Chris Sale Fans 12 As Red Sox Blank Blue Jays; Stephen Strasburg Bats His Way to 12th Win, Leads NL

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 18, 2019

American League

Sale: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 12 K

Still on the outside looking in at the AL wild card race, the Boston Red Sox got a needed boost from Chris Sale, as the seven-time all-star allowed two hits and no runs over six innings, striking out 12 in a 5-0 Boston win.

Despite a 4-9 record, Sale is second in Al strikeouts with 172, trailing Houston's Gerrit Cole, who leads the majors with 194.

Boston's bullpen finished the shutout, no-hitting the Jays through the seventh, eighth and ninth.

At 53-44, the Red Sox are two games behind the Rays and A's for the second wild card. Cleveland has surged to claim the first wild card by one game, with a 55-40 mark.

Boston took three of four from the Blue Jays and are 4-3 since the all-star break. They head to Baltimore for a three-game series, starting Friday at 7:05 pm ET.

National League

12-4 Strasburg Leads AL

Taking the lead in NL wins with his 12th of the year, Stephen Strasburg didn't pitch his best game in Washington's 13-4 whipping of the Braves, but he did hit the highlight reel pretty hard at the plate, socking a three-run homer and singling in two more runs as the Nationals inched closer to first-place Atlanta in the East.

Strasburg only lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs, fanning seven, but, thanks to an eight-run third inning, the Nationals really didn't need to extend their ace. Three relievers mopped up the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing the Braves just one more tally after Strasburg's departure.

Leading off the third inning with a single, Strasburg scored on Adam Eaton's triple and homered later in the frame. His two-RBI single came in the fifth, padding the Washington lead.

Teammate Max Scherzer leads the NL in strikeouts with 181. Arizona's Robbie Ray is second with 152; Strasburg is next, at 151.

The result of Thursday's contest in Atlanta left the Nationals 5 1/2 games behind the Braves, the closest they've been to the division lead since late April. The Nationals are 14-4 since June 25th. Atlanta has lost three straight.

Thursday's game was the first of four in Washington. Game two of the series is Friday at 7:20 pm ET.

Paul Goldschmidt Homers Arizona Over Reds; Chris Sale Shuts Down O's, Boston Sweeps

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 12, 2018

Sale: 5 IP, 1H, 0ER, 12K

American League

The Boston Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, don't make a lot of headlines because all they do is win, including Sunday's 4-1 win at Baltimore, which saw the return off the DL of Chris Sale, Boston's ace starter.

Sale allowed one hit and no runs over five innings of work, striking out 12. Sale improved to 12-4 and dropped his ERA to 1.97.

The Red Sox continue to lead the AL East by an eye-popping 9 1/2 games over the Yankees.

The Sox took four straight in Baltimore and head to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a two-game series with the Phillies.

National League

After losing the first two games of their three-game series in Cincinnati, Arizona retained control of the NL West with a 9-2 romp over the Reds Sunday.

Goldschmidt: 2 Homers

Paul Goldschmidt connected for his 25th and 26th home runs and drove in three runs. Goldschmidt socked a two-run homer in the sixth inning, then added a solo shot in the ninth as the Diamondbacks tacked on four more runs.

Goldschmidt carries a .284 batting average and has driven in 64 runs this season.

The Diamondbacks lead the NL West by one game over the Dodgers. LA took a 4-3 defeat at Colorado on Sunday, dropping out of a tie for the division lead.

Arizona heads next to Texas for a pair of games with the Rangers, starting on Monday, 8:05 pm EDT.

Braves Shuffle Cards, 11-4, On Nick Markakis Slam, 5 RBI; Red Sox Hammer Yankees, 11-0, as Chris Sale, Rafael Devers Dominate

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 30, 2018

American League

Sale: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER

The biggest series of the weekend has to be the one at Yankee Stadium in New York, where the Red Sox and Yankees are battling for first place in the AL East.

The first two games, however, have hardly lived up to the hype for what's supposed to be a fierce rivalry. On Friday, the Yankees dominated, getting the offense started quickly in an 8-1 win.

Devers: 5-5, GS, 4RBI, 3R

Saturday's game was equally lopsided, though this time it was Boston doing all the scoring. Rafael Devers' grand slam in the opening frame was more than enough run support for Red Sox ace, Chris Sale, who allowed just one hit over seven innings, fanning 11 flailing New York batters.

