MLB Scoreboard: Chicago White Sox Destroy Roy Oswalt and the Texas Rangers

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago White Sox 19, Texas Rangers 2

The Texas Rangers saw shades of that 21-run Mariner game earlier this season as the Chicago White Sox clubbed them to death 19-2. Roy Oswalt looked helpless against the White Sox, giving up 11 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits in just 4 2/3 innings of work. On the opposite side, the All-Star Chris Sale went 7 1/3 innings, allowed one earned run, and struck out four. Naturally, several Sox players had huge days at the plate. Kevin Youkilis showed off for his new team, going 3-6 with a home run and four RBI. Adam Dunn reached base four times and homered, Alex Rios had three hits and a home run, and A.J. Pierzynski‘s 15th home run was among his three hits. Even the struggling Alexei Ramirez had three knocks in the win.

Cleveland Indians 9, Los Angeles Angels 5

The Angels got home runs from Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the fifth innings to score five runs, but by then Cleveland had already gotten to starter Dan Haren. The offensive attack was balanced for Cleveland; Shin-Soo Choo, Jose Lopez, Jason Kipnis, Casey Kotchman, and Jack Hannahan all had multi-hit games. Shelly Duncan added in his seventh bomb of the season for good measure.

Minnesota Twins 8, Detroit Tigers 6

Every time it seems as if the Tigers have turned a corner, they get sent back from whence they came. The Twins got off to an early lead thanks to third inning homers from Josh Willingham and Tyler Plouffe and later cemented the win with a Ryan Doumit sac fly and a Joe Mauer solo shot. Brennan Boesch had three hits and went yard in the loss for Detroit.

Toronto Blue Jays 6, Kansas City Royals 3

Brett Cecil turned in a quality start for the Jays to give his high-powered offense time to strike. Adam Lind did just that, homering and driving in three. Rajai Davis also drove in a pair of runs for Toronto. The Royals struggled to get things going offensively, but that’s not surprising since the top four hitters in the order reached base exactly once.

Tampa Bay Rays 7, New York Yankees 4

That’s two straight against the division-leading Yankees for the Rays. The Rays came back to nurse a 5-4 lead for a few innings before plating a pair in the seventh to secure the victory. Sean Rodriguez had three hits, hit his sixth home run, and drove in two for Tampa. Robinson Cano remains locked-in for the Yankees, as he had two hits and drove in a run.

Oakland Athletics 3, Boston Red Sox 2

Jon Lester was dominant for the Red Sox, pitching 6 2/3 innings and striking out nine. He left the game with a narrow 2-1 lead, which the Boston bullpen was able to hold until the bottom of the ninth. Makeshift closer Alfredo Aceves came in and allowed a one-out RBI single to Brandon Moss and then a walk-off sac fly from Coco Crisp. Crisp also homered in the first inning of the game.

Baltimore Orioles 5, Seattle Mariners 4

Wei-Yin Chen was the big story in this game, as he pitched 6 1/3 innings of perfect baseball before giving up a solo home run to Casper Wells. The Mariners added another run off Chen in the eighth, but his overall line was still excellent since he fanned nine and allowed just two hits. Robert Andino homered for the Orioles, while Felix Hernandez struck out eight in the loss.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Milwaukee Brewers 13, Miami Marlins 12

At one point, the Brewers led this game 9-2. The Marlins countered with a late charge in the final innings to force extras. Justin Ruggiano, John Buck, and Scott Cousins all homered in the seventh and eighth. Once the game got to extra frames, Jose Reyes went deep to give the Marlins a lead, but Aramis Ramirez touched Heath Bell for a two-run walk-off shot in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 23rd home run earlier in the game.

Washington Nationals 9, San Francisco Giants 3

Just when we thought Tim Lincecum might be getting back to normal, he gets shelled for seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. Ian Desmond had two hits and a home run, Danny Espinosa had three hits, and Bryce Harper drove in and scored runs. Jordan Zimmermann was much more effective than his opponent, going six innings and striking out seven while allowing one earned run.

Pittsburgh Pirates 8, Houston Astros 7

The Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for the NL Central lead halfway through the season. The Pirates won in exciting fashion, as Drew Sutton his a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to send his team home a winner. Andrew McCutchen seems determined to hit .400, as he had three more hits and his 16th home run against the Astros Tuesday. Houston starter Lucas Harrell struck out nine and walked no one in five innings, but he still gave up five runs.

Atlanta Braves 10, Chicago Cubs 3

On the night Chipper Jones found out he was headed to another All-Star game, he decided it was time to celebrate. The Jones farewell tour put on quite a show Tuesday, as the third baseman had five hits and four RBI to single-handedly top the Cubs. Jones is hitting .313/.389/.485 at age 40; that’s the right way to go out. Jason Heyward hit his 13th home run and Michael Bourn had three of everything (3 AB, 3 RS, 3 RBI, reached base thrice, tripled).

New York Mets 11, Philadelphia Phillies 1

Daniel Murphy and David Wright each drove in four runs for the Mets as they slaughtered the Phillies. Wright hit his 10th home run, while Murphy used four hits to do his damage. Jonathon Niese was solid in the start for New York, allowing only a run and three hits across eight innings. The Phillies’ lone run came on a solo shot from the unbelievable Carlos Ruiz.

Colorado Rockies 3, St. Louis Cardinals 2

The Cardinals struck early with a two-run Matt Holliday in the first inning, while the Rockies countered with a three-run Tyler Colvin blast in the third inning. Since three is a larger number than two, and since no one else scored the rest of the game, the Rockies topped the Cardinals Tuesday night. Jeff Francis was pretty effective (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H) in the start, but threw only 77 pitches per the new Colorado pitching guidelines.

San Diego Padres 9, Arizona Diamondbacks 5

Trevor Bauer is likely to be a wonderful starting pitcher, but the Padres welcomed him to the Major Leagues by getting to him early. Bauer actually struck out the side in the first inning, but a two-run Yonder Alonso homer turned the tides for good. Chase Headley also drove in three runs for the Padres, while Jason Kubel hit a grand slam to claim most of the D-Back runs.

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Cincinnati Reds 1

The Dodgers needed this win to break their recent slide of bad, while the Pirates benefited from it since the Reds were the losing team. Brandon Phillips drove in the only Cincy run to give his team the lead in the fifth, but the Dodgers tied the game with a Bobby Abreu single. Luis Cruz, who the internet says has played baseball before, doubled in another run and later stole home. Chris Capuano struck out six and allowed one run across six innings.

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