Red Sox battle virus; bullpen can’t save A’s
Baltimore Orioles
RHP Chris Ellis on Sept. 4 became the first Orioles starter to pitch at least five hitless innings against the New York Yankees since Hoyt Wilhelm threw a no-hitter on Sept. 20, 1958. Ellis and LHP John Means are the only Orioles starters this season to get through at least five innings without allowing a hit.
Ellis entered the week with a 2.84 ERA (no decisions) in three starts for Baltimore after being claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 20.
❚ OF Austin Hays entered the week with a career-best 12game hitting streak.
Boston Red Sox
Boston entered the week with 11 players on the COVID-19 injury list. That included RHP Nick Pivetta, who was scheduled to start Sept. 5 against Cleveland until his status was announced just before the game.
Instead, RHP Kutter Crawford, a 16th-round pick in 2017, was called up from Class AAA Worcester (Massachusetts) to make his major league debut. He went two innings, giving up five runs, and Boston’s fourgame winning streak was snapped.
❚ The Red Sox entered the week with MLB’s largest increase in winning percentage from 2020, 168 points.
New York Yankees
Batting ninth for the second time in three games, C Gary Sanchez hit a grand slam and a two-run homer Sept. 4 against the Baltimore Orioles. His six RBI matched his career best, also vs. the O’s on April 7, 2019.
But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Yankees from losing two consecutive games to lastplace Baltimore. The Yankees are only 9-7 against the Orioles.
❚ After winning 13 in a row, their longest streak since 1961, the Yankees lost seven of nine through Sept. 6.
Tampa Bay Rays
Rookie SS Wander Franco on Sept. 6 extended his on-base streak to 36 games, tied with Mickey Mantle for second longest in major league history by players age 20 or younger. The record is 43 games by Frank Robinson in 1956.
It was the longest active onbase streak in the majors and the longest by a Rays rookie. On Sept. 5 against the Minnesota Twins, Franco’s streak of 41 plate appearances without a strikeout finally ended.
❚ The Rays set a team record when six different players homered Sept. 4 in an 11-4 victory over the visiting Twins.
Toronto Blue Jays
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had at least two RBI in four straight games, one off the team record.
Gurriel is one of just four hitters in club history with three grand slams in a season, including one to tie the score Sept. 3 on the way to an 11-10 win over the Oakland Athletics.
❚ 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 40th home run of the season Sept. 6. He and his father, Vlad Sr., are the only father-son duo besides Cecil and Prince Fielder in the 40-homer club.
AL CENTRAL Chicago White Sox
CF Luis Robert hit .367 with six home runs in his first 21 games after being activated from the injured list. He missed more than three months because of a torn flexor in his right hip that required surgery.
However, what has really impressed first-year manager Tony La Russa is Roberts’ defense. Roberts won the AL Gold Glove last season as a rookie.
❚ 1B Jose Abreu recorded the 500th extra-base hit of his eight-year career with a double Sept. 4 against the Royals at Kansas City.
Cleveland
RHP Shane Bieber took a significant step in his rehab from a shoulder injury by pitching a simulated game Sept. 4. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner has been on the injured list since June 14. The next step could be a rehab start.
❚ Cleveland tied a team record established in 2000 by hitting a home run in its 19th consecutive game Sept. 5.
Detroit Tigers
Rookie C Eric Haase became the first Tiger to post a 20-homer season while playing at least 60% of his games at catcher since Mickey Tettleton in 1992. Haase reached that mark Sept. 4 against the Reds at Cincinnati.
Haase and LF Robbie Grossman (21) became the first Tigers teammates with 20 or more homers in a season since 2017.
❚ RHP Drew Carlton threw one pitch and got the win in his major league debut Sept. 4. The last pitcher with a debut like that was San Diego Padres LHP Buddy Baumann in 2016.
Kansas City Royals
C Salvador Perez entered the week with 41 home runs, 14 more than his previous career best, set in 2017 and matched in 2018. He also had six multihomer games while batting .277.
❚ Rookie RHP Carlos Hernandez, who started the year in the bullpen, allowed two runs or fewer in six of his first eight starts. He was 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA as a starter.
Minnesota Twins
RHP Kenta Maeda could return sooner than expected from Tommy John elbow surgery. An internal brace in his arm, a recent development in the technique, could speed the rate of recovery from a year to about nine months.
❚ Coach Bill Evers will retire at the end of this season, his 46th in professional baseball. He plans to travel to Scotland and Ireland with his wife.
AL WEST Houston Astros
The Astros have an opportunity to pad their AL West lead as they embrace a soft spot in their schedule starting Sept. 10.
They’ll enjoy a 14-game run against two last-place teams (Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks) and the Los Angeles Angels, who are struggling to remain at .500.
Half of the games are against the Angels, and the Astros have won eight of the teams’ first 12 games this season. The Astros are 11-4 vs. the Rangers and have yet to play Arizona.
❚ SS Carlos Correa, who’s in the final year of his contract but hasn’t closed the door on returning next season, has five career 20-homer seasons.
Los Angeles Angels
LHP Jose Suarez threw his first career complete game to defeat the Texas Rangers on Sept. 4. Suarez entered the game with a 5.53 ERA in his first nine starts. In 26 previous career starts, Suarez never reached the sixth inning.
❚ One day after RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani threw a careerhigh 117 pitches, two of which were 100 mph, he hit his majorshigh 43rd home run Sept. 4.
Oakland Athletics
A wobbly bullpen jeopardized the Athletics’ spot in the AL playoffs, and one-time standout RHP Lou Trivino struggled the most.
Trivino’s accuracy vanished as he surrendered 13 runs over five outings spanning 3 2⁄3 innings (31.91 ERA) through Sept. 5. That date capped a 14game patch in which the A’s bullpen dropped six of eight decisions and blew seven saves.
❚ OF Khris Davis, who hit 158 career homers for the A’s in 2016-20, returned to the team. Davis hit 10 homers in 16 Class AAA games after being released by the Texas Rangers.
Seattle Mariners
IF Ty France led the club in four offensive categories, including hits (140), through Sept. 5. He played mostly at second and third base in the early season but settled in at first base after Evan White’s season-ending hip injury in May.
In France’s last 31 games through Sept. 5, he was hitting .347 with five home runs.
❚ CF Kyle Lewis likely won’t return this season from a knee injury. The 2020 AL Rookie of the Year was aggressive in his rehabilitation, but it had to be paused when he had a setback.
Texas Rangers
RHP Glenn Otto’s composure has impressed the Rangers nearly as much as his slider.
Otto, acquired from the New York Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade, pitched five scoreless innings and had seven strikeouts against the Houston Astros in his major league debut Aug. 27. A rocky beginning Sept. 3 didn’t derail an outing in which he allowed the Los Angeles Angels two runs in 4 2⁄3 innings.
❚ 1B Nathaniel Lowe on Sept. 1 became the first Ranger to be charged with three errors in a game.