Devers finished 5-for-5 and scored three runs in the 11-0 rout. In addition to the slam, the Red Sox third baseman doubled, singled three times and scored three runs.

Sale improved to 8-4 on the year, dominating by throwing 72 of 101 pitches for strikes. Sale's 164 Ks are tops in the AL. Washington's Max Scherzer leads the National League with 165.

Yankee starter, Sonny Gray, acquired for Oakland last season just before the trade deadline, allowed six runs on seven hits over just 2 1/3 innings and looks to be expendable for the Yankees. Since joining the franchise, he's 9-13. This season's ERA has ballooned to 5.44.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for 8:00 pm EDT Sunday as the nationally televised ESPN game.

National League

Markakis: Slam, 5 RBI

While the Phillies were taking one from Washington, 3-2, the Atlanta Braves held their three-game lead in the NL East, shuffling the Cards by an 11-4 score.

It was the second game of a three-game series in St. Louis. The Braves won, 5-1 on Friday and will be looking for a sweep when the teams meet on Sunday, at 2:15 pm EDT.

Doing the most damage for Atlanta was right fielder, Nick Markakis, who is having an outstanding season and looks to be a starter for the NL in the all star game, July 17. Markakis leads all NL outfielders with nearly two million votes as of the latest release.

After doubling and scoring the Braves' first run in the second inning, Markakis blew open a 3-0 game in the fifth inning with a grand slam and for good measure hit a sixth inning sac fly to send Ozzie Albies to the plate for a 10-0 advantage. The veteran outfielder tallied five RBI for the game.

Markakis played nine years for the orioles before switching to Atlanta and the National League in 2015. Along with his .326 batting average, Markakis has nine homers and 56 RBI, fifth in the league.

Chris Slae Leads Boston Past Minnesota; Ryan Braun Homers Twice As Brewers Take First Place

Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Grapefruit League

Sale: 5IP, 2H, 0R, 7K

After finishing second to Cleveland's Corey Kluber in the 2017 Cy Young voting, Boston's Chris Sale appears to be ready for the challenges of another long season with his sights set on being the best hurler in the league.


Sale allowed two hits, striking out seven over five innings in Boston's 2-1 win over Minnesota, as the Red Sox moved into Grapefruit League contention, 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros.

Sale was in control through his stint. Though he gave up a pair of triples - one in the second and another in the fourth - the Twins were unable to cash in. Sale also didn't issue any walks.

Last season, Sale led the Red Sox to the AL East crown, going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA.

Cactus League

Braun: 2HR, GS, 5RBI

Taking over first place with their fifth straight win, Ryan Braun and the Milwaukee Brewers made quick work of the Chicago White Sox with an 11-3 beat-down, vaulting past the Cubs for a 1/2-game lead on the Cactus circuit.

Braun, the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year and 2011 NL MVP, socked a pair of home runs in consecutive innings, pasting a solo shot in the opening frame, only to follow up with a grand slam in the second inning. Both blasts came off White Sox starter, Carson Fulmer, and when Travis Shaw followed with a solo shot of his own, Fulmer was done and the Brewers had a 7-0 lead.

Braun's homers were his first of Spring training. Last season, the slugger hit 17 home runs and drove in 52 runs. He will open his 12th season as a major leaguer later this month, all of them with Milwaukee.

Boston's Chris Sale Fans 13, Downs Orioles; Hunter Renfroe Socks 3 HR But Padres Lose To Arizona

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 20, 2017

American League

Sale: 300 strikeouts

While the Yankees were busy eliminating the competition in the wild card race, sweeping three from the Minnesota Twins and advancing their lead over them to seven games, the Boston Red Sox had the pedal to the metal as well, matching the Yanks with three straight over the fading Orioles, in Baltimore.

Capping the sweep with a 9-0 shutout, starter Chris Sale went eight full innings, didn't allow any walks, gave up just four hits and fanned 13, sending his major-league leading strikeout total to 300, becoming the first American League pitcher to achieve that milestone since Boston's Pedro Martinez did it 1999, when he set a club record with 313.

Sales threw 111 pitches, 77 of them for strikes, improving to 17-7 on the year. With 10 games remaining, and a mere three game lead over the Yankees, it's a good bet that Sale will get to the mound again this season, with the possibility of equalling or breaking Martinez's club record.

