Sale's 10-K Streak Ends in Red Sox Win
Chris Sale changed the color of his socks in the off-season, but his performance has not altered a bit. Although, his 10-strikeout streak ended at eight straight games on Wednesday in a 9-4 Boston Red Sox win over the Texas Rangers. Sale struck out six and failed to become the first pitcher in the modern era to strike out at least 10 in nine straight games. He did earn the win, as his offense scored seven runs in the seventh inning to fuel the victory. The Red Sox trailed 3-1 at one point, but that quickly turned into a five-run lead. Boston tied a game with a run on a wild pitch, and then took the lead on a Dustin Pedroia's two-run single. Another bright spot for the Red Sox was the major league debut of Sam Travis, who had two singles on the night. Mike Napoli did hit his 11th home run of the season for the Rangers, who have dropped three of their past four games following a 10-game win streak. Meanwhile, Boston has now won three in a row and will host the final game of the series tonight.
Twins Complete Impressive Sweep of Orioles
The Minnesota Twins have turned into a surprise in the first part of the 2017 season and possibly proved that they are a legitimate contender this week. The Twins completed a three-game series sweep on the road against the Baltimore Orioles with a 4-3 win on Wednesday afternoon. Jose Berrios was the star on the mound for the Twins, as he allowed three runs on four hits in 6.1 innings, helping Minnesota improve to 14-5 on the road this season. That is good for the best road record in baseball, as they have also recorded four sweeps already this season. That matches their total from all of last season. Kennys Vargas drove in two for the Twins, who got out to a 4-0 lead and hung on late. J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, and Chris Davis all hit solo home runs for the O's. Berrios improved to 3-0 on the season after going 3-7 in his rookie season last year. All three of this year's wins have come since being called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier this month. Both teams will enjoy a day off on Thursday, before beginning weekend series on Friday. The Twins return home to host the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Orioles head to Houston to battle the red-hot Astros.
Pujols Inches Closer to 600 HRs in Angels' Loss
Albert Pujols got his team started quickly on the road Wednesday night, smacking his 597th career home run in the first inning. The two-run shot was the sixth of the year for Pujols, but it was not enough as the Tampa Bay Rays earned the 5-2 win over the Los Angels Angels. Steven Souza Jr. went deep twice, while Colby Rasmus added a big fly in the win for Tampa Bay. The long ball was to support the efforts of Erasmo Ramirez, who pitched six impressive innings in his third start of the season. Ramirez has won all three of those starts and allowed four hits, struck out two, and walked just one. Souza's home runs helped him snap out of an 8-for-67 slump and gave him seven home runs on the season. Despite the loss, Pujols moved three home runs closer to becoming the ninth player to reach 600 home runs, as he sits 12 away from Sammy Sosa for eighth on the all-time list. Mike Trout also made history with a double, which gave him 409 career extra-base hits, tying him with Ken Griffey Jr. for second-most through the age-25 season. Both teams will be on the road for the weekend, with the Angels in Miami and Tampa Bay in Minnesota.
Chris Sale changed the color of his socks in the off-season, but his performance has not altered a bit. Although, his 10-strikeout streak ended at eight straight games on Wednesday in a 9-4 Boston Red Sox win over the Texas Rangers. Sale struck out six and failed to become the first pitcher in the modern era to strike out at least 10 in nine straight games. He did earn the win, as his offense scored seven runs in the seventh inning to fuel the victory. The Red Sox trailed 3-1 at one point, but that quickly turned into a five-run lead. Boston tied a game with a run on a wild pitch, and then took the lead on a Dustin Pedroia's two-run single. Another bright spot for the Red Sox was the major league debut of Sam Travis, who had two singles on the night. Mike Napoli did hit his 11th home run of the season for the Rangers, who have dropped three of their past four games following a 10-game win streak. Meanwhile, Boston has now won three in a row and will host the final game of the series tonight.
Twins Complete Impressive Sweep of Orioles
The Minnesota Twins have turned into a surprise in the first part of the 2017 season and possibly proved that they are a legitimate contender this week. The Twins completed a three-game series sweep on the road against the Baltimore Orioles with a 4-3 win on Wednesday afternoon. Jose Berrios was the star on the mound for the Twins, as he allowed three runs on four hits in 6.1 innings, helping Minnesota improve to 14-5 on the road this season. That is good for the best road record in baseball, as they have also recorded four sweeps already this season. That matches their total from all of last season. Kennys Vargas drove in two for the Twins, who got out to a 4-0 lead and hung on late. J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, and Chris Davis all hit solo home runs for the O's. Berrios improved to 3-0 on the season after going 3-7 in his rookie season last year. All three of this year's wins have come since being called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier this month. Both teams will enjoy a day off on Thursday, before beginning weekend series on Friday. The Twins return home to host the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Orioles head to Houston to battle the red-hot Astros.
Pujols Inches Closer to 600 HRs in Angels' Loss
Albert Pujols got his team started quickly on the road Wednesday night, smacking his 597th career home run in the first inning. The two-run shot was the sixth of the year for Pujols, but it was not enough as the Tampa Bay Rays earned the 5-2 win over the Los Angels Angels. Steven Souza Jr. went deep twice, while Colby Rasmus added a big fly in the win for Tampa Bay. The long ball was to support the efforts of Erasmo Ramirez, who pitched six impressive innings in his third start of the season. Ramirez has won all three of those starts and allowed four hits, struck out two, and walked just one. Souza's home runs helped him snap out of an 8-for-67 slump and gave him seven home runs on the season. Despite the loss, Pujols moved three home runs closer to becoming the ninth player to reach 600 home runs, as he sits 12 away from Sammy Sosa for eighth on the all-time list. Mike Trout also made history with a double, which gave him 409 career extra-base hits, tying him with Ken Griffey Jr. for second-most through the age-25 season. Both teams will be on the road for the weekend, with the Angels in Miami and Tampa Bay in Minnesota.
