After only three games on Monday, the schedule is much more abundant today. There are 16 games on Tuesday’s slate. All but one of the confrontations are at night. 1. Rays can take the AL East The Rays and Yankees have a day/night doubleheader available for Tuesday. Tampa Bay can clinch the American League East with a victory in either game, with a celebration at the visiting club at Yankee Stadium. “I don’t know if there’s a better city to secure than New York,” Rays right-hander Griffin Jax told reporters (h/t Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). “So yeah, I’m sure we’ll enjoy it when it happens.” The Rays finishing the division would likely put the Yankees in first place as the American League wild card. New York is five and a half games ahead of 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 while dealing 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 American League 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 final start, going the final four innings to close out the victory. Fellow veteran Trevor Williams has been used in a similar fashion of late. From now on, the Rangers will be all hands on deck. 3. Alonso reaches 40 home runs Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso carried the offense Monday against the Blue Jays. He hit a home run in the first inning off Trey Yesavage to put Baltimore on the board. Alonso then pitched a go-ahead two-run shot to Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the eighth inning. The second home run was Alonso’s 40th this season. His first season with the Orioles has been one of the best as a Major League player. Alonso’s 144 wRC+ ties his career high, which he set as a rookie with the Mets in 2019. A career-best 11.4% walk rate has fueled a career-high .359 OBP. Alonso has even been a neutral defender at first base per Defensive Runs Saved, a big improvement over his -9 DRS last year with the Mets. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