Boston's win assured that they will be playing in October, at least as a wild card, though the Sox clearly have higher aims. New York has a magic number of three to clinch a playoff berth, but they too have their eyes on the AL East division title.

The two contenders (Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Toronto have been mathematically eliminated) do not play each other again this season, unless they meet up in the playoffs. After a day off Thursday, Boston will head to Cincinnati for a three-game series with the Reds, then return home for their final seven games, three against the Blue Jays and four with Houston.

New York also opens a three-game road series on Friday, in Toronto. A make-up game with the Royals is slated for September 25 (Monday), prior to back-to-back three-game home series against Tampa Bay and Toronto.

Renfroe: 3 HR, 4 RBI

National League

Arizona increased its lead in the wild card race to 5 1/2 over the Rockies with a 13-7 win at San Diego, despite the best efforts of rookie outfielder, Hunter Renfroe, who became the first Padre to belt three home runs in one game since the inception of the franchise back in 1969.

Renfroe socked his first in the third inning, a two-run blast, followed by solo shots in the fifth and ninth innings. Renfroe has 24 home runs and 54 RBI on the year.

The Padres built a 6-2 lead after five innings, but the Diamondbacks scored four in the sixth, one in the seventh, two in the eighth and four more in the ninth to win going away, avoiding the sweep in the three-game series.

Fortunately for Arizona, which had lost three straight before Wednesday's win, they had built a sizable lead in the wild card race. Below them, the battle is engaged for the #2 position. Colorado leads Milwaukee by one game and St. Louis by 2 1/2.

Looking like a sure thing to clinch the top wild card spot, Arizona has Thursday off, then opens a six-game home stand, playing three with Miami and then the Giants. They close out the regular season with three games at Kansas City.

Hernan Perez HR, 5 RBI Leads Brewers Over Cubs; Boston's Chris Sale First To 16 Wins In AL

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 9, 2017

American League

Getting token pressure from second place New York, the Boston Red Sox notched another win off the arm of their ace starter, Chris Sale, who improved to 16-7 with six shutout innings in a 9-0 Boston rout of Tampa Bay.

Chris Sale: 16-7

The victory was Boston's second straight at Fenway over the visiting Rays and fourth straight overall. On Friday, they topped their AL East rivals 9-3.

Sale allowed six hits but no runs, fanned eight and issued one walk on his way to the AL lead in victories, becoming the first AL hurler with 16 wins. Four pitchers - teammate Drew Pomeranz, Minnesota's Ervin Santana, and two Cleveland starters, Cory Kluber and Trevor Bauer - each have 15 wins.

Boston leads the Yankees in the division by 4 1/2 games and has no games left against them this season. The Red Sox will be looking for the sweep when they host the Rays Sunday at 1:35 pm ET.

National League

After taking the opener of a three-game series from the Cubs in Chicago, 2-0, Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers left no doubt that they are in the NL Central pennant race until the end with a 15-2 thrashing of the Cubs at Wrigley Field Saturday.

Perez: HR, 5 RBI

The onslaught didn't begin until the third inning, but the Brewers sent 11 men to the plate, starting with Hernan Perez, who took a leadoff walk and started the scoring on a double by Travis Shaw. Perez also plated the eighth and final run of the inning with a sac fly.

The sac fly accounted for the first of Perez's five RBI on the day. In the fifth, he smacked a two-run home run and he drove in two more runs with a sixth inning single. A utility man who has played every position this year except catcher - he even pitched one inning - this season, Perez played second and third base on Saturday. He has 14 home runs and 48 RBI on the year.

The Cubs managed only six hits off winning pitcher Chase Anderson (9-3) and four Milwaukee relievers. They lead the Brewers and Cardinals in the division by three games with 20 left to play. The NL Central is the closest race in any of the six major league divisions. Milwaukee and St. Louis are also three games out in the wild card, trailing Colorado for the second wild card. The Rockies sent the Dodgers to their ninth straight loss Saturday, with a 6-5 win.

The Brewers will be looking for the sweep when they take the field against the Cubs in the series finale, Sunday at 2:20 pm ET.

Boston Wins 7th Straight Behind Chris Sale's 13 Ks; Jake Lamb Slams Dodgers In 6-3 Arizona Win

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 8, 2017

American League

Sale: 14-4, 2.57, 229 Ks

Boston won its seventh straight game, doing so behind their ace, Chris Sale, in a 2-0 win at Tampa Bay.

