowed just two hits in his 6.1 innings of work, while keeping the M’s out of the run column and tallying eight strikeouts along the way. He did walk four batters in the outing, but was clearly able to avoid any real damage because of them. Baltimore added one more insurance run in the seventh thanks to Cedric Mullins, and it was ultimately unnecessary, as the Mariners managed just the two hits in their scoreless effort against Rodriguez and the O’s pitching staff. With the Yankees’ loss on Tuesday, this win for Baltimore gave them a one-game lead in the East.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (45-39) 8, Miami Marlins (30-55) 3: Kutter Crawford continued his solid season in his win over the Marlins, tossing six innings of one-run ball, racking up 7 Ks. Across three different multi-run innings, the big blow for the Sox came off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela, who launched a three-run blast in the fourth.

Minnesota Twins (48-37) 5, Detroit Tigers (38-47) 3: A pair of late runs sealed the deal for the Twins on Tuesday. Tied at three against the Tigers, the Twins broke loose on a close play at the plate in the seventh, and Carlos Correa padded the lead in the eighth with a solo shot.

Texas Rangers (39-46) 7, San Diego Padres (46-43) 7: The defending champs roughed up Dylan Cease for seven unanswered runs in Texas. Nathaniel Lowe led the way with a pair of two-run homers, as he and the Rangers waltzed to an easy one at home.

Tampa Bay Rays (43-42) 5, Kansas City Royals (47-40) 1: After a lengthy delay brought this one into the early morning of Wednesday, the Rays popped back over .500 with the win. Five excellent innings from Zack Littell paired with five runs on nine hits was enough to sail by Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals, making the long wait worth it for Tampa Bay.