East up for grabs, the Rays went to the Bronx to play a three-game series against the Yankees. The pinstripes won the series 2–1 to claim a half-game lead over Tampa Bay. Yankees won the series 2–1 (18–10 runs) May 20–23, at Baltimore Orioles The Yankees and the Orioles met at Camden Yards for their fourth series of the season, with New York sweeping Baltimore for the third time. Yankees won the series 4–0 (34–21 runs) May 24–26, at Kansas City Royals The Yankees won a three-game series against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The first game had to be postponed due to inclement weather, resulting in a doubleheader on May 25. Yankees won the series 2–1 (20–16 runs) May 27–29, vs. San Diego Padres The Yankees returned to New York and added two wins and a loss against the Padres. Chad Green opened the series by pitching a single inning, striking out three batters before yielding to David Hale. Hale pitched for four innings and allowed two runs, and was relieved by Adam Ottavino in the sixth, Tommy Kahnle in the seventh, Zack Britton in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman got his 15th save of the season in the ninth. Home runs by Clint Frazier, Brett Gardner and Gary Sánchez steampowered a 5–2 Yankees win, improving to a 3–0 record with Green as a starter. In the second game, Eric Hosmer hit an early three-run homer against Masahiro Tanaka, who took his fourth loss of the season. After a solid performance by Eric Lauer, allowing four hits and one run over innings, the Padres delved through their bullpen to hold off the Yankees, 5–4. On the following day, New York cruised to a 7–0 shutout to claim their eighth series in a row. For the 10th time in franchise history, the Yankees opened the game with back-to-back homers. James Paxton returned to the mound after his injury and pitched four hitless innings. Yankees won the series 2–1 (16–7 runs) May 30 – June 2, vs. Boston Red Sox The Yankees faced their longtime rivals for the second time in the season. The first game of the series was postponed to August 3, resulting in a three-game series. In the series opener, the Red Sox got onto the scoreboard first, but DJ LeMahieu later delivered an RBI double and a home run off Chris Sale to secure a 4–1 Yankees