Stats, LLC
(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta may be finding the form that resulted in 40 victories and a Cy Young Award between 2015-16.
The Chicago Cubs right-hander seeks his fifth win in seven recent stars in Saturday's middle game of a three-game set with Pittsburgh. He'll go against Pirates right-hander Ivan Nova (8-6, 3.24 ERA).
Arrieta, now 8-6 with a 4.33 ERA, is coming off his best start of the season. He pitched seven innings and allowed just one hit and no runs against the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday in a 6-2 Cubs victory.
"Jake was outstanding," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said afterward. "That was as good as I've seen Jake in a bit."
A more dependable changeup appears to be making a difference.
"My progress with the changeup is coming along real nice," Arrieta said after the victory. "I'm getting more comfortable with it. It's just allowing me to open up some more doors and be able to do some different things to right-handers as well as lefties. It's a big pitch for me."
Arrieta allowed his fewest hits against Cincinnati since an April 21, 2016, no-hitter.
He's 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts against Pittsburgh this season and 0-3 in his last five with a 7.81 ERA. Before that recent run of bad fortune, Arrieta was 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in his first 12 outings against the Pirates.
Arrieta has been more successful at home than on the road this year. He's 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA in five Wrigley Field starts as opposed to 5-6 with a 4.52 ERA in 11 road starts.
Nova is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in two career starts against Chicago. He allowed two home runs but beat Arrieta in a head-to-head 4-3 decision on June 17 at PNC Park.
"There was a lot of emotion going into that game," Nova said. "I feel like it was one of the best games I've played here in Pittsburgh. Right from the first inning, the fans were into the game. It was special to pitch in front of a crowd like that."
Nova will make his 18th start and has won seven of his last 11 decisions. He fell to Philadelphia in last Monday's start at Citizens Bank Park, allowing four runs in six innings.
Nova's eight wins as the All-Star break nears are his most since going 10-3 in 17 starts in 2012 with the New York Yankees.
The Cubs climbed back to .500 for the 20th time this season with Friday's 6-1 victory over Pittsburgh and will go into the All-Star break with a decided advantage over division opponents.
Chicago is 22-15 against Central opponents with two games to play with Pittsburgh before the break.
The Pirates and Cubs are tied 5-5 in the season series as Friday's game marked Pittsburgh's first trip back to Chicago since a three-game sweep on April 14-16.
The Cubs are 5-2 against the Pirates since that series, including wins in the last two meetings. The teams will meet again on Aug. 28-30 at Wrigley Field and Sept. 4-7 at PNC Park.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Blackmon flexing muscles as Rockies host White Sox
Stats, LLC
(TSX / STATS) -- DENVER -- Before the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox play Saturday night, Charlie Blackmon will be out for early hitting. With each swing, the Rockies' center fielder will be intent on doing one thing. He will be trying to hit home runs.
Blackmon will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday at Miami and start for the National League the following day in the All-Star Game. Rockies bullpen coach Darren Holmes, who regularly throws batting practice to Blackmon, will serve as his pitcher in the Home Run Derby and will throw to him Saturday. Blackmon and Holmes had a practice session before a game earlier in the week.
Blackmon hit his 19th homer Friday night in Colorado's 12-4 romp over the White Sox. He is hitting .318 with 60 RBIs, 70 runs scored and a .953 OPS -- numbers more typical of a middle-of-the-order slugger than a leadoff hitter. Blackmon will be matched against Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger in the first round of the Home Run Derby.
"There's a lot obvious choices," Blackmon said. "I may not be the most obvious of choices to put in there. But I'm glad to be there, nonetheless.
"I don't arrive at home runs by trying to hit home runs, so I'll have to figure out exactly what I'm going to do to hit home runs. A lot of times that doesn't mean trying to pull and swing harder. So I'll have to figure out what the best thing for me to do to put myself in a position to hit home runs."
The last Rockies player to participate in the Home Run Derby was Justin Morneau in 2014. Blackmon said that upon winning the fan vote and being named to the All-Star team, Morneau texted congratulations.
"So I texted him," Blackmon said, "and asked him if he had any advice for me. He just replied: 'Win it.' So I guess I'm going to try to win it."
On Saturday, Jeff Hoffman (5-1, 4.01) will make his first interleague appearance for Colorado. Left-hander Jose Quintana (4-8, 4.45) will start for the White Sox. He's 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in one career start at Coors Field on April 8, 2014, the only time he has faced the Rockies.
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia, the team's lone representative on the American League All-Star team, did not play Friday and is not expected to play until Sunday. He is recovering from a sprained right middle finger, the result of getting jammed while lining out on his second at-bat Wednesday at Oakland.
"Sunday for sure," Garcia said before Friday's game. "I can't grab my bat because of a little inflammation, and I don't want to risk it at this point. Today I feel better with my finger. I can close my hand right now. Yesterday I couldn't. That means I'm getting better."
