Angels launch five homers off Shane Greene, win third straight against Tigers
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.
If it wasn’t official before, it’s official now: The bloom is off the Shane Greene rose that had unexpectedly emerged for the Detroit Tigers during the early part of April.
After allowing just one earned run in his first three starts, Greene has struggled with consistency, alternating good stretches with downright ugly stretches in the weeks since. Saturday’s outing against the Los Angeles Angels would fall under the latter, as Greene’s season hit rock bottom with five quick thuds, as in five home runs.
That’s five home runs in less than two innings we should add, which positioned Greene uncharted territory.
The barrage started in the first inning with solo homers from Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun. In the second inning, Matt Joyce and Carlos Perez went back-to-back, giving the Angels four solo home runs in their first seven batters. .
Hey, if you’re going to give them up in bunches, it’s always good to keep them solo. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last either, as Albert Pujols capped Greene’s abbreviated outing with a three-run shot.
That’s where Greene’s journey ended and the Tigers bullpen took over. They would go to retire 15 straight, which allowed Detroit to claw back in it. But the early damage was too much to overcome as the Angels held on 8-6.
Jered Weaver earned the win, pitching 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The Angels have now the first three games in this four-game series, but they’re still struggling to gain ground in the AL West.
[Listen up! We’ve got Rays star Evan Longoria on this week’s StewPod]
DALLAS KEUCHEL DAZZLES AGAIN, SHUT OUT WHITE SOX
While the weather outside Minute Maid Park in Houston remained miserable, Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel continued his remarkable season with a complete game shutout against the Chicago White Sox.
Keuchel was perhaps the best he’s been all season, which is saying a lot considering he entered play with a sparkling 1.98 ERA and a two-hit shutout already under his belt.
How could he possibly top that? How about with a career-high 11 strikeouts while holding Chicago to four singles. In reaching double-digit strikeouts, Keuchel became the first Astros pitcher with a shutout and at least 10 strikeouts since Wandy Rodriguez in 2009. He also joined Felix Hernandez as the AL’s only seven-game winners, while lowering his ERA to 1.76.
Is it too early to punch Keuchel’s ticket to the All-Star game in Cincinnati?
Though Keuchel didn’t need much help, he received some eighth-inning insurance in the form of back-to-back home runs from Evan Gattis and Chris Carter, which made the final score 3-0.
With the win, Houston improves to 31-19 and maintain its 5 1/2 game lead over the Angels.
GIANCARLO STANTON LAUNCHES TWO MORE MAMMOTH HOMERS
Few things are guaranteed in baseball, but Giancarlo Stanton killing Mets pitching is one thing you can always count on.
In Miami’s 9-5 win on Saturday, Stanton did it again, muscling up for two more big flys. That gives him 21 already in his career against Mets pitching, which ranks seventh among active players. Ryan Howard tops the list with 42, but let’s keep in mind that Stanton is only 25. Before he’s done that 42 could look small in comparison.
Speaking of which, Stanton continues to make Citi Field look small. His first home run was one of those laser beams that just kept going until it hit the black wall beyond the center field fence. The second homer landed in the second in left field. According to Statcast, it measured at 466 feet, which would make it the longest home run in Citi Field history. The previous record belonged to, you guessed it, Giancarlo Stanton at 465 feet.
After digesting those numbers, the Mets might want to consider a strategy that involves avoiding Stanton on Sunday.
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CHI CHI GONZALEZ UNHITTABLE IN MLB DEBUT
Texas Rangers right-hander Alex “Chi Chi” Gonzalez didn’t look the part of a nervous rookie on against. Instead, he looked like an established top flight starter, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his MLB debut against the Boston Red Sox. Gonzalez wasn’t flawless, mind you. He walked five batters during that time, but he was pretty close to unhittable until David Ortiz led off the sixth with a ringing double.
Gonzalez ended up tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings to not only earn his first win in Texas’ 8-0 victory, but his first standing ovation in the big leagues.
”I asked him to listen to the noise and the crowd,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”I said, ‘That’s for you. It’s getting ready to get real loud. Don’t ever forget this.”
That’s a cool moment between manager and player, and an even better moment between player and fans. Here’s to more standing ovations for Chi Chi.
Want to see more from Saturday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
