Sale Continues to Set Records for Red Sox
Chris Sale was able to overcome a rocky outing against the Cleveland Indians his last time out by dominating the Toronto Blue Jays north of the border on Tuesday night. Sale struck out 11 and combined with two other relievers to help the Red Sox shut out the Blue Jays 3-0. Sale's strikeout total is now at a major-league high 264, as he recorded his American League-leading 15th win of the season along with his major league-leading 17th double-digit strikeout game. The left-hander also became the fastest player in major league history to reach 1,500 career strikeouts, as he lasted seven innings on the road and has not allowed a run in 22 innings against Toronto this season. He retired 17 straight batters following a Kendrys Morales double in the second, before Morales and Kevin Pillar chased him out with back-to-back singles in the eighth. The Red Sox' ace was backed up by a solo home run from Hanley Ramirez and an RBI single from Mookie Betts in the win. The Red Sox will finish off their series at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday night.
Machado, Orioles Win Sixth Straight
The Baltimore Orioles are looking more and more like the legitimate contenders that they were at the beginning of the season as of late. Dylan Bundy was on point against the Seattle Mariners, going the distance for a one-hitter in a 4-0 shutout win. The victory was the O's sixth in a row and Bundy's first career shutout, as the only hit against him was a bunt single by Kyle Seager in the fourth. Bundy also set a career-high with 12 strikeouts, as he has now struck out 10 or more in three of his last four starts. The hurler was backed up by four solo home runs, two of which came off the bat of Manny Machado. Wellington Castillo and Jonathan Schoop added long balls for Baltimore, who moved two games over .500 for the first time since June 10th. They now sit 1.5 games out in the AL Wild Card race, and they've outscored opponents 44-17 during their current win streak. Schoop's first-inning home run was good for his 500th career hit, and team-leading 29th homer of the season. Baltimore will look to extend their winning streak against the M's on Wednesday afternoon.
Stanton Hits 51st HR, Nationals Win 80th Game
Giancarlo Stanton kept his red-hot month of August going on Tuesday night, but that was not enough to take down the first-place Washington Nationals. Stanton tied a major-league record with his 18th home run of the month, and 51st of the season, in what was an 8-3 Miami Marlins' loss to the Nats. Anthony Rendon helped Washington overcome Stanton's power with four RBI, as the Nationals improved to 16-7 since August 6th, extending their NL East lead to 14 games over Miami with their 80th win of the year. Stanton added an RBI with a sacrifice fly later on, as his August home run totals surpasses the mark set by Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers in 1937. He has now matched the pace of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire from 1998 when they hit 61 on the year. Daniel Murphy had a two-run single, while Ryan Zimmerman added an RBI against Marlins' starter Vance Worley, who suffered his fourth loss. The Marlins look to keep their Wild Card hopes alive as the series continues on Wednesday night.
Chris Sale was able to overcome a rocky outing against the Cleveland Indians his last time out by dominating the Toronto Blue Jays north of the border on Tuesday night. Sale struck out 11 and combined with two other relievers to help the Red Sox shut out the Blue Jays 3-0. Sale's strikeout total is now at a major-league high 264, as he recorded his American League-leading 15th win of the season along with his major league-leading 17th double-digit strikeout game. The left-hander also became the fastest player in major league history to reach 1,500 career strikeouts, as he lasted seven innings on the road and has not allowed a run in 22 innings against Toronto this season. He retired 17 straight batters following a Kendrys Morales double in the second, before Morales and Kevin Pillar chased him out with back-to-back singles in the eighth. The Red Sox' ace was backed up by a solo home run from Hanley Ramirez and an RBI single from Mookie Betts in the win. The Red Sox will finish off their series at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday night.
Machado, Orioles Win Sixth Straight
The Baltimore Orioles are looking more and more like the legitimate contenders that they were at the beginning of the season as of late. Dylan Bundy was on point against the Seattle Mariners, going the distance for a one-hitter in a 4-0 shutout win. The victory was the O's sixth in a row and Bundy's first career shutout, as the only hit against him was a bunt single by Kyle Seager in the fourth. Bundy also set a career-high with 12 strikeouts, as he has now struck out 10 or more in three of his last four starts. The hurler was backed up by four solo home runs, two of which came off the bat of Manny Machado. Wellington Castillo and Jonathan Schoop added long balls for Baltimore, who moved two games over .500 for the first time since June 10th. They now sit 1.5 games out in the AL Wild Card race, and they've outscored opponents 44-17 during their current win streak. Schoop's first-inning home run was good for his 500th career hit, and team-leading 29th homer of the season. Baltimore will look to extend their winning streak against the M's on Wednesday afternoon.
Stanton Hits 51st HR, Nationals Win 80th Game
Giancarlo Stanton kept his red-hot month of August going on Tuesday night, but that was not enough to take down the first-place Washington Nationals. Stanton tied a major-league record with his 18th home run of the month, and 51st of the season, in what was an 8-3 Miami Marlins' loss to the Nats. Anthony Rendon helped Washington overcome Stanton's power with four RBI, as the Nationals improved to 16-7 since August 6th, extending their NL East lead to 14 games over Miami with their 80th win of the year. Stanton added an RBI with a sacrifice fly later on, as his August home run totals surpasses the mark set by Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers in 1937. He has now matched the pace of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire from 1998 when they hit 61 on the year. Daniel Murphy had a two-run single, while Ryan Zimmerman added an RBI against Marlins' starter Vance Worley, who suffered his fourth loss. The Marlins look to keep their Wild Card hopes alive as the series continues on Wednesday night.