Garcia returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing five games due to left knee soreness. He is 2-for-31 in his past eight games, a tailspin that has dropped his average to .313 in 77 games with 11 homers, 51 RBIs and an .858 OPS.
Garcia, 26, is a first-time All-Star, who won't be sharing the experience with any of his Chicago teammates.
"You're sending a representative for the organization, a young man who has worked really, really hard to get where he is," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He deserves it. A little exclamation point to what he's done to this point. We're looking forward to seeing him there."
(TSX / STATS) -- DENVER -- Before the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox play Saturday night, Charlie Blackmon will be out for early hitting. With each swing, the Rockies' center fielder will be intent on doing one thing. He will be trying to hit home runs.
Blackmon will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday at Miami and start for the National League the following day in the All-Star Game. Rockies bullpen coach Darren Holmes, who regularly throws batting practice to Blackmon, will serve as his pitcher in the Home Run Derby and will throw to him Saturday. Blackmon and Holmes had a practice session before a game earlier in the week.
Blackmon hit his 19th homer Friday night in Colorado's 12-4 romp over the White Sox. He is hitting .318 with 60 RBIs, 70 runs scored and a .953 OPS -- numbers more typical of a middle-of-the-order slugger than a leadoff hitter. Blackmon will be matched against Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger in the first round of the Home Run Derby.
"There's a lot obvious choices," Blackmon said. "I may not be the most obvious of choices to put in there. But I'm glad to be there, nonetheless.
"I don't arrive at home runs by trying to hit home runs, so I'll have to figure out exactly what I'm going to do to hit home runs. A lot of times that doesn't mean trying to pull and swing harder. So I'll have to figure out what the best thing for me to do to put myself in a position to hit home runs."
The last Rockies player to participate in the Home Run Derby was Justin Morneau in 2014. Blackmon said that upon winning the fan vote and being named to the All-Star team, Morneau texted congratulations.
"So I texted him," Blackmon said, "and asked him if he had any advice for me. He just replied: 'Win it.' So I guess I'm going to try to win it."
On Saturday, Jeff Hoffman (5-1, 4.01) will make his first interleague appearance for Colorado. Left-hander Jose Quintana (4-8, 4.45) will start for the White Sox. He's 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in one career start at Coors Field on April 8, 2014, the only time he has faced the Rockies.
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia, the team's lone representative on the American League All-Star team, did not play Friday and is not expected to play until Sunday. He is recovering from a sprained right middle finger, the result of getting jammed while lining out on his second at-bat Wednesday at Oakland.
"Sunday for sure," Garcia said before Friday's game. "I can't grab my bat because of a little inflammation, and I don't want to risk it at this point. Today I feel better with my finger. I can close my hand right now. Yesterday I couldn't. That means I'm getting better."
Garcia returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing five games due to left knee soreness. He is 2-for-31 in his past eight games, a tailspin that has dropped his average to .313 in 77 games with 11 homers, 51 RBIs and an .858 OPS.
Garcia, 26, is a first-time All-Star, who won't be sharing the experience with any of his Chicago teammates.
"You're sending a representative for the organization, a young man who has worked really, really hard to get where he is," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He deserves it. A little exclamation point to what he's done to this point. We're looking forward to seeing him there."
Cubs ride Bryant's power surge in rout of Pirates
(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant has been waiting for a day like this.
The Chicago Cubs' third baseman went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a triple and a single in a 6-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game weekend series.
"I felt pretty good about my approach, where I'm at and taking my walks," said Bryant, who recorded his 10th career multi-homer day along with four RBIs and three runs scored for the Cubs (43-43). "But you need a game like that to get back on track and hopefully it gets the team back on track, too."
Anthony Rizzo got in on the fun with his team-leading 20th homer of the season.
Cubs starter Eddie Butler had no decision in a four-plus inning effort in a sluggish game that took 3 hours, 46 minutes to complete.
But he was rather impressed with Bryant's effort.
"It's unbelievable, he put the team on his back," Butler said. "Those things are huge, the amount of hustle and he was really locked in. We're going to need that through the rest of this stretch and same thing in the second half."
Carl Edwards Jr. (3-1) struck out three, walked two and didn't allow a hit over 1 2/3 innings of relief to earn the victory.
Pirates starter Trevor Williams (3-4) took the loss in a 3 2/3 inning outing while Andrew McCutchen paced the Pirates (40-47) with a 3-for-4 afternoon plus a walk.
"We definitely had some opportunities there in the game, we just weren't able to get the big hit like we needed," McCutchen said. "Trevor pitched his tail off for us and we weren't able to finish like we should have. If we were able to finish, we were able to win that game."
Chicago broke a scoreless tie in the fourth on Bryant's triple into the left field corner.
