MLB Game Recaps: Chris Sale Dominates as Chicago White Sox Edge Tampa Bay Rays

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago White Sox 2, Tampa Bay Rays 1

Chris Sale‘s conversion to the starting rotation has been everything the Chicago White Sox could have hoped for and then some. Sale struck out 15 batters in 7 1/3 innings of work to push his team to its sixth straight win and within a half-game of the division-leading Cleveland Indians. Adam Dunn accounted for both of the Chicago runs by clouting his 16th home run off Matt Moore in the first inning. Moore was very good in his own right, striking out 10 and allowing just two runs in seven innings. The two young lefty starters combined to pitch 14 1/3 innings, allow 10 baserunners, and strike out 25. Not too shabby for two kids whose combined age is four years short of Jamie Moyer‘s.

Boston Red Sox 7, Detroit Tigers 4

As usual, the Red Sox had to resort to blunt force to claim victory. Boston used a balanced offensive attack to down the Tigers and hand Doug Fister a rare bad start; six different Red Sox players drove in a run and four had multi-hit games. Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued his power surge by hitting his ninth homer and raising his slugging percentage to a robust .579. Delmon Young, Gerald Laird, and Jhonny Peralta each hit home runs for the Tigers. Young’s home run total for 2012 is now triple that of his arrest total. The glass is half-full, right?!

Minnesota Twins 5, Oakland Athletics 4

The Twins and A’s have both been reeling of late (okay, the Twins have been all season), but it was Minnesota that took home the win thanks to Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit‘s runs batted in during the bottom of the eighth inning. Josh Reddick homered again for Oakland, which makes 14 bombs for the outfielder on the season. Reddick will surely drop off his torrid power pace, but his acquisition looks like a positive one for a team so deeply in need of offensive contributors.

Cleveland Indians 8, Kansas City Royals 5

The Indians maintained their winning ways thanks to an early offense outburst cued in large part by the red hot Jason Kipnis. Kipnis went 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, stole his ninth base, and endeared himself further to his fantasy owners. (I admit it; I’m one of them). Lonnie Chisenhall homered in his first game back at the major league level, and the wildly impatient Jose Lopez even drove in three for the Tribe. The Royals can at least take solace in the fact that Eric Hosmer is starting to hit, as the first baseman launched another home run on Memorial Day.

Toronto Blue Jays 6, Baltimore Orioles 2

Drew Hutchison shut down the Orioles to the tune of no runs and three hits over seven innings, and he struck out nine in the process. Meanwhile, Edwin Encarnacion hit home run number 16 and now sits just 10 from his career high. Kelly Johnson homered and contributed three hits of his own, while only Mark Reynolds attained multi-hit status for the Orioles. With the loss, the Orioles remain deadlocked with the Rays atop the AL East but still solely in first place among teams that play in Baltimore.

Texas Rangers 4, Seattle Mariners 2

Kevin Millwood and Matt Harrison each pitched well, but the difference maker was Mike Napoli‘s three-run shot off Steve Delabar in the sixth inning. Nelson Cruz homered and stole a base for the Rangers, while Jesus Montero had two hits and drove in a run for the Mariners. For those interested in abject failure, Chone Figgins had a double but is now hitting .181/.250/.295. I guess $36 million doesn’t go as far as it once did.

Los Angeles Angels 9, New York Yankees 8 

Mark Trumbo sent his team home a winner with a walk-off homer off Cory Wade in the bottom of the ninth, but this win wasn’t all smiles for the streaking Angels. Ace starter Jered Weaver left the game without ever recording an out due to pain in his lower back. Details of the injury are fairly vague as of now, but there’s no way this could be conceived as good news for a team just now finding its bearings. Mike Trout went deep for the Angels as well, while Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira added long balls for the Yankees.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

St. Louis Cardinals 8, Atlanta Braves 2

Lance Lynn collected his MLB-leading eighth win (Cole Hamels tied him later in the day) by pitching seven strong innings and getting plenty of support from his offense. Rafael Furcal and Daniel Descalso both homered, while rookie Matt Adams had three hits and three RBI to continue his mashing ways. Tommy Hanson exited the game for the Braves after just 3 1/3 innings due to ineffectiveness, but it remains difficult to know how much of his struggles can be attributed to lingering injury effects.

