Giants' Jeff Samardzija Tosses 3-Hit Shutout; Rays' Austin Pruitt Extends KC Scoreless Streak

Players of the Day for Monday, August 28, 2017

American League

Pruitt: 6 IP, 1 H, 6K

With a 12-0 shutout over the Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays extended the agony for Kansas City to 43 innings in which they have not scored a single run, five shy of the MLB record. It was the fourth straight game the Royals have been shut out.

Kansas City hasn't scored since the second inning of a 3-2 loss to Colorado last Thursday, and they were shut out over the course of a three-game series at Cleveland. The 1968 Chicago Cubs and the 1906 Philadelphia Athletics hold the major league record at 48 innings.

Rookie starter, Austin Pruitt, kept the Royals off the board for the first six innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, fanning six. Pruitt is 7-4 with a 5.27 ERA. His winning effort was in his eighth start of the season. Matt Andriese finished the job, allowing one more hit over the final three frames. Both hits were doubles by Lorenzo Cain.

Game two of the series is Tuesday, 8:05 pm ET in Kansas City. Alex Cobb (9-8, 3.69 ERA) will be looking to shut out the Royals for the first five innings, which would tie the major league mark.

The loss was the fifth straight for the Royals, sending them plummeting in the AL Central and wild card races. They are 10 games behind Cleveland in third place in the division and were passed by the Rays Monday in the wild card, three games behind the Twins for the second spot. Tampa Bay is 2 1/2 out.

National League

Samardzija: 3-hit Shutout

For the San Francisco Giants, the 2017 was a complete bust. The team that plays its home games near the West coast bay and Golden Gate bridge was supposed to be a contender in the NL West, but, a horribly slow start (12-24 through May 11), numerous injuries, a complete lack of hitting and inconsistent pitching have San Fran in last place in the division and hopelessly out of contention for the wild card at 53-80.

Jeff Samardzija put on a display Monday at San Diego, however, that was a reminder of how the season was supposed to be, throwing a three-hit complete game shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Padres.

Samardzija, who stuck out five and walked none, was solid throughout. Of the three hits, only one left the infield, an eight inning single to right field by Cory Spangenberg. At 9-12, Samardzija is one of the few San Francisco hurlers that has not been injured during the season. In 27 starts, Samardzija has struck out 175 batters in 176 2/3 innings, but carries an ERA of 4.43.

The Giants got all of their runs on long balls, a fourth inning solo homer by Brandon Crawford and an eighth inning two-run belt by Joe Panik, with Crawford aboard.

Elsewhere, division leaders Washington and Chicago were both winners, the Nets shutting down Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami express, ending their four-game winning streak with a 11-2 win. The Cubs downed Pittsburgh, 6-1. The Dodgers, and much of the National League, were idle.