Rizzo then clubbed his homer, sending Williams' 2-2 pitch into the right field bleachers for a 3-0 lead. It gave him 20 homers for the fifth straight year and at least 20 before the All-Star break for the third time.
That spelled the end for Williams, who threw 98 pitches while giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out three and walking a pair.
Butler departed in the top of the fifth after plunking Josh Harrison with his second pitch of the inning. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out one in his outing.
"I would have liked to have been more effective with my pitches, but I was able to do enough to keep us there, knotted a zero for a while," Butler said.
Kyle Schwarber collected a leadoff double -- his first hit since returning from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday -- to open the Cubs' fifth. Schwarber reached third on Jason Heyward's fielder's choice grounder but was tagged out at home on Victor Caratini's infield ground ball.
Bryant then launched a towering solo home run -- his 17th of the season -- deep into the left field bleachers with two out in the sixth for a 4-0 Cubs lead.
The Pirates broke the shutout in the seventh as Josh Bell doubled home McCutchen with one out, trimming the Chicago lead to 4-1.
Bryant's second homer of the day -- his 18th -- came with two outs in the eighth and brought home Willson Contreras for a 6-1 advantage.
Both teams had plenty of base runners but no runs through the first 3 1/2 innings, including bases-loaded situations in the Pirates' first and the Cubs' second.
"We had 11 men on base, for three innings it was mayhem out there," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "There was a lot to watch and a lot going on. Men are out there trying to create things -- both sides. Those missed opportunities they usually can come back to haunt you."
NOTES: Friday's series opener kicked off a 10-game run against NL Central Division opponents for the Pirates. ... OF Starling Marte went 0-for-3 in his third rehab game at Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday. He's serving an 80-game PED suspension and is eligible for reinstatement on July 18. ... The Pirates moved C Elias Diaz to Triple-A Indianapolis while calling up RHP A.J. Schugel. ... Cubs C Willson Contreras has 23 home runs since last year's major league debut and surpassed Cal Neenan (1957-58) for the most by a Cubs' catcher in his first two seasons. ... Chicago recalled RHP Dylan Floro from Triple-A Iowa on Friday and optioned LHP Jack Leathersich to Triple-A. ... C Victor Caratini made his first start Wrigley Field and went 0-for-2 with a walk. He worked his first game behind the plate on June 30 at Cincinnati. ... RHP Ivan Nova (8-6, 3.24 ERA) goes for Pittsburgh against Chicago RHP Jake Arrieta (8-6, 4.33 ERA) on Saturday.
The Chicago Cubs' third baseman went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a triple and a single in a 6-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game weekend series.
"I felt pretty good about my approach, where I'm at and taking my walks," said Bryant, who recorded his 10th career multi-homer day along with four RBIs and three runs scored for the Cubs (43-43). "But you need a game like that to get back on track and hopefully it gets the team back on track, too."
Anthony Rizzo got in on the fun with his team-leading 20th homer of the season.
Cubs starter Eddie Butler had no decision in a four-plus inning effort in a sluggish game that took 3 hours, 46 minutes to complete.
But he was rather impressed with Bryant's effort.
"It's unbelievable, he put the team on his back," Butler said. "Those things are huge, the amount of hustle and he was really locked in. We're going to need that through the rest of this stretch and same thing in the second half."
Carl Edwards Jr. (3-1) struck out three, walked two and didn't allow a hit over 1 2/3 innings of relief to earn the victory.
Pirates starter Trevor Williams (3-4) took the loss in a 3 2/3 inning outing while Andrew McCutchen paced the Pirates (40-47) with a 3-for-4 afternoon plus a walk.
"We definitely had some opportunities there in the game, we just weren't able to get the big hit like we needed," McCutchen said. "Trevor pitched his tail off for us and we weren't able to finish like we should have. If we were able to finish, we were able to win that game."
Chicago broke a scoreless tie in the fourth on Bryant's triple into the left field corner.
Rizzo then clubbed his homer, sending Williams' 2-2 pitch into the right field bleachers for a 3-0 lead. It gave him 20 homers for the fifth straight year and at least 20 before the All-Star break for the third time.
That spelled the end for Williams, who threw 98 pitches while giving up three earned runs on six hits while striking out three and walking a pair.
Butler departed in the top of the fifth after plunking Josh Harrison with his second pitch of the inning. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out one in his outing.
"I would have liked to have been more effective with my pitches, but I was able to do enough to keep us there, knotted a zero for a while," Butler said.
Kyle Schwarber collected a leadoff double -- his first hit since returning from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday -- to open the Cubs' fifth. Schwarber reached third on Jason Heyward's fielder's choice grounder but was tagged out at home on Victor Caratini's infield ground ball.
Bryant then launched a towering solo home run -- his 17th of the season -- deep into the left field bleachers with two out in the sixth for a 4-0 Cubs lead.
The Pirates broke the shutout in the seventh as Josh Bell doubled home McCutchen with one out, trimming the Chicago lead to 4-1.
