What an end to the weekend in the American League East. The Yankees had a walk-off win that started with a historic performance from starting pitcher James Paxton … but they lost outfielder Aaron Judge to an oblique injury in the process. The Red Sox swept the front-running Rays … but still trail Tampa Bay by five games in the division race. And the Blue Jays lost Matt Shoemaker to a heartbreaking ACL injury.
James Paxton has played for the Yankees for less than a month, and he’s already making history. When David Cone is your historical comparison, that’s pretty good company.
.@James_Paxton is just the 2nd Yankee EVER to have 12+ Ks in back-to-back starts (@dcone36, 1998). pic.twitter.com/gapMDpP2iT
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 21, 2019
But in the same game — in which the Royals rallied to take the lead only for the Yankees to come back and win in 10 innings — New York got some more terrible injury news: Aaron Judge is out with a ‘significant’ oblique injury
*aaron judge becomes the 13th yankee to get hurt* pic.twitter.com/IFq9Ft2rO4
— Nick Caprino (@cappyleans) April 20, 2019
Meanwhile, the Red Sox came into Tampa Bay buried in last place … and swept the first-place Rays. That’s a start for the reigning World Series champions.
It’s a Boston sports sweep! 🧹
FINAL: #RedSox 4, Rays 3#DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/bsKYCR5zga
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 21, 2019
Elsewhere in the AL East, Blue Jays starter Matt Shoemaker suffered a torn ACL during a rundown. The video shows how emotional Shoemaker got after a serious injury.
An emotional Matt Shoemaker spoke about his season being cut short by a torn ACL:https://t.co/4JzECFmpCP
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2019
Finally, some good news. David Bote hit a walk-off single for the Chicago Cubs, and then raced away for something far more important: The birth of his third child.
David Bote not available postgame. Had to leave right away to catch flight to Colorado for birth of his third child. No word if he just kept sprinting out of stadium in uniform.
Talk about timely hitting.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 21, 2019
TOP STORIES
• James Paxton makes Yankees history, joins exclusive MLB list with dominant start vs. Royals | CBS Sports
• Yankees place Aaron Judge on injured list with ‘significant’ oblique injury as health issues pile up | CBS Sports
• Red Sox sweep away concerns — at least for now | ESPN.com
• Shoemaker (torn ACL) to miss rest of season | MLB.com
• Bote flies home to meet newest Cub after walk-off | MLB.com
