Eduardo Rodriguez picks up the win in his major-league debut
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The Boston Red Sox may have found an answer to their pitching woes Thursday against the Texas Rangers. Rookie Eduardo Rodriguez looked fantastic in his major-league debut, picking up the win during the 5-1 victory.
Rodriguez puzzled the Texas hitters all night. He allowed just three hits and two walks over 7 2/3 scoreless frames. Rodriguez nearly went eight full innings, but was pulled after putting two men on with two outs. He tossed 105 pitches during the outing.
With the start, Rodriguez accomplished something that hadn’t been done for some time.
Rodriguez is 1st MLB left-hander since Karl Spooner in 1954 to have scoreless debut longer than 7.0 IP with 7+ SO and no more than 3 hits.
— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_Sox) May 29, 2015
Prior to the contest, there was some question about whether this would be a spot start for Rodriguez. Given his exceptional performance, it’s looking like he may have secured at least one more start in the majors.
While manager John Farrell wouldn’t say whether that was the case, he expressed hope that Rodriguez would get another chance the next time around.
Farrell said no decision on next start for Rodriguez. Expressed hope it would be in the majors.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) May 29, 2015
The 22-year-old Rodriguez was acquired by Boston in the Andrew Miller deal last season. He had a 2.98 ERA over eight starts in Triple-A before earning his promotion.
COREY KLUBER CONTINUES TO DOMINATE
We’re starting to sound like a broken record here, but have you seen how awesome Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber has been lately? Kluber turned in another dominant start, picking up the 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.
Kluber actually gave up three runs, which is a lot for him, particularly lately. He more than made up for that with another incredible strikeout performance. This time, Kluber whiffed 13 Mariners.
He’s been on a torrid streak with the strikeouts lately, and it has put him in impressive company.
Kluber is first CLE pitcher since at least 1914 to have 60+ K, no more than 6 BB in a month. Others in MLB history: pic.twitter.com/RygZYgH4Rr
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 29, 2015
Yeah, that list is pretty incredible.
With the performance, Kluber has a 3.52 and a ridiculous 96:13 strikeout to walk ratio over 76 2/3 innings. He’ll take on the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
SALE TURNS IN ANOTHER STRONG START
Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale has started to round into form lately. The lefty looked like his usual self Thursday, picking up the 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Sale was fantastic over 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just four hits while striking out 12 batters. He did not issue a walk. For Sale, it was the third time in his last four games that he notched double-digit strikeouts.
Sale did all of this during Game 1 of the team’s double-header, so his ability to go eight strong innings saved the bullpen for Game 2. His performance also earned a standing ovation from Orioles fans, which is pretty impressive.
Over his last four starts, it’s tough to find a pitcher who can match what Sale has done.
Chris Sale last 4 starts: 1.71 ERA, 31.2 IP, 16 hits, 40 K, 4 BB #WhiteSox
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) May 29, 2015
The 26-year-old lefty now owns a 3.66 ERA, and a 3.02 FIP, over 59 innings. He’ll take on the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.
SABATHIA CAN’T GET IT DONE
New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia didn’t have his best stuff Thursday against the Oakland Athletics. The left-hander dropped to 2-7 on the season following the 5-4 loss.
Sabathia was solid at the beginning the game, but fell apart as he went deeper into the start. After four scoreless frames to open the contest, Sabathia gave up his first run in the fifth.
That was followed up by two more in the sixth on a Brett Lawrie home run. Sabathia would come out for the seventh inning, but was replaced after putting two runners on. Both runners would come around to score, and were charged to Sabathia.
Over six innings, Sabathia was charged with five earned runs. He allowed eight hits and picked up four strikeouts.
With the performance, Sabathia’s ERA ballooned to 5.67 on the year. Sabathia will look to rebound against the Mariners on Tuesday.
Want to see more from Thursday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
