Associated Press
Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels did three times better against Chris Sale than they did last Sunday at Chicago. They got three hits this time — and still no runs.
Sale frustrated the Angels’ through 7 2-3 innings with a season-high 12 strikeouts, leading the White Sox to another 3-0 victory on Friday night. Alex Rios and Adam Dunn homered, helping extend Chicago’s winning streak to a season-high four games.
“I felt the same as I did the last one. I felt like I had the same stuff,” Sale said. “There were more hard-hit balls, so that was the difference. I got a little bit lucky tonight.
“A team like this, they’ve got some amazing ballplayers. So you’ve got to make adjustments,” he added. “It’s never easy facing a team in back-to-back starts. As many adjustments as I’m making, they’re going to make as well. You just put the work in, go in with determination and see how it turns out.”
Sale (5-2) threw 79 of his 113 pitches for strikes in another duel with fellow lefty C.J. Wilson. In the previous one, Sale retired the first 19 batters and settled for a one-hitter — Mike Trout’s one-out single in the seventh inning — while recording his first shutout in the major leagues.
“Sale’s been on twice in a row against us, and tonight he had 12 punchouts,” Wilson lamented. “It’s frustrating, because I knew he’s obviously a really great pitcher.”
Sale extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings. It was his sixth straight start of at least seven innings while allowing fewer than three earned runs — the longest such streak by a White Sox pitcher since a seven-game stretch by Mark Buehrle in 2007.
“You go through a team that second time, their lineup is tough enough going through it once,” Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. “You do it back-to-back in a week, it’s a feather in his cap and proves just how good he is. … He wants to be in that elite group, and he’s proving it.”
Sale is 10-0 with a 2.55 ERA against AL West teams.
“It’s nothing unbelievable. It’s just deception. That’s all it is,” said Josh Hamilton, the only left-handed batter in the starting lineup against Sale. “Basically, the ball comes out of the second baseman and just shows up halfway to the plate, and you’ve got to figure out what it is and try to swing at it.”
Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.
Wilson (3-3) lost his third straight start, allowing two runs and six hits over seven innings in his longest outing of the season.
“C.J. did a great job. I hate that we can’t score runs for him,” Hamilton said. “I mean, you look at the scoreboard and see how many strikes he’s thrown compared to balls. He just keeps pounding the zone, so you want to score runs for a guy like that. “
This was the seventh time in his three-plus seasons as a starter that Wilson faced the same team in back-to-back starts, and only the second time he didn’t get the win in the rematch.
“I pitched against them five days ago, so it’s still fresh — and I have the same notes, obviously,” Wilson said. “One of the things you do is go back and look at the mistakes you made and separate them from the other pitches.”
Rios drove his 10th home run to left-center with two out in the first to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, one shy of his career best in 2006 with Toronto. Paul Konerko followed with a vicious line drive back to Wilson, who caught it before spiking the ball with his glove in frustration over the homer he surrendered on an 0-2 pitch.
“I think it was the second home run I’ve given up this year on a ball, which is really frustrating,” Wilson said. “But if you don’t execute your pitch, you have nobody to blame but yourself.”
Wilson gave up only three more hits until the seventh, when Dayan Viciedo singled with one out. Ventura played hit-and run with Jeff Keppinger to stay away from a potential inning-ending double play, and Viciedo pulled into second as Keppinger grounded out to third. Conor Gillaspie followed with an RBI single.
Dunn ended the scoring with his 10th homer of the season and fourth in four games against Garrett Richards in the ninth.
INDIANS 6, MARINERS 3
CLEVELAND — Jason Kipnis’ three-run homer in the 10th inning powered the Indians.
Kipnis’ home run came on an 0-1 pitch from Lucas Luetge and capped a two-out rally that began with a walk and an infield hit.
The Indians have won 15 of 19 and are 10-2 at Progressive Field since April 30.
Vinnie Pestano (1-0), activated from the disabled list before the game, worked around a one-out walk in the 10th.
Drew Stubbs, who homered in the fifth, drew a walk off Luetge (0-1). Stubbs broke for second with a 1-2 count on Michael Bourn, and Luetge threw to first baseman Justin Smoak, but Stubbs beat the throw to shortstop Brendan Ryan.
Bourn hit a slow roller past the mound and second baseman Dustin Ackley’s throw to first was late. Kipnis followed with his seventh homer.
YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 0
NEW YORK — Hiroki Kuroda pitched two-hit ball for eight dominant innings and New York again beat Mark Buehrle and Toronto.
Austin Romine and Brett Gardner had run-scoring hits, Robinson Cano hit an RBI grounder and Jayson Nix had two sacrifice flies in dropping Buehrle to 1-10 in 15 starts against the Yankees. The left-hander hasn’t beaten New York since April 10, 2004, when he was with the Chicago White Sox.
The AL East-leading Yankees defeated last-place Toronto for the fifth straight time this season in New York and for the seventh time in eight games overall.
Kuroda (6-2) struck out five and walked one in cooling off a club that had scored 33 runs in its previous three games and had won a season-high four in a row. Kuroda won for the fourth time in five starts and is 2-0 in three starts against the Blue Jays this year — matching up each time against Buehrle — allowing four runs in 21 1-3 innings.
RAYS 12, ORIOLES 10
BALTIMORE — Kelly Johnson hit a three-run homer and an RBI single, and Tampa Bay held on for a victory over slumping Baltimore.
Johnson and Yunel Escobar had three hits apiece in Tampa Bay’s highest scoring game of the season. Escobar also drove in three runs and Desmond Jennings added two hits and two RBIs.
The Orioles surrendered a season-high 17 hits for the second straight game and gave up their most runs in any game this season. Baltimore has allowed 27 runs and 52 hits while losing four of its last five games.
Chris Dickerson hit a three-run homer in Baltimore’s six-run eighth inning, but the Orioles’ rally stalled from there.
Jeremy Hellickson (2-2) was charged with eight runs and 10 hits in 7 2-3 innings, but still managed to get the win. Joel Peralta got four outs for his first save.
Johnson drove a full-count pitch from Jason Hammel (5-2) over the wall in right in the third, capping Tampa Bay’s four-run outburst with his sixth homer.
TIGERS 2, RANGERS 1
ARLINGTON, Texas — Miguel Cabrera went 3 for 4 with a go-ahead double in the sixth inning to back Rick Porcello and lift Detroit over Texas in a matchup of division leaders.
Jim Leyland earned his 1,699th win as a major league manager as the Tigers remained tied with Cleveland atop the AL Central.
Porcello (2-2) allowed one run and five hits in 5 2-3 innings with six strikeouts and a walk as the Tigers rebounded from a 10-4 loss to Texas on Thursday night in which ace Justin Verlander was knocked out in the third inning.
Jose Valverde got three groundouts around a one-out walk to Geovany Soto in the ninth, getting his fourth save in five chances this season.
Rookie Nick Tepesch (3-4) gave up two runs, six hits and three walks in five innings.
RED SOX 3, TWINS 2, 10 INNINGS
MINNEAPOLIS — Jonny Gomes hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lift Boston to another comeback victory.
The Red Sox have won three straight after losing 10 of their previous 14 games, while the Twins have lost three in a row after winning six of nine.
Twins reliever Josh Roenicke (1-1) gave up a single and a walk to open the 10th. After a sacrifice bunt, Stephen Drew was intentionally walked to load the bases. Then Gomes sent a drive to center field, where Aaron Hicks caught the ball but double-clutched on his throw and didn’t have a chance to get the speedy Dustin Pedroia.
Alex Wilson (1-0) picked up the victory by getting the last out of the ninth and Koji Uehara threw a perfect 10th for his first save.
ATHLETICS 2, ROYALS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Adam Rosales hit a go-ahead home run leading off the eighth inning, Josh Donaldson also connected and reigning AL West champion Oakland earned just its third victory in the last 11 games.
Sean Doolittle (3-0) pitched the eighth for the win in relief of Jarrod Parker.
Oakland finally got to James Shields (2-4) in the late innings, nearly 10 months after he pitched a three-hit shutout here last July 31 for the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander matched his season high with nine strikeouts.
BRAVES 8, DODGERS 5
ATLANTA — Justin Upton gave Atlanta the lead with a sixth-inning grand slam and the Braves finally unveiled their full-strength lineup.
Upton drove in five runs hitting behind Jason Heyward, who had two hits with a RBI in his first game back after having his appendix removed April 22.
