Last Night In The AL East

Texas 13, D-Rays 7. Both teams left their pitching staffs at home. Before there were 6 outs in the game, the teams had combined for 9 runs. Before the D-Rays’ pitchers had retired 12 Rangers, they had given up 13 runs. Seth McClung, who was staked to a 4-0 lead before he even took the mound, decided to thank the hitters for their generosity by blowing that lead before he returned to the dugout. McClung (1-3) continues to struggle as his ERA has ballooned to 10.90. A very telling quote from manager Joe Maddon as he stated the McClung “has got a lot to learn about pitching yet.” His days in the rotation may be numbered. Scott Dunn wasn’t much better as he gave up 4 runs in 1.2 innings to raise his ERA on the season to 8.22. Amazingly, the offense continues to produce, even without Aubrey Huff, Rocco Baldelli and Julio Lugo. Jonny Gomes picked up another RBI, and Ty Wiggington hit his seventh home run. Wiggington has been nothing short of amazing for the Rays as he has filled in for Huff. He and Gomes are tied for second in the AL with 17 RBI a piece. Joe Maddon is going to have to find regular at bats for Wiggington once Huff returns from the DL. In fact, Wiggington’s emergence could mean that Huff will be traded sooner, rather than later. Tampa Bay (8-9) falls back below .500 with the loss.

Toronto 7, Boston 6, 12 innings. The scoreboard says this was a victory for the Blue Jays, but it was anything but a win for Toronto or a loss for Boston. Blue Jay’s starter A. J. Burnett, one of their key off-season free agent acquisitions, left the game after four innings with a sore elbow. Early indications was just some tearing of scar tissue. However, reports today say that Burnett will pay a visit to Dr. James Andrews, which indicates that the injury is much more serious. As for the Red Sox…watch out! Boston has started the season 11-6 without very much from ManRam, Manny Ramirez. It looks like he is stating to get his schwerve on as he hit two opposite field home runs last night. This Boston team is starting to look very impressive.

Baltimore 6, New York 5. Two of the biggest surprises in baseball. The Orioles got just enough offense to support Anna Benson’s husband and improve their record to 11-7. The Yankees continue to struggle, especially with their starting pitching as they fall to 7-8 and last place in the AL East.