The Walk Off: Chris Sale is showing why he’s among baseball’s best
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
With Clayton Kershaw off to a historic start for the Dodgers and Jake Arrieta picking up where he left off as last season’s NL Cy Young winner, there hasn’t been a lot of attention left over for other starting pitchers.
That has to change now though. Chicago White Sox left-hander Chris Sale belongs in the conversation when it comes to baseball’s best hurler, and he showed us why again in Friday’s 7-1 win against the Yankees.
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The 26-year-old left-hander went the distance, limiting New York to one Chase Headley home run and five other hits as he became the first eight-game winner in the MLB this season. Even more amazing, it’s only taken Sale eight starts to get there, which obviously puts him on a historic pace.
It’s unlikely he will continue winning games at this pace. There are too many factors involved that have to work in his favor every time he starts. But Sale has done an outstanding job controlling what he can control and leaving as little to chance as possible. Friday marked the seventh time he’s pitched at least seven innings, and the second time he’s completed a game.
When Sale is dialed in, that leaves little margin for error for his opponents. The White Sox offense has given him strong support as well, scoring 31 runs over his last four starts. It shows there’s a lot going right for the White Sox as we reach the mid-point of May. But most would agree it all hinges on Sale continuing to pitch like one of baseball’s true elites.
TOP PERFORMERS
Adam Jones: Baltimore’s center fielder picked an excellent time to launch his 200th career home run. Jones went yard against Detroit’s Justin Verlander in the sixth inning on Friday, and that would hold up as the only run in an Orioles 1-0 win. Credit Baltimore starter Chris Tillman as well. He tossed scoreless innings before giving way to Darren O’Day and Zach Britton.
Troy Tulowitzki: It was a night for milestones as Tulowitzki also connected for his 200th career homer in a Blue Jays 5-0 win against the Rangers. In doing so, Tulowitzki became only the tenth player who has played over 50-percent of his career games at shortstop to reach that number.
[Elsewhere: Rangers call up Matt Bush seven months after release from prison]
George Springer: To beat the Red Sox these days you have to outslug them, and that’s exactly what the Houston Astros did in their 7-6 win. Springer led the way with three hits, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth. Springer drove in four runs overall and finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Joe Panik: For the first time in his MLB career, Joe Panik decided to swing at a 3-0 pitch. The Giants are glad he did, too, as he turned the offering from Shelby Miller into a three-run home run. Those would be the only three runs San Francisco scored in its 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
This is why Chicago Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon refused to pitch to Bryce Harper last weekend. If you give the Nationals superstar a chance to beat you, chances are he’s going to beat you. Case in point, the Marlins pitched to Harper in the seventh inning of a tied game, and Harper made them pay with a go-ahead two-run homer. The home run was Harper’s first since May 4, the day before Washington visited Wrigley Field, and it held up as the difference in Washington’s 5-3 win.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Cubs 9, Pirates 4: Chicago got home runs from Addision Russell and David Ross to win their league-leading 26th win. It’s already the 14th time Chicago has won by five or more runs.
Phillies 3, Reds 2: Philadelphia is now six games over .500 thanks to another quality outing from Jeremy Hellickson. The veteran right-hander allowed two runs (both unearned) over seven innings to earn his third win.
Indians 7, Twins 6: Cleveland overcame four home runs from the Twins offense. Marlon Byrd drove in three, including the go-ahead two-run double in the eighth.
A’s 6, Rays 3: Oakland snapped a five-game losing streak with four home runs on Friday. That included a pair from Danny Valencia.
Brewers 1, Padres 0: Milwaukee rookie Junior Guerra pitched six scoreless to pick up his second straight win.
Royals 5, Braves 1: The Royals will try to get healthy this weekend. It started good here with a strong outing from Edinson Volquez.
Rockies 5, Mets 2: Colorado jumped on Matt Harvey for five runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Trevor Story’s RBI double in the fifth was the decisive run.
Dodgers 8, Cardinals 4: Rookie Ross Stripling picks up his first MLB win and hit in a memorable game.
Angels 7. Mariners 6: The Angels scored twice in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to overcome a 5-1 deficit. C.J. Cron delivered the game-winning hit with a two-run single.
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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