Sale was at his very best, allowing two hits and a walk over eight full innings, fanning 13, tying a season-high. Sale struck out 13 on two prior occasions, April 20 at Toronto and July 20, at home against the Yankees. Having struck out 11 in a May 7 win over Baltimore, Sale has double-digit strikeout games against all four AL East opponents.

Looking every bit like this season's Cy Young award winner, Sale leads the AL wins (14-4), ERA (2.57) and strikeouts, his 229 total a clear lead of 40 over Tampa Bay's Chris Archer.

Sale put down the first ten batters he faced, his perfect performance interrupted by a throwing error by third baseman Rafael Devers with one down in the fourth. He entered the fifth with a no-hitter, but Wilson Ramos singled with one out. Sale gave up the only other hit by the Rays in the sixth inning and issued a walk to open the seventh, but set down the next six straight, handing the ball over to closer, Craig Kimbrel, after fanning four of the last five batters he faced.

Picking up his 28th save, Kimbrel was equally impressive, fanning the three batters he faced in the ninth.

The Red Sox will be looking for their eighth straight win and a sweep of the two games at Tampa Bay when they face the Rays Wednesday night at 7:00 pm ET.

National League

Lamb: 25 HR, 90 RBI

Down 16 games in the NL West, Arizona opened their three-game series with the visiting first-place Dodgers the way they had to, with a 6-3 victory, slicing slightly into LA's overwhelming lead.

Jake Lamb did almost all of the Diamondbacks' damage, whacking a pair of home runs, a fourth inning solo shot and a seventh inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 advantage for the home team.

Lamb's homers were his 24th and 25th, closing in on his career-best total of 29 round-trippers in 2016. His five RBI in the game made him the second National Leaguer to reach 90, behind Colorado's Nolan Arenado, who leads the majors with 98.

Arizona improved to 64-48. Even though they still trail the Dodgers by 15 games, they do lead the wild card race, by 1/2 game over the Rockies. Both Arizona and Colorado have to continue their strong play as there are a trio of NL Central teams gunning for at least one of the wild card slots. Milwaukee, St. Louis and Pittsburgh are currently 6, 7, and 8 games behind the Rockies.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have two more games at Chase Stadium, with game two scheduled for Wednesday night at 9:40 pm ET.

Chris Sale Dominates Twins in 7-0 ChiSox Win; Clayton Kershaw's 2-Hitter Puts Dodgers in First Place

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 26, 2014

American League

Chris Sale of the White Sox is having himself a spectacular season as a starter for Chicago.

Chris Sale: 10-1

On Saturday, Sale fanned 12 while hurling eight scoreless innings as the White Sox downed the Twins, 7-0.

A 6'6" lanky lefty, Sale allowed five hits and two walks, but struck out a batter in every inning, including a stretch from the fifth through seventh innings in which he fanned six of seven batters he faced, getting five of them swinging. He also struck out leadoff hitter, Danny Santana, three times and whiffed three other Minnesota victims twice each.

Daniel Webb pitched the ninth in the non-save situation, preserving the win and the blanking.

It was Sale's 10th win against just one loss. He threw 112 pitches, 79 of them for strikes. Sale's 1.88 ERA leads the American League, as does his 0.86 WHIP. He has 120 strikeouts in 16 starts, but trails many of the leaders in that department due to the fact that he missed over a month between mid-April and mid-May.

The fourth-place Sox currently trail the Tigers by eight games in the AL Central, but have taken three straight at Target field and will be looking for a four-game sweep of the Twins when the two teams wrap up the series at 2:10 pm EDT on Sunday.

National League

Kershaw: 12-2

It was a day of pitching superlatives, but none were better than LA's Clayton Kershaw, whose two-hit, complete game shutout gave the Dodgers a half game lead in the NL West over the Giants in a 5-0 victory against their in-state rivals.

Gregor Blanco singled off Kershaw with one out in the opening frame, but the Giants didn't get another hit until Mike Morse singled with two down in the seventh. Kershaw struck out seven and issued just two walks, throwing 78 of 113 pitches for strikes and getting ahead of 21 of the 30 batters he faced, with first pitch strikes.

Improving to 12-2, Kershaw leads the National League with a 1.76 ERA, and is tied with the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright with 12 wins, despite having started four fewer times than his St. Louis rival.

