American League notes
Baltimore: Baltimore’s three starters in last weekend’s three-game sweep of the Reds – Cole Irvin, John Means and Dean Kremer – threw 191⁄3 scoreless innings and surrendered just six hits. “What this pitching staff has is a ton of versatility,” pitching coach Drew French said, according to MLB.com. “The ability to beat guys in different ways and get three times through the order. That’s a huge part of the conversation, especially over the last five or 10 years. We have guys that have different pitch types and different strengths, but their ability to do different things the second and third time through is what maximizes each individual guy.”
Boston: LF Masataka Yoshida might require surgery on his injured left thumb, manager Alex Cora said last week. Yoshida was placed on the 10-day injured list, with the move retroactive to April 29. Yoshida, 30, will get a second opinion on his thumb before taking his next step, according to masslive.com
Chicago: OF Tommy Pham just recently joined the White Sox but already is their best healthy player and could be their leading candidate to represent the team at the All-Star Game. The White Sox, off to their worst start in franchise history, are still hoping to trade Pham to the highest bidder before the trade deadline. The White Sox are also expected to trade starters Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, Mike Clevinger, reliever Michael Kopech and DH Eloy Jimenez.
Cleveland: Cleveland promoted 1B Kyle Manzardo on May 6 and placed left fielder Steven Kwan on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury. Manzardo, 23, is the Guardians’ No. 2 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The organization acquired him last summer when it traded starting pitcher Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays. In 29 games at Class AAA Columbus (Ohio), Manzardo has hit .303 this season with a 1.017 OPS, 9 home runs, 10 doubles and 20 RBI in 109 at-bats. In 13 spring training games, Manzardo hit .381 with a .934 OPS, two doubles and two RBI in 21 atbats. The club announced Kwan had an MRI to confirm the injury and is expected to miss approximately four weeks.
Detroit: The Tigers lost the battle in the rain to the Yankees 5-2 in last Sunday’s finale of the three-game sweep in the Bronx. But LHP Tarik Skubal, the Tigers’ ace who owns a 1.90 ERA in seven starts, allowed two runs on six hits and no walks with 12 strikeouts in six innings, throwing 96 pitches. The dozen strikeouts were a career high for Skubal, in the 82nd game of his MLB career. The fourth-year starter became the youngest Tiger (at 27 years and 167 days) to record 12 strikeouts in a game since Max Scherzer did so (at 25 years, 307 days) on May 30, 2010, when he had 14 strikeouts against the Oakland Athletics.
Houston: It’s time to stop the speculation that the Houston Astros would trade Cy Young winner Justin Verlander at the trade deadline if they are out of the race. Verlander has a complete no-trade clause and loves playing in Houston. He already utilized his no-trade clause to steer the Mets into trading him last summer to Houston instead of elsewhere . ... Closer Josh Hader, who went longer than three outs in a regular-season game for the first time since Aug. 14, 2020, says he can relax and pitch more than one inning now that he has been taken care of financially with a five-year, $95 million contract. Hader pitched multiple innings 80 times in his first three seasons with the Brewers until setting one-inning limits to protect himself. “The team (Astros) invested in me, and we share the same risks,” Hader told reporters. “If I get hurt, it’s not good for anybody.” ... 1B Jose Abreu, who was hitting .099 with one extra-base hit, agreed to go to the minors to work on his swing. There is no timetable for his return.
Kansas City: Salvador Perez ranks among league leaders in homers with eight and boasts an AL-best 30 RBI. He also has a .954 OPS as the Royals have outscored opponents by 44 runs. Perez’s career-best 22-game on-base streak ended in last Saturday’s 15-4 loss to the Rangers. Royals fans summoned Perez from the dugout for a curtain call after his three-run homer in a 7-1 win the day before. The longtime fan favorite and lone holdover from Kansas City’s 2015 World Series team has always felt the pulse of the hometown fans.