Bryant's second homer of the day -- his 18th -- came with two outs in the eighth and brought home Willson Contreras for a 6-1 advantage.
Both teams had plenty of base runners but no runs through the first 3 1/2 innings, including bases-loaded situations in the Pirates' first and the Cubs' second.
"We had 11 men on base, for three innings it was mayhem out there," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "There was a lot to watch and a lot going on. Men are out there trying to create things -- both sides. Those missed opportunities they usually can come back to haunt you."
NOTES: Friday's series opener kicked off a 10-game run against NL Central Division opponents for the Pirates. ... OF Starling Marte went 0-for-3 in his third rehab game at Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday. He's serving an 80-game PED suspension and is eligible for reinstatement on July 18. ... The Pirates moved C Elias Diaz to Triple-A Indianapolis while calling up RHP A.J. Schugel. ... Cubs C Willson Contreras has 23 home runs since last year's major league debut and surpassed Cal Neenan (1957-58) for the most by a Cubs' catcher in his first two seasons. ... Chicago recalled RHP Dylan Floro from Triple-A Iowa on Friday and optioned LHP Jack Leathersich to Triple-A. ... C Victor Caratini made his first start Wrigley Field and went 0-for-2 with a walk. He worked his first game behind the plate on June 30 at Cincinnati. ... RHP Ivan Nova (8-6, 3.24 ERA) goes for Pittsburgh against Chicago RHP Jake Arrieta (8-6, 4.33 ERA) on Saturday.
Rockies break out, batter White Sox
(TSX / STATS) -- DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies collectively exhaled and wasted no time doing it when their sputtering offense instantly came alive Friday night.
Colorado scored four runs in the first inning and added two more in the second while pounding the Chicago White Sox 12-4.
The four-run first was the Rockies' biggest inning since they scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth on June 18 to beat San Francisco.
The victory was just fourth in 16 games for the Rockies, who had averaged 3.2 runs per game during their 3-12 slide. They matched their season high in runs scored. It's the fourth time they have scored 12 runs. Colorado also reached a season-high with 17 hits, 11 coming with two strikes.
"I think we are more of that team that we saw tonight than what we've seen in the last couple weeks," Rockies manager Bud Black said.
The win was Black's 700th as a major league manager. While grateful for the milestone, Black didn't want to call any personal attention to it.
"Hopefully, there's more of these from a team standpoint to come," Black said.
DJ LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, who had three hits and a season-high five RBIs, homered for the Rockies, who added to the recent misery of White Sox starter Derek Holland. Blackmon had three hits, as did Gerardo Parra, who was reinstated Friday from the 10-disabled list after missing 28 games.
"It was good to get off to a start like that," Arenado said. "I felt we hadn't done that in a long time. I feel like we've been behind or it's taken us five or six innings (to get rolling) ...It was nice to win like that after what we've been going through lately."
Pitcher German Marquez, who had two career hits in 25 at-bats, matched that total with a double, his first extra-base hit, and a single. He scored two runs, one more than he had scored in his career, trotting home on the two-run shots by LeMahieu and Arenado.
Arenado has five games with five or more RBIs.
More importantly for the Rockies, Marquez (6-4) pitched well. After pitching six innings in just one of his past seven starts, Marquez worked seven innings -- his longest outing since he pitched a career-high eight innings May 10 against the Chicago Cubs -- and threw 73 of 102 pitches for strikes.
Marquez gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings with no walks for the first time this season and five strikeouts. He gave up a run in the first when Todd Frazier doubled and moved up on a fly ball and a grounder and yielded a two-run homer to Tim Anderson in the seventh.
"(No walks) was the key," Marquez said. "My (fastball) location was amazing, and my curve was really good today."
Holland (5-9) is 1-6 with an 8.76 ERA in his past eight starts with 12 home runs allowed in 37 innings and is 0-4 with an 18.44 ERA in his past four road starts. Coming off a losing start against Texas when he yielded five hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings, Holland surrendered eight hits and seven runs in four innings,
The first six Rockies reached base against him. Arenado singled home a run after Blackmon walked and LeMahieu singled. With the bases loaded, Parra drove in a run with an infield single that ricocheted off Holland's glove toward second base. Trevor Story followed with a two-run single.
After the White Sox manufactured a run in the second, Marquez doubled down the left-field line to open the second inning and scored on LeMahieu's fourth homer.
"Today was just flat-out embarrassing," Holland said. "I don't even know where to begin. I put my teammates in a hole, gave up four runs right out of the gate. Then they put up a run for me, and of course, I go back out there and give up another run. It's a frustrating thing on my part.
"I'm not doing my job. I need to be a lot better than I was for this start and my last start. The only positive is I've gotten through half the year so far healthy. That's a big plus. But I'm upset with how I've pitched these last two starts."