He and the Giants' Madison Bumgarner are tied for fifth in strikeouts with 141, but Kershaw is closing in on league-leader, Stephen Strasberg, who has 163.

The Dodgers, who have taken the first two games of the series in San Francisco, will be looking for the sweep when the series concludes Sunday night at 8:00 pm EDT. The game will be telecast nationally by ESPN.

Chris Sale Tames Tigers in 5-1 White Sox Win; Gio Gonzalez One-Hits Mets in 9-0 Nationals' Win

Players of the Day for Monday, September 9, 2013

American League

A week ago, it looked like the Detroit Tigers were going to run away in the AL Central. After three straight losses, that isn't looking so certain.

Chris Sale

Detroit's latest defeat came at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, and, more specifically, off the left hand off Sox starter, Chris Sale, who limited the Tigers to four hits and one earned run - that on a seventh-inning, solo HR by Victor Martinez - over eight innings, in a 5-1 win to open a three-game series in the Windy City.

Sale whiffed eight and walked just one while his teammates were building a lead off Detroit starter, Max Scherzer, who failed, for the third straight time, to win his 20th game, dropping his record to 19-3. Scherzer allowed four earned runs in four innings, his shortest outing of the season, but managed to strike out six, giving him 215 on the season, second-most in the AL. Sale is right behind him, with 207. Both are chasing Texas hurler, Yu Darvish, who leads both leagues with 246 Ks.

With Detroit's loss and Cleveland's 4-3 win over Kansas City, the Tiger lead in the division has shrunk to just 4 1/2 games. The Tigers have the benefit of a soft schedule, however. With 18 games left to play, 11 of them are against the White Sox, Twins and Marlins, three of the weakest squads in the majors.

The Tigers will try to end their mini-skid Tuesday night, when they meet the White Sox in game two, at 8:10 pm EDT.

National League

Gonzalez: 1-Hitter

Gio Gonzalez had a no-hitter through six innings, but Zach Lutz, a call-up from AAA Las Vegas, knocked a pinch hit single to right leading off the seventh inning, spoiling the effort for the Washington hurler.

That was to be the Mets' only hit of the night, as Gonzalez put down the next eight straight, walked Lutz with two down in the ninth, and got Andrew Brown on a fly ball to right to end it.

Washington staked Gonzalez to a 2-0 lead on first-inning, solo homers by Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman, then added seven more from the third through fifth innings for the 9-0 whitewash. Gonzalez (10-6) walked two, fanned eight and needed 110 pitches for his second career shutout and first of the 2013 season.

The win was the third straight for Washington, but they still trail the Braves by 12 games in the NL East and are seven behind Cincinnati for the second wild card.

The series continues Tuesday night at 7:10 pm EDT at Citi Field in New York.

Today's Trivia: Who had more doubles during their major league career, Mike Schmidt or Barry Bonds? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The Angels won 100 games in 2008. The Yankees won 101 in 2003 and 2004, and 103 in 2009.

AL Wins All-Star Game, 3-0, Earns World Series Home Field Advantage; White Sox Hurler Chris Sale Dominates

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 16, 2013

ALL STAR GAME

Sale: 2IP, 0H, 2K

As baseball games go, this one didn't provide many thrills for fans, but, in a season in which hitting has been the dominant theme, it was pitching - particularly by American League hurlers - which carried the day, the AL limiting NL batters to just three hits while scoring single runs in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings for the 3-0 win at Citi Field in New York.

Statistically, there were no outstanding performances, but give a nod to the AL lefty, Chris Sale, of the Chicago White Sox, who was completely untouchable in his two innings of work, striking out two while throwing 17 of 24 pitches for strikes without allowing a hit or a walk.

The Mets' Matt Harvey deserves a mention as well. After a rough start - giving up a leadoff double to Mike Trout on the first pitch of the game and then plunking Robinson Cano on the knee to put runners at first and second with no outs, Harvey regrouped and put down the next six batters in order, three of them on swinging strikes.

With the Mid-Summer Classic complete, fans can look forward to the AL team having home field for the World Series in October, having earned it with the All-Star victory.

Regular season play resumes on Friday.

Today's Trivia: Which infielder was named to the most All Star rosters? (answer Friday)

Yesterday's Answer: Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench each were named to All Star rosters 14 times.

