The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.
Donkey punch: Watch the flight of the ball. Slugger Adam Dunn nearly slapped the virtual face of Matt Moore with a home run that hit the scoreboard beyond the last row of seats in right at Tropicana Field on Monday. Dunn's blast, his 16th of the season (he's back, by the way) gave the Chicago White Sox all of the offense they needed in a 2-1 victory at Tampa Bay.
Big Sale: Lefty Chris Sale also was epic, striking out 15 in 7 1/3 innings, one K short of the ChiSox club record set by Jack Harshman in 1954. Fifteen Ks? That's harsh, man. Sale was harsh on the Rays, who said some nice things afterward:
"I don't know what it was like facing Randy Johnson when he was young," said Rays outfielder Ben Zobrist. "But this kid, he's going to be great, and I think he has a real bright future as a starter."
To help the White Sox win their sixth straight game, Sale threw 80 of his 115 pitches for strikes. (What elbow problem? What switch to closer?) Sale was raised in nearby Lakeland, Fla. and recalled when he had just turned 9 years old and his uncle brought him to the Trop for his first Devil Rays game. It was actually Tampa Bay's first game, too: March 31, 1998.
Trumbo trumps New York: Remember when we all worried that Mark Trumbo playing third base would be disastrous for the Los Angeles Angels? Well, it was, and it might again be someday, but for now he's hitting well enough (and playing the outfield) for the experiment to be overlooked. Trumbo's solo homer against Cory Wade put away the Yankees in a wild 9-8 victory and brought the Angels to .500 for the first time since April 9. Trumbo, who also doubled and tripled, is batting .333 with eight homers and a .592 slugging percentage. But there's also bad news for the Halos.
Don't dream Weaver it's over: In his first home appearance since his no-hitter May 2, Angels ace Jered Weaver left the game with a back injury after throwing 12 pitches. He'll have an MRI on Tuesday. He said it felt like "someone stabbed" him in the back.
* * *
Quote of the Day I : "This place is sickening for me." — Baltimore Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter, following a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Hunter has a 7.30 ERA in five career starts at Toronto, which ended a five-game losing streak.
Quote of the Day II: "You know when you miss someone like Halladay, you're missing him, but there's nothing you can do about it. It might get hard, but we're definitely not going to fold tent. We're going to try to outplay everybody." — Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel on right-hander Roy Halladay, who gets his sore right shoulder examined today. The Phillies beat the Mets 8-4 behind Cole Hamels and six RBIs by Ty Wigginton.
* * *
Photo of the Day: Don't forget the devil horns!
Milwaukee Brewers closer John Axford gives the Los Angeles Dodgers his heavy metal tongue in a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.
* * *
Three Facts for the Water Cooler:
• The Miami Marlins are 19-8 in May, the best record in the league, following a 5-3 victory against the Washington Nationals.
• The Reds managed one extra-base hit against right-hander James McDonald of the Pittsburgh Pirates after clubbing 17 homer runs in a seven-game homestand that ended Sunday. McDonald lowered his ERA to 2.20 after throwing seven shutout innings in a 4-1 victory at PNC Park.
• Josh Reddick of the Oakland Athletics hit his 10th home run of the month in a 5-4 loss to the Twins. Overall, Reddick has 14 homers in 185 at-bats after hitting seven in 254 at-bats for the Red Sox in 2011.
* * *
Love baseball? Even like it a little?
Follow @AnswerDave, @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk on Twitter,
along with the BLS Facebook page!
No comments:
Post a Comment