NOTES: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (testicular cancer) will begin a rehab assignment July 13 at Double-A Hartford. He threw a two-inning simulated game Friday. ... Rockies C Ryan Hanigan was scratched from the lineup due to left trapezius muscle tightness. ... Rockies OF/1B Gerardo Parra (strained right quad) was reinstated and went 3-for-5 with a double and one RBI in his first game for the Rockies since June 6. ... Rockies OF Mike Tauchman was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... White Sox OF Avisail Garcia, who on Wednesday bruised his right middle finger, hopes to play Sunday. ... White Sox RHP Miguel Gonzalez (right shoulder inflammation) made his first rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday night and threw 72 pitches in 4 2/3 innings while allowing three runs.
Colorado scored four runs in the first inning and added two more in the second while pounding the Chicago White Sox 12-4.
The four-run first was the Rockies' biggest inning since they scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth on June 18 to beat San Francisco.
The victory was just fourth in 16 games for the Rockies, who had averaged 3.2 runs per game during their 3-12 slide. They matched their season high in runs scored. It's the fourth time they have scored 12 runs. Colorado also reached a season-high with 17 hits, 11 coming with two strikes.
"I think we are more of that team that we saw tonight than what we've seen in the last couple weeks," Rockies manager Bud Black said.
The win was Black's 700th as a major league manager. While grateful for the milestone, Black didn't want to call any personal attention to it.
"Hopefully, there's more of these from a team standpoint to come," Black said.
DJ LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, who had three hits and a season-high five RBIs, homered for the Rockies, who added to the recent misery of White Sox starter Derek Holland. Blackmon had three hits, as did Gerardo Parra, who was reinstated Friday from the 10-disabled list after missing 28 games.
"It was good to get off to a start like that," Arenado said. "I felt we hadn't done that in a long time. I feel like we've been behind or it's taken us five or six innings (to get rolling) ...It was nice to win like that after what we've been going through lately."
Pitcher German Marquez, who had two career hits in 25 at-bats, matched that total with a double, his first extra-base hit, and a single. He scored two runs, one more than he had scored in his career, trotting home on the two-run shots by LeMahieu and Arenado.
Arenado has five games with five or more RBIs.
More importantly for the Rockies, Marquez (6-4) pitched well. After pitching six innings in just one of his past seven starts, Marquez worked seven innings -- his longest outing since he pitched a career-high eight innings May 10 against the Chicago Cubs -- and threw 73 of 102 pitches for strikes.
Marquez gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings with no walks for the first time this season and five strikeouts. He gave up a run in the first when Todd Frazier doubled and moved up on a fly ball and a grounder and yielded a two-run homer to Tim Anderson in the seventh.
"(No walks) was the key," Marquez said. "My (fastball) location was amazing, and my curve was really good today."
Holland (5-9) is 1-6 with an 8.76 ERA in his past eight starts with 12 home runs allowed in 37 innings and is 0-4 with an 18.44 ERA in his past four road starts. Coming off a losing start against Texas when he yielded five hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings, Holland surrendered eight hits and seven runs in four innings,
The first six Rockies reached base against him. Arenado singled home a run after Blackmon walked and LeMahieu singled. With the bases loaded, Parra drove in a run with an infield single that ricocheted off Holland's glove toward second base. Trevor Story followed with a two-run single.
After the White Sox manufactured a run in the second, Marquez doubled down the left-field line to open the second inning and scored on LeMahieu's fourth homer.
"Today was just flat-out embarrassing," Holland said. "I don't even know where to begin. I put my teammates in a hole, gave up four runs right out of the gate. Then they put up a run for me, and of course, I go back out there and give up another run. It's a frustrating thing on my part.
"I'm not doing my job. I need to be a lot better than I was for this start and my last start. The only positive is I've gotten through half the year so far healthy. That's a big plus. But I'm upset with how I've pitched these last two starts."
NOTES: Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (testicular cancer) will begin a rehab assignment July 13 at Double-A Hartford. He threw a two-inning simulated game Friday. ... Rockies C Ryan Hanigan was scratched from the lineup due to left trapezius muscle tightness. ... Rockies OF/1B Gerardo Parra (strained right quad) was reinstated and went 3-for-5 with a double and one RBI in his first game for the Rockies since June 6. ... Rockies OF Mike Tauchman was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... White Sox OF Avisail Garcia, who on Wednesday bruised his right middle finger, hopes to play Sunday. ... White Sox RHP Miguel Gonzalez (right shoulder inflammation) made his first rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday night and threw 72 pitches in 4 2/3 innings while allowing three runs.
Monday, July 3, 2017
Athletics' Cotton looks to duplicate success vs. White Sox
Stats, LLC
(TSX / STATS) -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton will make his first start since June 23 on Monday night when Oakland opens a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.
Cotton hopes to pick up where he left off when a blister on his right thumb forced him to leave a gem against the White Sox in Chicago in the sixth inning. He threw five shutout innings in a 3-0 victory, allowing three hits while striking out three and walking one. That was his first career appearance against the White Sox.