White Sox Top Angels on Chris Sale's 1-Hitter; Chase Utley Leads Phillies to Split with Diamondbacks

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 12, 2013

American League

Sale: 1-Hitter

The AL Central was supposed to be the exclusive province of AL champion Detroit, but that has not yet proven out.

The Tigers have been hounded for first place by, first, the Royals, and now, the Indians, who topped them, 4-3, in 10 innings to grab a share of the top division spot.

KC has dropped three straight to fall 1 1/2 off the pace, with the Twins another game back. Bringing up the rear is Chicago, but the White Sox are just five games out and got a boost Sunday night when Chris Sale torched the struggling LA Angels with a one-hit, 3-0 victory.

Sale (4-2) was perfect through six innings, but allowed a single by Mike Trout with one out in the seventh which broke up the no-hit bid. Trout's hit turned out to be the Angels only hit of the contest, and he was the only Angel to reach base other than catcher Chris Ianetta, who reached via a throwing error by White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez.

Sale didn't issue any walks, needed only 98 pitches to go the distance and fanned seven. Chicago scored three times in the bottom of the seventh off Angels' starter, C.J. Wilson (3-2).

It was the first career shutout for the 6'6" lefty and his second complete game. The White Sox win avoided a sweep at the hands of the Angles in the finale of their three-game series.

National League

Utley: 4-for-5

The Phillies (18-20) are scuffling, but, after earning a split with Arizona by taking the final two games of their four-game series, find themselves only four games back in the NL East.

Sunday's 4-2, 10-inning victory over the Diamondbacks was largely due to the 4-for-5 effort from second baseman Chase Utley, who scored the Phillies first run of the game in the ninth inning as Philadelphia rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game. The Phillies scored two more in the extra frame for the win.

In the tenth inning, Utley was again instrumental, doubling with one out to send Jimmy Rollins to third in advance of Ryan Howard's two-run single. Utley had two doubles and two singles, scoring twice.

Jonathan Papelbon came on in the bottom of the ninth for his 7th save of the season.

Utley, who spent most of last season on the DL and played only 83 games, is batting .279 with seven homers and 24 RBI.

Today's Trivia: Cy Young, after whom the award for the leagues' best pitcher is named, had fewer strikeouts in his career than which of the following: Phil Niekro, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, Tom Glavine? (Answer tomorrow.)

Yesterday's answer: Detroit's Justin Verlander led the majors with 239 strikeouts in 2013. The Mets' R.A. Dickey led the NL with 230.

Chris Sale Keeps White Sox in First Place; Giants Keep Rolling on Hunter Pence Grand Slam

Players of the Day for Friday, September 14, 2012

American League

Chris Sale

The battle for the AL Central is reaching epic proportions, a struggle between two teams, the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

Friday saw both teams on the road opening three-game series as the number of remaining games dwindles to fewer than 20.

The Tigers got seven innings from their ace, Justin Verlander, in a 4-0 victory over Cleveland.

Not to be outdone, the White Sox invaded Minnesota, coming away with a 6-0 win, thanks to six solid shutout innings from Chris Sale, who improved to 17-6 and kept the Sox a game ahead of the Tigers in the standings.

Sale allowed only three hits, did not walk a batter and fanned five. With a 3-0 lead, Sale was relieved by Brett Myers, who calmly set down the Tigers in order through the seventh and eighth innings. Closer Matt Thornton was called upon for the ninth in a non-save situation and he finished off the whitewash, allowing a solitary hit in the final frame.

Both teams continue their series on Saturday and Sunday. Monday has a scheduled make-up game, with Detroit traveling to Chicago. After that, the two combatants will not play each other head-to-head for the remainder of the season.

National League

At one time, there were actual pennant races in the National League, but the Nationals, Reds and Giants have proven superior to their divisional foes and have pulled away to large leads in the standings.

The only remaining race of interest is for the second wild card spot, but it's a doozy, with six teams within 4 1/2 games of each other.

Pence: 2-3 GS 4RBI

While the likes of the Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers dogfight over one post-season spot, the San Francisco Giants have put their season on cruise control, winning their third straight with a 6-2 road kill at Arizona.

Hunter Pence paced the Giant attack with a single and a grand slam in three at-bats, driving in four and scoring twice. Pence's 21st homer came in the third inning, after the Giants had plated one in a frame.

