Aces Struggle as Dodgers Sweep Cubs
The best pitching matchup in baseball on Sunday failed to live up to the expectations, as both team's aces struggled in the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. The win gives the Dodgers' their first three-game sweep of the Cubs at home since August of 2012. Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez both hit three-run home runs, as the Dodgers overcame Clayton Kershaw's rough outing. He allowed a season-high tying four runs on a career-high tying 11 hits in 4.1 innings, making it his shortest outing of the year. Chicago failed to fully capitalize on his struggles, stranding 10 runners on the day. Meanwhile, Jon Lester was even worse for the Cubs, giving up a season-high six runs on seven hits in just 3.1 innings. He struck out six and walked two in his shortest outing of the season. The left-hander also gave up a 444-foot blast to Yasiel Puig, making it three home runs on the night against him, which was good for a season high. Josh Fields struck out two over 1.2 innings to earn his second win of the year for L.A., who has won nine of 11 overall and 11 of 13 at Dodger Stadium. They will hit the road for a Memorial Day showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals, while the Cubs stay out west for a matinee with the San Diego Padres on Monday.
Judge Hits Grand Slam in Yankees Win
Aaron Judge is easily the Rookie of the Year front-runner, and even MVP candidate early on in the season, as he has led the first-place New York Yankees during their hot start. His season got that much better on Sunday afternoon, as he connected with his first-career grand slam in the Yankees' 9-5 win over the Oakland Athletics. The opposite-field blast tied him with Mike Trout for the league-lead with 16 home runs, and supported Michael Pineda's six strong innings in the win. Pineda allowed just three hits on the day to improve to 6-2 on his season. The Yankees also got sacrifice flies from Aaron Hicks and Chris Carter, as they recorded five unearned runs in the game. Khris Davis hit his 15th home run in the loss for the A's, who dropped two of three in the Bronx over the weekend. Oakland had two errors on the day to bring their season total to 49, which is 12 more than any other team in the majors. Adam Warren came in for this first save since July 28th, 2015, helping the Yankees improve to 4-2 on the homestand. New York will visit the Baltimore Orioles on Memorial Day, while the A's will go to Cleveland to battle the Indians.
Longoria Helps Rays Outlast Twins in 15 Innings
The Tampa Bay Rays-Minnesota Twins series was an intriguing one that was not talked about a lot this weekend. The intrigue comes more so because of the Twins' surprising first-place position, but also because of a 15-inning contest on Sunday. Evan Longoria hit the go-ahead solo shot in the 15th for an 8-6 win for the Rays on the road. Logan Morrison went back-to-back with the third baseman, helping Tampa Bay end a 6 hour, 26 minute game. That is good for the longest game in the eight-year history of Target Field. It fell 10 minutes short of the longest game in Twins history, which was played in 1995. Hector Santiago surrendered the home runs for the Twins, falling to 4-4 on the year. Longoria's long ball continued his long success against Minnesota, which includes 16 home runs and 57 RBIs in 58 games. Erasmo Ramirez was the scheduled starter for the Rays on Monday, but pitched a perfect 15th inning for his first career save on Sunday. Tampa Bay's closer Alex Colome earned his first win of the year after pitching the 14th. The Rays will head to Arlington for a tough mathcup with the Rangers on Monday, while the Twins will play host to the first-place Houston Astros.
The best pitching matchup in baseball on Sunday failed to live up to the expectations, as both team's aces struggled in the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. The win gives the Dodgers' their first three-game sweep of the Cubs at home since August of 2012. Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez both hit three-run home runs, as the Dodgers overcame Clayton Kershaw's rough outing. He allowed a season-high tying four runs on a career-high tying 11 hits in 4.1 innings, making it his shortest outing of the year. Chicago failed to fully capitalize on his struggles, stranding 10 runners on the day. Meanwhile, Jon Lester was even worse for the Cubs, giving up a season-high six runs on seven hits in just 3.1 innings. He struck out six and walked two in his shortest outing of the season. The left-hander also gave up a 444-foot blast to Yasiel Puig, making it three home runs on the night against him, which was good for a season high. Josh Fields struck out two over 1.2 innings to earn his second win of the year for L.A., who has won nine of 11 overall and 11 of 13 at Dodger Stadium. They will hit the road for a Memorial Day showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals, while the Cubs stay out west for a matinee with the San Diego Padres on Monday.
Judge Hits Grand Slam in Yankees Win
Aaron Judge is easily the Rookie of the Year front-runner, and even MVP candidate early on in the season, as he has led the first-place New York Yankees during their hot start. His season got that much better on Sunday afternoon, as he connected with his first-career grand slam in the Yankees' 9-5 win over the Oakland Athletics. The opposite-field blast tied him with Mike Trout for the league-lead with 16 home runs, and supported Michael Pineda's six strong innings in the win. Pineda allowed just three hits on the day to improve to 6-2 on his season. The Yankees also got sacrifice flies from Aaron Hicks and Chris Carter, as they recorded five unearned runs in the game. Khris Davis hit his 15th home run in the loss for the A's, who dropped two of three in the Bronx over the weekend. Oakland had two errors on the day to bring their season total to 49, which is 12 more than any other team in the majors. Adam Warren came in for this first save since July 28th, 2015, helping the Yankees improve to 4-2 on the homestand. New York will visit the Baltimore Orioles on Memorial Day, while the A's will go to Cleveland to battle the Indians.
Longoria Helps Rays Outlast Twins in 15 Innings
The Tampa Bay Rays-Minnesota Twins series was an intriguing one that was not talked about a lot this weekend. The intrigue comes more so because of the Twins' surprising first-place position, but also because of a 15-inning contest on Sunday. Evan Longoria hit the go-ahead solo shot in the 15th for an 8-6 win for the Rays on the road. Logan Morrison went back-to-back with the third baseman, helping Tampa Bay end a 6 hour, 26 minute game. That is good for the longest game in the eight-year history of Target Field. It fell 10 minutes short of the longest game in Twins history, which was played in 1995. Hector Santiago surrendered the home runs for the Twins, falling to 4-4 on the year. Longoria's long ball continued his long success against Minnesota, which includes 16 home runs and 57 RBIs in 58 games. Erasmo Ramirez was the scheduled starter for the Rays on Monday, but pitched a perfect 15th inning for his first career save on Sunday. Tampa Bay's closer Alex Colome earned his first win of the year after pitching the 14th. The Rays will head to Arlington for a tough mathcup with the Rangers on Monday, while the Twins will play host to the first-place Houston Astros.