"I get to go back out there again and pitch against the same team and give my team a chance to win, go as deep as I can, save the bullpen," Cotton said Sunday before Oakland's 4-3, 12-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves. "Hopefully it stays intact."
Cotton was initially slated to start on Saturday, but the A's decided to give him a few extra days to recover from his injury and prepare. He threw a bullpen session Saturday and experienced no issues.
"I've been through a couple blisters before, but I've never taken this long," Cotton said. "Trainers are doing a good job, so it healed. They took great care of it, and now it's ready to go."
Cotton (5-7, 5.02 ERA) has won consecutive starts for the first time in his career. In his past six starts since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville, he is 2-3 with a 4.28 ERA and a .223 opponents' batting average.
Cotton's outing sparked what turned out to be a three-game sweep of the White Sox. The A's outscored Chicago by a combined score of 18-5 during the series.
Since then, the White Sox have gone 4-3, including a 6-5 victory Sunday against Texas. Chicago took two of three from the Rangers to win the series.
White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon will make his second start of the season on Monday. He opened the season on the disabled list due to left biceps bursitis and made his debut Wednesday in a 12-3 loss to the Yankees.
Rodon (0-1, 0.00 ERA) allowed three unearned runs -- all in the first inning -- on two hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked six. Three of the walks came in the first inning, when he threw 37 pitches.
"It was good to be back on the mound," Rodon said after the game. "A little rough in the first and the second. Walks didn't help. Good team defense, really, got me through the fifth. I was pretty excited. I was going a little fast in the first, but it was good to be out there. Next time out, it'll hopefully be a little better. Arm feels good, body feels good. All you can ask for."
Over his career, Rodon is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts against the Athletics.
Since their sweep of the White Sox, the A's have gone 1-5. They lost two of three at Houston then were swept three games at home by the Braves.
Oakland has lost five straight overall and an ongoing season-high seven straight at home.
(TSX / STATS) -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton will make his first start since June 23 on Monday night when Oakland opens a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.
Cotton hopes to pick up where he left off when a blister on his right thumb forced him to leave a gem against the White Sox in Chicago in the sixth inning. He threw five shutout innings in a 3-0 victory, allowing three hits while striking out three and walking one. That was his first career appearance against the White Sox.
"I get to go back out there again and pitch against the same team and give my team a chance to win, go as deep as I can, save the bullpen," Cotton said Sunday before Oakland's 4-3, 12-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves. "Hopefully it stays intact."
Cotton was initially slated to start on Saturday, but the A's decided to give him a few extra days to recover from his injury and prepare. He threw a bullpen session Saturday and experienced no issues.
"I've been through a couple blisters before, but I've never taken this long," Cotton said. "Trainers are doing a good job, so it healed. They took great care of it, and now it's ready to go."
Cotton (5-7, 5.02 ERA) has won consecutive starts for the first time in his career. In his past six starts since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville, he is 2-3 with a 4.28 ERA and a .223 opponents' batting average.
Cotton's outing sparked what turned out to be a three-game sweep of the White Sox. The A's outscored Chicago by a combined score of 18-5 during the series.
Since then, the White Sox have gone 4-3, including a 6-5 victory Sunday against Texas. Chicago took two of three from the Rangers to win the series.
White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon will make his second start of the season on Monday. He opened the season on the disabled list due to left biceps bursitis and made his debut Wednesday in a 12-3 loss to the Yankees.
Rodon (0-1, 0.00 ERA) allowed three unearned runs -- all in the first inning -- on two hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked six. Three of the walks came in the first inning, when he threw 37 pitches.
"It was good to be back on the mound," Rodon said after the game. "A little rough in the first and the second. Walks didn't help. Good team defense, really, got me through the fifth. I was pretty excited. I was going a little fast in the first, but it was good to be out there. Next time out, it'll hopefully be a little better. Arm feels good, body feels good. All you can ask for."
Over his career, Rodon is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts against the Athletics.
Since their sweep of the White Sox, the A's have gone 1-5. They lost two of three at Houston then were swept three games at home by the Braves.
Oakland has lost five straight overall and an ongoing season-high seven straight at home.
White Sox pull out 6-5 win over Rangers
(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Forget for a moment the time-honored cliche that holds that hitting is contagious.
Chicago White Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle thinks the adage can apply to pitchers, too.
Kahnle comprised the middle leg of a resilient bullpen relay on Sunday afternoon, helping keep the White Sox afloat between early defensive struggles and late heroics from second baseman Yolmer Sanchez.
While Sanchez's two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning provided the go-ahead runs in Chicago's 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers, the relief corps put the White Sox in striking distance.
Right-handers Anthony Swarzak, Kahnle and David Robertson combined on 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief of staff ace Jose Quintana, scattering three hits, seven strikeouts and one intentional walk.