After leaving the yard and clearing the basepaths, the Giants left it up to Matt Cin and a parade of six relievers to finish the job. After Cain gave up one run over five innings, the San Fran bullpen mopped up, allowing just one more Diamondback to cross the plate.

The win left the Giants with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Dodgers in the West. The Giants continue their series in Arizona on Saturday.

Adam Dunn, Chris Sale Lead 10-1 White Sox Rout of Houston; Jerry Hairston Drives in Five for Dodgers

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 9, 2012

American League

Dunn: 19 HRs

Adam Dunn is launching moon shots again and the Chicago White Sox are winning, taking a 1 1/2 game lead over Cleveland in the Central division after their 10-1 blasting of the Astros Saturday in Chicago.

Dunn socked his 19th homer of the season - an eighth inning grand slam - and drove in five runs, going 2-for-4 with a sac fly to lead the White Sox to even their weekend interleague series with Houston at a game apiece.

Sale: 8-2, 2.05 ERA

Dunn trails runaway leader, Josh Hamilton, of the Texas Rangers, by three homers, and his 45 RBI are third-best in the league. Hamilton leads with 59, while Detroit's Miguel Cabrera has 51.

Starter Chris Sale limited the Astros to just four hits, blanking them over eight strong innings, to notch his fifth straight win and improve to 8-2 on the season. Jed Lowie homered in the ninth inning off reliever Zach Stewart for Houston's only run. Sale, who leads the AL with a 2.05 ERA, struck out seven without issuing a walk.

The Astros and Cubs square off in the rubber game of the series Sunday afternoon.


National League

Jerry Hairston homered and doubled twice to lead the LA Dodgers to an 8-3 win at Seattle, evening their series with the Mariners at a game apiece with the rubber to be played Sunday afternoon.

Jerry Hairston

Not generally regarded as a potent power hitter, Hairston wasted no time at all getting his bat working, belting a three-run homer to deep left in the top of the first, staking Clayton Kershaw to the early lead.

When he doubled in another run and scored on James Loney's single in the third, the Dodgers were up 5-0 and on their way to maintaining their four game lead over the Giants in the NL West division.

Hairston finished 3-for-4 with five RBI, capping his performance with an opposite field, run-producing double in the eighth inning.

Now playing the infield with regularity, Hairston is having one of the best years of his career at the plate, batting .366, a number that would be leading the NL if Hairston had enough qualified plate appearances. He has played in just 34 games, but, if his hot hitting continues, should remain a staple on the Dodger diamond.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The cross-league games ended in a 7-7 split for the second straight day on Saturday, leaving the AL with a 38-32 lead over their rivals from the senior circuit.

Carlos Beltran Homers for Cardinals; Chris Sale Throws Six Scoreless for White Sox

Players of the Day for Monday, March 19, 2012

Grapefruit League

Carlos Beltran

When Albert Pujols took the free agency route out of St. Louis after winning the Wold Series last year, the Cardinals knew they needed to try to fill the offensive void created by acquiring another strong hitter, so they picked up Carlos Beltran the oft-injured slugger from the Mets.

In Monday's 4-3 win over Atlanta, the Cardinals' new right fielder belted a solo home run and singled in three at-bats, giving St. Louis fans some hope that there was life after Albert Pujols.

Even though it was Beltran's first homer and first RBI of the season, the Cardinals understood what they got when they signed Beltran: a career .283 hitter with 302 home runs and 1186 RBI in 12 major league seasons.

Cactus League

Sale: 6 IP 0 ER 6 K

Despite losing a 1-0 decision to the Cincinnati Reds, White Sox fans and management have to be encouraged with the performance of one of their bright young hurlers. Chris Sale worked the first six innings of the game, allowing just two hits, striking out six without walking a batter. Zack Cozart was the only Red to reach base off Sale, with a single and a double. Otherwise, Sale was dominant, retiring the final eight batters he faced.

Sale worked as a reliever in his first two seasons with the Sox, appearing in 21 games and posting a 2-1 record with saves and a 1.93 ERA in 2010. Last season, he appeared in 58 games, threw 71 innings and cashed in on 8 of 10 save opportunities.

Moving from the bullpen into the starting rotation, Sale will have to continue improving and going deep into games if the White Sox plan to be competitive in the AL Central, which looks like it may be a matter of chasing the Tigers in 2012.