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| Payback, or just coincidence? (Getty Images) |
What we already knew was reiterated Monday night: The AL Central, AL wild card (both spots) and NL West races are going to be awesome. Oh ... and a few more: The Astros suck, the Pirates can pitch, the Indians can't, the Red Sox aren't hopeless, the Reds are actually capable of losing two straight and ... well ... just dive in:
Full Monday scoreboard with recaps and box scores for every game
3 UP
Chris Tillman, Orioles: Mariners fans, look away, because here comes a reminder of the notorious Erik Bedard trade. Remember, the Mariners shipped Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Kameron Mickolio, Tony Butler and ... yes, Tillman to Baltimore for Bedard. After turning in yet another gem against Seattle Monday night, Tillman has a 0.83 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings in his three career starts against the Mariners. And he's 3-0, too. It's a coincidence, against a poor offensive team and in a small sample, but it's still interesting nonetheless.
Chris Sale/Gordon Beckham, White Sox: Sale's return from being briefly shut down went as well as could have been expected. He worked eight strong innings and flashed some mid-90s velocity on his heater, striking out seven and only allowing two earned runs. Still, the game was tied, 2-2, heading into the bottom of the eighth, so Sale's outing was in danger of being all for naught. Instead, White Sox nine-hole hitter Gordon Beckham came through with a clutch homer. A Kevin Youkilis double plated one more and the White Sox won 4-2.
Justin Verlander, Tigers and Jered Weaver, Angels: That's what aces are supposed to do. (Apply that statement to each respective performance).
3 DOWN
The Cleveland Indians: Just when it seemed things couldn't get any uglier, the Indians gave up a 10-spot in the second inning to the Twins. In all, the Indians lost 14-3 and they've now lost 10 in a row. It's hard to see things getting much worse, but we could have said that Sunday night. So maybe there's room for more. Who knows at this point.
Yu Darvish, Rangers: His struggles continued Monday night in Boston. Darvish coughed up 11 hits and six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. So in his last three starts, he has a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. The long-term struggles are far more disconcerting, however, as Darvish has a 5.82 ERA in his last 13 starts. The Rangers can mash, yes, but they still need starting pitching in the postseason.
Matt Cain, Giants: The Cardinals got to Cain for eight hits and five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings Monday night. That wouldn't altogether be awful -- because lord knows the Cardinals can rake -- but it's part of a disturbing trend for the Giants' ace. He now has a 4.42 ERA since his perfect game back in mid-June. 
Ranger Dempster, Take II: Ryan Dempster was seemingly the Rangers' answer to the Angels acquiring Zack Greinke prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. In Dempster's first start with Texas, however, he was shelled to the tune of nine hits and eight earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Rangers' offense helped them win the game, but still, this was not a good debut for the club that once drafted him. Tuesday in Boston, he'll get another shot against another awesome offense. For the Red Sox, the wildly disappointing Jon Lester (5-9, 5.36) gets the nod. 7:10 p.m. ET
A's floundering? Uh oh. The Oakland Athletics have lost three straight and five of seven. This comes after a stretch where they won 19 of 23. Obviously they couldn't keep up that kind of pace, but they're in a dogfight of an AL wild-card race now and losing five of seven is bad. The schedule doesn't let up, either, as the A's have the Angels for two more games before facing the White Sox for three. Tuesday it'll be C.J. Wilson (9-7, 3.27) of the Angels against Bartolo Colon (8-8, 3.55) of the A's. 10:05 p.m. ET
Name game: Obviously the main storyline in the Indians-Twins game -- which now basically means nothing, as the Indians have fallen totally out of contention -- is Cleveland's attempt to snap that 10-game losing streak. The sub-plot? How few fans outside Cleveland and Minnesota have heard of either starting pitcher. It's Samuel Deduno (3-0, 2.48) against Corey Kluber (0-0, 12.46). 7:05 p.m. ET
Tuesday's probable pitchers
• 10 best club-friendly contracts in baseball: Excluding players who don't have enough service time to qualify for free agency (like Mike Trout and his six-figure salary this season), what are the 10 most club-friendly contracts? Not surprisingly, Evan Longoria's much ballyhooed contract is No. 1 (and 10, somehow?). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has the whole list of "10."
• Bad parents of the day: If you take a toddler to a baseball game and a ball is headed your way, it's probably a good idea to shield the child. Or you could save yourself and get away from the ball, as two parents did in a recent White Sox-Angels game. Big League Stew provides the visuals. This isn't exactly George Costanza in a fire, but still, let's get it together, people.
• Oh, those mean Mets fans: Jose Reyes is going to hit Citi Field as the enemy again this week, and he's really hoping he's not booed this time, as he was last time. “It was mixed boos, cheers. I expected more cheers because all of those years I played there I gave everything I had from the bottom of my heart ... I know I had some injuries there but injuries are part of the game. When I was on the field I gave 100 percent every time out.’’ (Via Fish Tank blog). Note to Jose: Fan boo former players who signed elsewhere, even if none of them would ever turn down a substantial pay raise to change companies. That's what you signed up for.
• 'Free' talent: A good way to put together a great baseball team without having to open up the check book to sign the Albert Pujolses of the world? Gather "free" talent. That is, guys that don't really cost the organization much, like a Rule 5 pick or grabbing someone who has been designated for assignment. David Schoenfield of ESPN.com checks out some free talent on recent World Series clubs (like Chris Carpenter of the 2011 Cardinals) and potential playoff teams this season.
• C.J. Wilson on ... C.J. Wilson: We'll leave you with this video that is a bit interesting. It's a mashup of Wilson quotes (hence the "out of context" in the YouTube title). One thing that is certain: C.J. definitely doesn't mind talking about himself (hat-tip to Notgraphs).
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