Philadelphia Phillies 8, New York Mets 4

Cole Hamels may have won his eighth game, but the real star of Philadelphia’s win was Ty Wigginton. The veteran infielder reached base five times, homered, and drove in six runs to lead his team to victory. Scott Hairston hit a two-run shot in the loss for the Mets, while starter Jonathon Niese was strangely unable to find the strike zone. Niese walked five in as many innings, though he only allowed two hits.

Miami Marlins 5, Washington Nationals 3 

May has really been quite a party for the new look Marlins, as the team has won 19 games this month and the powerrific Giancarlo Stanton has drubbed 11 of his 12 home runs. Stanton’s blast on Monday didn’t break any scoreboards, but it did bring his team even with the Nationals in the sixth inning. Logan Morrison also homered for Miami, while pitcher Ryan Zimmermann went yard for the losing squad. It’s a good thing Zimmermann has that extra ‘n’ at the end of his surname; it makes it a lot easier to decipher exactly which National I’m looking at in the box score.

Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Cincinnati Reds 1

The Reds have been playing very well, but the excellent season of James McDonald stopped them dead in their tracks in Monday’s contest. McDonald pitched eight scoreless innings and now boasts a 2.20 ERA and a K/BB ratio better than 3.0. Pedro Alvarez doubled twice for the Pirates, and it continues to seem like power is the only skill he dabbles in. Well, power and competitive basket weaving.

Chicago Cubs 11, San Diego Padres 7

The Cubs stopped their losing streak at 12, though they did so by beating another one of the very worst teams baseball has to offer. Bryan LaHair and Alfonso Soriano each had three hit days, while Starlin Castro drove in three and stole his 14th base. The Padres got four hits and a pair of home runs from Chase Headley, a player who would be much more highly regarded should he not ever take an at-bat in the depressing confines of Petco. Jeff Suppan‘s bad.

Colorado Rockies 9, Houston Astros 7 (Game 1)

This one got crazy early, as both teams started piling the runs on once the umpire’s fervent “play ball!” cry had sounded. Ten of the game’s 16 runs were scored in the first three innings, and it sure looks like Troy Tulowitzki is starting to heat up. The Colorado shortstop went 3-4 with another long ball, while catcher Wilin Rosario also hit one out. Rosario now owns a bizarre .229/.267/.554 line in his first 83 AB of 2012. The Astros got a homer from Jed Lowrie and additional multi-hits games from Carlos Lee, Jose Altuve, and Jordan Schafer in the loss.

Colorado Rockies 7, Houston Astros 6 (Game 2, F/10)

And now I present the exciting conclusion to “Rockies vs. Astros: The Reckoning, Part II!” This one went an extra inning, making it a total of 19 innings for these two teams on the holiday. Dexter Fowler was the unrivaled star of the sequel, as he had four hits and a walk, finished a double shy of the cycle, and tripled in the game-winning run for a walk-off Rockies triumph. The Astros got help from unexpected sources, as Brian Bogusevic and Marwin Gonzalez summoned their long-hidden magical powers to collect three hits apiece. What’s a sequel without magical powers?

San Francisco Giants 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 2

The D-Backs couldn’t figure out Barry Zito, as the veteran lefty allowed just two runs in his seven innings on the mound. Offensively, the Giants got two doubles and a RBI from Gregor Blanco and a couple of hits from Brandon Belt, who was allowed to play in this baseball game despite Bruce Bochy’s hand-wringing wishes to bring his career to a halt before it can even begin. Miguel Montero, fresh off a sweet contract extension, was hitless in the loss.

Milwaukee Brewers 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Shaun Marcum was in top form against the Dodgers Monday, as he went seven innings, allowed one run, and struck out nine. Aramis Ramirez, who’s really had a tough season, homered and drove in the eventual game-winner with his RBI single in the sixth inning. Andre Ethier drove in one of the two Dodger runs to raise his season RBI total to 42, one ahead of Carlos Beltran for the NL lead. Dee Gordon and Elian Herrera, neither of whom lead the league in anything, each struck out three times for Los Angeles.

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