The Eye: Live updates and the best of Tuesday

White Sox uber-ace Chris Sale leveled his gaze at the mighty Cardinals on Tuesday night, and Mr. Sale did not disappoint. In 8.0 innings of work, the lefty allowed one run on six hits, while striking out 12 and walking one. Of his 116 pitches, 81 were strikes. Sale once again didn’t get much run support, but the White Sox were able to prevail in extras over the best team in baseball.

Regarding all those strikeouts, there’s this bit of history that Sale made with his performance in St. Louis …

Indeed, Sale tied Pedro by notching his eighth straight start with at least 10 strikeouts. Over that span, Sale has has struck out 97 batters in 60 innings, walked nine and pitched to an ERA of 1.80. That is to say, he’s been dominant.

On Tuesday night, Chris Sale pitched not unlike Chris Sale. (USATSI)

Thanks to some bad batted-ball luck and questionable defense behind him, Sale’s 2015 ERA is “merely” a very good 2.87. However, his bat-missing abilities have been downright amazing. Sale leads all qualifiers with a K% (strikeouts as a percentage of batters faced) of 34.6, and he also leads all comers with a swinging strike percentage of 15.9. That K% of 34.6, if it holds up, will be the fifth-highest figure of all-time, and the names ahead of Sale on that list are all Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson seasons.

Given the long odds the White Sox are facing in terms of making the playoffs this season, you don’t have to look too hard to find calls to trade Sale. Sale is indeed a precious asset: a 26-year-old elite starting pitcher who’s under team control through 2019 at a total cost of roughly $50 million. That’s a staggering bargain for a pitcher of Sale’s age and excellence. That’s also why you don’t trade him, at least unless you think you can’t contend for the next half-decade. While the Sox have disappointed thus far in 2015, they’re hardly buried as an organization. There’s simply no reason to deal a talent like Sale.

Oh, and speaking of big moments for Sale, he also did this on Tuesday night for the first time in his career …

Let the authentications commence!

And …

Not a bad night’s work, Chris Sale.

Now, welcome to the Eye …

Tuesday’s action (all times ET):

Cubs 1, Mets 0 (BOX SCORE | GAMETRACKER)

Marlins 5, Giants 3 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Astros 4, Royals 0 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Nationals 6, Braves 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Indians 6, Rays 2 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Rangers 8, Orioles 6 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Of note … Mitch Moreland hit two home runs for the second straight night. He’s now batting .305/.353/.563 on the season.

Brewers 4, Phillies 3 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

White Sox 2, Cardinals 1 – 11 innings (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Mariners 5, Padres 0 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Of note …

Angels 2, Yankees 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Twins 8, Reds 5 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Pirates 5, Tigers 4 – 14 innings (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Rockies 2, Athletics 1 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 4 (BOX SCORE | RECAP)

Milestone Watch

Double-digit strikeout streak: As noted above, Chris Sale tied Pedro Martinez’s 1999 record by striking out 10 or more batters in eight straight starts.

Longest active hitting streak: Nolan Arenado of the Rockies went 1 for 4 in the win over Oakland and pushes his streak to 17 games.

Daily Awards

Baseball of the day: This one goes to the Atlantic League …

Red, white, and blue! So do these newly colored seams change the “red dot” that some hitters see on a slider? Who knows!

Landscaping of the day: The Queen City continues to get in fighting shape for the All-Star Game …

Visiting hoops dignitary of the day: This one’s for you, Jhalil Okafor (and you, too, Phillies) …

“Trojan selfie” of the day: Pity Kevin Millar …

Mustache of the day: Well done, well-manicured Reds rooter …

Home run of the day: It’s Dee Gordon, it involves some degree of haste, and the ball doesn’t leave the park …

6-3 putout of the day: Young Francisco Lindor showing part of why he’s so highly regarded …

First pitch of the day: It’s Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh bringing it to the plate at Comerica …

Sub-optimal base-running of the day: Gorkys Hernandez, this award is yours. Whether you want it or not …

News, injuries and rumors

More player updates

And what about Wednesday? (all times ET)

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