Los Angeles: Entering the week, the Angels were still seeking its second series win of the season after losing two of three to the Guardians. Manager Ron Washington is exercising patience with his team, which played without catcher Logan O’Hoppe (bruise on hand) and infielder Luis Rengifo (illness) in the season-ending loss. “We just hit May, and we’ve got until September,” Washington said. “We’re trying to figure out how to win ballgames. Some nights we do; we just don’t have the consistency at doing it. But we’re going to keep driving at it every single day.”
Minnesota: Last Sunday’s 9-2 defeat at home to Boston was the Twins’ first
loss since April 21 at home against the Tigers. The 12-game winning streak was Minnesota’s longest since a franchisebest 15-game streak in 1991. “Gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,” shortstop Carlos Correa said.
New York: OF Aaron Judge was ejected from a May 4 game against the Tigers, his first ejection in 870 career games. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Judge took a 92-mph fastball from Tyler Holton on the outside corner, striking out looking. Judge walked away from the plate as he said something to home plate umpire Ryan Blakney. As Judge made his way to the dugout, he had his back turned and Blakney promptly tossed him from the game. “Very surprising, especially in a 5-3 game, late in the game,” Judge told reporters after the game. “Battling a 3-2 count and kind of walking away saying my piece. I’ve said a lot worse.” ... How good has the Yankees’ pitching been this season? They were 22-6 when scoring at least two runs in a game, the best record in baseball.
Oakland: The Athletics have already won 17 games at press time after not winning their 20th game last season until June 23, when they were 281⁄2 games out of first place. They were 21⁄2 games out of first place. “Out of spring training ... we needed to have higher expectations of ourselves,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “.500’s lofty. It is. But you’re seeing a group that has some confidence right now.” One of the reasons for their resurgence is corner infielder-outfielder Tyler Nevin, the son of former Angels manager Phil Nevin, who is best of friends with Kotsay. Nevin, 26, playing for his fifth organization since 2020, finally has found a home and is having the best season of his career, hitting .289 with a .807 OPS, with four homers and 10 RBI.
Seattle: Cal Raleigh’s tiebreaking solo home run during the top of the ninth inning of a 5-4 win at Houston on May 5 secured the sixth series win in a row for the Mariners. “We’re pitching awesome,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “I’ve talked about that for the last month or so. Our defense has really picked up . ... We’re still not clicking offensively, but we’re starting to make some strides.”
Tampa Bay: The Rays rallied for a 7-6 win against the Mets on May 5 to win their third straight game and first series sweep of the season. OF Jonny DeLuca delivered the walk-off win with a tworun triple in the 10th. DeLuca made his Tampa Bay debut two days earlier after being out with a broken hand sustained when he was hit by a pitch on March 10. In three games, he is 3-for-11 with two runs, two steals and six RBI. “He was a guy that we really were excited about in spring training when he broke the hand,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s going to go up and have good at-bats, he’s going to steal a base when he needs to, he’s going to do a lot of things to help you win.” ... The May 5 win the 755th career win for Cash, breaking a tie with Joe Maddon for most in franchise history.
Texas: The Rangers will begin the week riding a two-game winning streak, having rallied into a ninth-inning tie before pulling out a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Royals on May 5. Nathaniel Lowe had an RBI single in the 10th inning. The defending World Series champions entered the week at 19-16. “There is never any panic with our offense,” said Jonah Heim, who belted a tying homer in the ninth inning of the game. “Everyone is out there just putting together good atbats, taking walks, hitting balls hard, and good things will happen for us.”
Toronto: Toronto’s Alek Manoah, making his first start in the major leagues since last August, was staked to a 6-1 lead May 5 in Washington but could not hold it. He went four innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts. After finishing third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022, Manoah, 26, was 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts in 2023 and was sent down to Class AAA Buffalo in August. He ended up being placed on the temporarily inactive list less than a month later. “This is a guy who’s going to help us,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before the Washington start. “That’s our goal.”