"Once everybody is on a roll, there's no telling how good we're going to be to pitch the rest of the way," Kahnle said. "But I feel like it's definitely contagious if we feed off of each other."
Chicago (36-45) overcame four errors that contributed to Texas wiping out a 4-1 deficit after three innings. Designated hitter Jonathan Lucroy's soft two-run single in the fifth inning gave the Rangers (40-42) a 5-4 lead.
Tyson Ross buoyed Texas with five innings of four-run ball, spacing four hits, five walks and three strikeouts. The Rangers walked seven batters in the game.
Relievers Ernesto Frieri and Matt Bush worked scoreless innings before Chicago capitalized against right-hander Jose Leclerc (1-2).
Sanchez said he knew he made contact with the barrel of the bat when he connected with Leclerc's 1-2 slider. The ball landed in the right-field stands, delighting most in a crowd of 26,206 that saw the White Sox win the rubber match of a three-game weekend series.
"We never quit," Sanchez said through a team interpreter. "We never quit, and we try to fight every single inning. It doesn't matter the run differential in that particular moment in the game."
Texas snapped Quintana's scoreless-innings streak at 19 2/3 innings with an unearned run in the third inning.
Successive White Sox errors -- from first baseman Todd Frazier and Sanchez -- and an infield single from Shin-Soo Choo loaded the bases for Elvis Andrus.
Andrus hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Davidson, who threw to Sanchez to force Choo at second base. But Sanchez was unable to throw to first base, the result of runner's interference on Choo, umpires initially ruled.
Texas won a replay challenge to overturn the call, however, transforming an inning-ending double play to an RBI groundout for Andrus.
Quintana threw 27 of his 96 pitches in the inning. He spaced five runs (three earned), six hits, five strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed a solo home run to Mike Napoli leading off the fourth.
"Quintana has been a premium pitcher in this league for a couple years now," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Even though we were able to scratch some runs across the board, we did have some opportunities."
The White Sox built confidence after stifling the Rangers' scoring chances.
"Whatever we screwed up for the first four or five innings, the reality is we play nine innings, and you start to try to make adjustments," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.
Although the Rangers have had a winning record just three times in the past 38 days and have not been less than 10 games behind first-place Houston since May 26, optimism still is prevalent at the season's midpoint. Referencing the bullpen, Banister said, "We're going to continue to find guys."
Texas trailed Houston by seven games in early July 2015 before ultimately rallying to win the American League West.
"There's still a lot of games left," Choo said. "In 2015, we were in the same situation with Houston. They were a lot of games ahead of us and we caught them. Now they're ahead of us, so we have to catch up. But if we just play the right baseball, if we take care of just us, we know we'll be in a good position."
Andrus and Choo had two hits apiece for the Rangers. Melky Cabrera opened the scoring in the first inning for the White Sox, hitting a solo home run.
Robertson (4-2) pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, scattering two hits and two strikeouts. Robertson fanned Carlos Gomez swinging with the bases loaded to end the game after the White Sox intentionally walked Adrian Beltre.
White Sox catcher Kevan Smith corralled a dropped third strike to end the game, diving back to home plate. The ensuing celebration in the White Sox dugout also was infectious.
"I was right at the top step watching," Kahnle said. "It was pretty funny because you hardly ever see a game end that way."
NOTES: Rangers C Robinson Chirinos stole his first career base in the fourth inning. ... 2B Pete Kozma started for the Rangers while Rougned Odor enjoyed his first day off this season. "It's time," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "There was a day that made sense. Today's the day. Gives us six potential off days through the All-Star break in a fairly short period of time." ... Chicago finished 4-6 during a 10-game homestand. The White Sox are scheduled to host Tampa Bay, Cleveland and San Francisco in another 10-game homestand Sept. 1-10.
Chicago White Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle thinks the adage can apply to pitchers, too.
Kahnle comprised the middle leg of a resilient bullpen relay on Sunday afternoon, helping keep the White Sox afloat between early defensive struggles and late heroics from second baseman Yolmer Sanchez.
While Sanchez's two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning provided the go-ahead runs in Chicago's 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers, the relief corps put the White Sox in striking distance.
Right-handers Anthony Swarzak, Kahnle and David Robertson combined on 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief of staff ace Jose Quintana, scattering three hits, seven strikeouts and one intentional walk.
"Once everybody is on a roll, there's no telling how good we're going to be to pitch the rest of the way," Kahnle said. "But I feel like it's definitely contagious if we feed off of each other."
Chicago (36-45) overcame four errors that contributed to Texas wiping out a 4-1 deficit after three innings. Designated hitter Jonathan Lucroy's soft two-run single in the fifth inning gave the Rangers (40-42) a 5-4 lead.
Tyson Ross buoyed Texas with five innings of four-run ball, spacing four hits, five walks and three strikeouts. The Rangers walked seven batters in the game.
