Sale returns to ace form with 13 strikeouts
Star pitcher leads Red Sox to seventh straight win Dodgers beaten by Diamondbacks
How does Chris Sale follow up his worst start of the season? With his best start of the season. Sale looked exactly like the American League’s best pitcher on Tuesday night. Bouncing back from a seven-run performance against the Cleveland Indians, he took a business-like approach to Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning. The second hit came in the sixth. A third hit never came. Sale had the Rays completely confused throughout eight shutout innings, striking out 13 while allowing just the two hits and a walk in the AL East-leading Red Sox’ 2-0 win, their season-high seventh straight.
“Let’s be honest, I was flat-out embarrassed last time I was on a baseball field,” Sale said. “And that never sits right with many people, especially myself. I wanted to come back and be good for this one. My guys picked me up last time, so it was my turn to pick them up today.”
The outing was Sale’s 15th of the season with at least 10 strikeouts.
He’s four away from Pedro Martinez’ franchise record of 19 with 10 or more K’s set in 1999.
Sale has not allowed a run in five of his past seven outings.
“Chris did what Chris did – what another great performance,” center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. said.
Sale entered this start having not pitched since the previous Tuesday.
The extra rest seems to help: His career ERA while pitching on six days of rest or more dropped to 1.88.
“It’s not called the dog days [of summer] for no reason,” Sale said.
“Any time you can get a little bit of a break, and not only that, a little more work, too. I actually threw two bullpens this week just to stay sharp and be able to fix some things that needed to be able to be taken care of. Especially this time of year, it’s nice.” (Boston Herald)
Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 3
Jake Lamb had two homers and five RBIs, and his go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning lifted the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field on Tuesday.
Lamb, batting .143 in 91 at-bats against lefties this season, pulled a breaking ball off the right field foul pole against Tony Watson (5-4) for a 6-3 lead. Chris Iannetta had two hits and a homer for Arizona, which moved one-half game ahead of the Colorado Rockies to lead the NL wild-card race.
Indians 4, Rockies 1
Yan Gomes’ three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning capped a four-run rally and lifted Cleveland over Colorado.
The winning pitcher was Corey Kluber, who threw his second consecutive threehit complete game. He retired 26 of the last 27 batters he faced. Kluber (10-3) struck out 11 and did not walk a batter. He struck out the side in order in the ninth inning.
Mariners 7, Athletics 6 (10)
Leonys Martin launched a tiebreaking home run with two outs in the top of the 10th inning in Seattle’s victory over Oakland.
Martin connected off reliever Josh Smith (2-1) into the right field seats for his second home run of the season, capping a huge comeback win for the Mariners, who trailed 5-1 after three innings. Seattle moved into a threeway tie for the second wild-card spot in the American League with Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
Marlins 7, Nationals 3
Giancarlo Stanton broke a tie with a three-run homer in the fifth, and Vance Worley allowed one run in six innings as Miami beat Washington.
Derek Dietrich was 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Marlins. Worley (2-2), former property of the Nationals, scattered six hits for his second win in six days against Washington. He struck out two and walked three.
Blue Jays 4, Yankees 2
Josh Donaldson hit a pair of tworun homers, and J.A. Happ pitched into the sixth inning for his second straight victory as Toronto defeated New York.
Happ (5-8) allowed one run, four hits and four walks while striking out five in 5²⁄3 innings. Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 29th save of the season.
Giants 6, Cubs 3
Buster Posey supplied early offense with a three-run homer in the first inning as San Francisco beat Chicago.
Ty Blach (8-7) allowed two runs while scattering seven hits and striking out three. He went at least seven innings for the fifth straight game and also supplied an RBI single.
Mets 5, Rangers 4
Rookie Chris Flexen earned his first major league win and collected his first career hit when New York belted three home runs to snap a four-game losing streak.
Flexen (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over 5²⁄3 innings. He also laced a double to left field in the fifth.
Angels 3, Orioles 2
Parker Bridwell allowed one run in seven innings against his former team, and Andrelton Simmons and C.J. Cron had two hits apiece as Los Angeles snapped a three-game slide.
Bridwell (6-1) allowed six hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out four. It was the rookie’s seventh quality effort in 10 starts in 2017. The Angels are 10-1 in the 11 games he has pitched this season.
Twins 11, Brewers 4
Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario each hit two home runs, and Brian Dozier belted a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning as Minnesota routed Milwaukee.
Dozier also drove in a run later in the game to cap his season-high five-RBI game. Twins starter Adalberto Mejia exited in the fourth inning after experiencing left lateral upper arm pain.
White Sox 8, Astros 5
Kevan Smith doubled, homered and drove in four runs, and Chicago held off Houston.
Avisail Garcia, Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson added two hits apiece as the White Sox snapped a six-game losing streak. Derek Holland (6-11) earned his first victory since June 13, allowing three runs and a season-high seven walks in 5²⁄3 innings.
Cardinals 10, Royals 3
Yadier Molina and Jedd Gyorko each homered and drove in three runs as St. Louis routed Kansas City.