AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
After being outscored 82-31 while losing eight of their previous nine games, the Orioles broke through for a season-high 15 runs Saturday in a win against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was the most runs St. Louis has allowed this season, and the Orioles matched a season high with five home runs. Baltimore scored eight runs and won again Sunday.
Pitching also has been an issue for the Orioles. They had allowed at least five runs in 15 consecutive games through Sunday, when
Ubaldo Jimenez (6.71 ERA coming in) gave up two runs in seven innings before the bullpen allowed three. Wade Miley got the win Saturday despite allowing six runs for the second consecutive start.
“It’s been a grind, no doubt,” Miley said. “Baseball’s going to throw that at you at some point every year. It’s just kind of how we come through it, and hopefully we’re moving in the right direction.”
Shortstop J.J. Hardy is expected to be out two months because of a fractured left wrist, the result of being hit by a pitch Sunday. Manager Buck Showal
ter said veteran Ruben Tejada will take over at shortstop and
Manny Machado, who can play there, will remain at third base.
Draft Watch: First-round pick DL Hall told Glenn Clark Radio he’s not sure whether he will sign with the Orioles or attend Florida State. He has been compared to Scott Kazmir.
Boston Red Sox
Rick Porcello, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, has struggled tremendously this season.
A year after going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 33 starts, he is 3-9 with a 5.05 ERA and has allowed a major league-high 124 hits in 15 starts. The Red Sox have won six of his outings.
The first inning has been particularly difficult. He has allowed a .467 average with two home runs to hitters leading off the game, with an overall .344 average in the first and 6.60 ERA, his highest for any inning. Last season, those marks were .219 with no homers, .250 and 3.00, respectively.
“I know what I have to do to fix it,” Porcello said. “I’m just having a hard time doing it.”
The Red Sox got a scare Sunday night when second baseman Dustin Pedroia spit up blood after he was hit in the back by a pitch. He was taken out of the game and was expected to be out for a couple of days because of swelling in the back of his rib cage. X-rays were negative.
Draft Watch: University of Missouri right-hander Tanner
Houck was taken with the 24th pick. He is the first college pitcher the Red Sox have selected in the first round since Brian Johnson in 2012.
New York Yankees
Aaron Judge felt right at home last weekend in Oakland. He’s from Linden, Calif., and a large group made the 84-mile trek to watch him go 4-for-14 and hit his major league-leading 23rd home run.
“It’s great. I’m excited to see some family and friends,” said Judge, who requested about 150 tickets for Saturday’s game. “A lot of people supporting me and helping me along the way.”
Oakland selected Judge in the 31st round in 2010, but he elected to attend Fresno State. The Yankees drafted him with the 32nd overall pick in 2013.
The weekend wasn’t fun for the Yankees, however. Oakland’s four-game sweep, with three of the games decided by one run, increased New York’s seasonworst losing streak to six games.
Top prospect Gleyber Torres tore a ligament in his left (non-throwing) elbow sliding headfirst into home plate in a minor league game and was scheduled for season-ending Tommy John surgery. The 20year-old infielder had hit .385 in his last 10 games.
Draft Watch: Right-hander Clarke Schmidt, from the University of South Carolina, was taken with the 16th overall pick. Of the Yankees’ 40 picks, 28 were pitchers, including 10 of their first 11 picks. The Yankees were not deterred by the fact that Schmidt has had Tommy John elbow surgery.
Tampa Bay Rays
Alex Colome’s 19 saves through Sunday placed him among the major league leaders, and he had a 1.95 ERA.
But it’s also notable that he had pitched more than one inning in eight of his 30 appearances. Typical of his performances was his five-out save June 16, when he faced the Detroit Tigers with the tying run in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings.
“It’s part of the game. Every team’s going to go through it. I’m pleased with the way we keep fighting back, and that will bode well during the course of the season.” Yankees manager Joe Girardi, after his team had lost four in a row. The streak had reached six coming into the week.
A defensive shift with two outs in the ninth allowed a baserunner to easily steal third base, but Colome induced a ground ball into the shift to end the game.
“I think that probably shows how much confidence we have in Alex Colome,” manager Kevin Cash said.
An odd split for the Rays this season: Through 71 games they had the second-best record in the AL against right-handed starters (28-19, .596) and the second-worst record against left-handed starters (8-16, .333).
Draft Watch: The Rays took first baseman/left-handed pitcher Brendan McKay of Louisville with the fourth overall pick. McKay won the John Olerud Award, given to the best two-way player in college baseball, from 2015 to 2017, the only multiple winner since the award was first given in 2010.
Toronto Blue Jays
After going 18-10 in May to gain some respectability, the Blue Jays began June with a 7-8 record and scored three or fewer runs eight times, including seven times in losses. In games that would have pulled their record to .500, they were 0-7.
Marcus Stroman took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs — on three home runs — in seven innings against the Chicago White Sox. But he still leads the staff in victories with seven.
“The mentality hasn’t changed. We’re good,” Stroman said. “I’m sure we’ll rattle off 10 in a row here soon. Nothing changes from the group. We realize we’re going to go through stretches like this, and that’s why we stay confident day in and day out.”
Justin Smoak hit his 19th homer of the season in his 66th game, one shy of his career high in 131 games in 2013 with Seattle. He began the week second in the majors with seven home runs this month. Draft Watch: The Rays took first baseman Kacy Clem
ens out of the University of Texas in the eighth round. He is the son of Roger Clemens, who won Cy Young Awards in his two seasons with the Blue Jays (1997, 1998).