It was the first time this season the Braves had Heyward in the lineup along with catcher Brian McCann, who missed the first 30 games while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
Scott Van Slyke hit two homers for the Dodgers, who led 4-2 before Upton’s third career grand slam. Los Angeles had won four of its previous five coming in — its best stretch since early April.
Paul Maholm (5-4) allowed eight hits and four runs — two earned — in six innings, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
Hyun-Jin Ryu overcame a career-high five walks to give up only two runs in five innings, but Dodgers relievers Matt Guerrier and Poco Rodriguez (0-2) quickly blew the 4-2 lead in the sixth.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 6
ST. LOUIS — David Freese hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season during a five-run first inning for St. Louis, and the Cardinals held on to beat Milwaukee.
The Brewers made it close on a pair of three-run homers by Aramis Ramirez off Jaime Garcia before losing for the 13th time in 15 games. The bottom four spots in the lineup were a combined 0 for 15.
The Cardinals had five hits and a walk while batting around against Wily Peralta (3-4) in the first, but the right-hander was still in the game when Garcia (5-2) was chased in the sixth.
Milwaukee got one hit in 3 2-3 innings against three relievers, with Edward Mujica working the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances.
PHILLIES 5, REDS 3
PHILADELPHIA — Domonic Brown drove in the tiebreaking run on an infield grounder in the eighth and Philadelphia snapped Cincinnati’s six-game winning streak.
Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer and Cliff Lee threw seven sharp innings for the Phillies, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Lee gave up two runs and six hits, striking out seven. Justin De Fratus (2-0) got two batters out in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon finished for his eighth save in eight tries.
Joey Votto hit a solo homer, Jay Bruce added a two-run shot and Tony Cingrani allowed three runs and five hits in five innings for the Reds. Sean Marshall (0-1) took the loss.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, MARLINS 2
MIAMI — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, tied his career high with four hits and drove in four runs to lead Arizona over Miami.
Eric Chavez homered and also had four hits, and Gerardo Parra and Martin Prado had three hits apiece for Arizona, which had 16 hits in all and won its third straight game.
Trevor Cahill (3-4) won for the third time in four decisions following an 0-3 start, allowing one run, five hits and four walks in eight innings. He walked his first two batters in the third before retiring 13 in a row, 10 on groundballs.
Kevin Slowey (1-4) gave up six runs and seven hits in three innings for the Marlins.
METS 3, CUBS 2
CHICAGO — Matt Harvey won his fifth straight decision, allowing five hits in 7 1-3 innings and singling in the go-ahead run in the seventh to lead New York over Chicago.
Daniel Murphy and David Wright homered for the Mets, and right fielder Marlon Byrd preserved the lead by throwing out a runner at the plate in the eighth inning. The Mets won consecutive games for the first time since May 1 and 3.
Harvey (5-0) won his first four starts, then failed to get a decision in his next four.
Edwin Jackson (1-6), coming off a victory at Washington on May 11, gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings for the Cubs.
NATIONALS 6, PADRES 5, 10 INNINGS
SAN DIEGO — Adam LaRoche hit two towering home runs and Chad Tracy’s solo shot in the 10th inning lifted Washington over San Diego.
Tracy’s seventh career pinch-hit home run negated a blown save from closer Rafael Soriano, who gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth.
The Padres tied the game with three straight singles. Chase Headley’s RBI made it 5-4 and Yonder Alonso pushed him to third with another single. Kyle Blanks evened the score with another single, which sent the game into extra innings.
It was Soriano’s second blown save in 14 chances. Drew Storen got his first save of the season in the 10th.
Tracy’s home run came off Padres closer Huston Street (0-3), who has allowed six home runs in 17 1-3 innings. He gave up two in 39 innings last season.
PIRATES 5, ASTROS 4
PITTSBURGH — Jimmy Paredes dropped Russell Martin’s bases-loaded fly ball when he collided with second baseman Jake Elmore with two outs in the ninth, the second missed catch by a Houston right fielder, and Pittsburgh rallied past the Astros.
Down 4-1, Pittsburgh started its comeback in the sixth when Chris Carter dropped Andrew McCutchen’s fly ball for a three-base error and Garrett Jones followed with a double.
Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Justin Wilson (4-0) worked the tenth inning to pick up the win for the Pirates.
Edgar Gonzalez (0-1) took the loss.