Relievers Ernesto Frieri and Matt Bush worked scoreless innings before Chicago capitalized against right-hander Jose Leclerc (1-2).
Sanchez said he knew he made contact with the barrel of the bat when he connected with Leclerc's 1-2 slider. The ball landed in the right-field stands, delighting most in a crowd of 26,206 that saw the White Sox win the rubber match of a three-game weekend series.
"We never quit," Sanchez said through a team interpreter. "We never quit, and we try to fight every single inning. It doesn't matter the run differential in that particular moment in the game."
Texas snapped Quintana's scoreless-innings streak at 19 2/3 innings with an unearned run in the third inning.
Successive White Sox errors -- from first baseman Todd Frazier and Sanchez -- and an infield single from Shin-Soo Choo loaded the bases for Elvis Andrus.
Andrus hit a grounder to third baseman Matt Davidson, who threw to Sanchez to force Choo at second base. But Sanchez was unable to throw to first base, the result of runner's interference on Choo, umpires initially ruled.
Texas won a replay challenge to overturn the call, however, transforming an inning-ending double play to an RBI groundout for Andrus.
Quintana threw 27 of his 96 pitches in the inning. He spaced five runs (three earned), six hits, five strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed a solo home run to Mike Napoli leading off the fourth.
"Quintana has been a premium pitcher in this league for a couple years now," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Even though we were able to scratch some runs across the board, we did have some opportunities."
The White Sox built confidence after stifling the Rangers' scoring chances.
"Whatever we screwed up for the first four or five innings, the reality is we play nine innings, and you start to try to make adjustments," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said.
Although the Rangers have had a winning record just three times in the past 38 days and have not been less than 10 games behind first-place Houston since May 26, optimism still is prevalent at the season's midpoint. Referencing the bullpen, Banister said, "We're going to continue to find guys."
Texas trailed Houston by seven games in early July 2015 before ultimately rallying to win the American League West.
"There's still a lot of games left," Choo said. "In 2015, we were in the same situation with Houston. They were a lot of games ahead of us and we caught them. Now they're ahead of us, so we have to catch up. But if we just play the right baseball, if we take care of just us, we know we'll be in a good position."
Andrus and Choo had two hits apiece for the Rangers. Melky Cabrera opened the scoring in the first inning for the White Sox, hitting a solo home run.
Robertson (4-2) pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, scattering two hits and two strikeouts. Robertson fanned Carlos Gomez swinging with the bases loaded to end the game after the White Sox intentionally walked Adrian Beltre.
White Sox catcher Kevan Smith corralled a dropped third strike to end the game, diving back to home plate. The ensuing celebration in the White Sox dugout also was infectious.
"I was right at the top step watching," Kahnle said. "It was pretty funny because you hardly ever see a game end that way."
NOTES: Rangers C Robinson Chirinos stole his first career base in the fourth inning. ... 2B Pete Kozma started for the Rangers while Rougned Odor enjoyed his first day off this season. "It's time," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "There was a day that made sense. Today's the day. Gives us six potential off days through the All-Star break in a fairly short period of time." ... Chicago finished 4-6 during a 10-game homestand. The White Sox are scheduled to host Tampa Bay, Cleveland and San Francisco in another 10-game homestand Sept. 1-10.
Happ's two HRs help Cubs top Reds in series finale
(TSX / STATS) -- CINCINNATI -- Joe Maddon's litmus test to evaluate Jake Arrieta's stuff on Sunday was how he fared against Joey Votto, arguably one of the best hitters in all of baseball.
Votto went 1-for-3 against Arrieta with a strikeout but managed to do something against him no other Reds batter could -- get a hit.
Arrieta allowed only a single by Votto through seven innings, Ian Happ homered twice and Anthony Rizzo added a solo shot, helping the Chicago Cubs avoid a sweep with a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnatio Reds.
Arrieta, pitching in Great American Ball Park where he hurled a no-hitter on April 21, 2016, looked unhittable at times during his seven frames. He retired 10 straight in one stretch and 19 of the final 20 batters he faced.
"Votto did not have good at-bats against him, that tells me his stuff was very good," Maddon said. "That was as good as we've seen Jake in a bit. If he keeps pitching with that command, the confidence is going to come up. I was just watching their hitters react."
The Cubs' offensive star was Happ, who, while starring at the University of Cincinnati, regularly attended games at Great American Ball Park and even played there once against the University of Louisville in 2013. On Sunday, Happ went 3-for-4 with two homers and tied a career high with four RBIs.
"I feel good about how I've been swinging the bat the past couple weeks," Happ said. "I've had some pretty good ABs. I'm just trying to go out there and play good baseball and compete every day."
The victory helped Chicago (41-41) avoid its first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since 1996. The Cubs have beaten the Reds in 24 of the past 31 meetings.
"Two thumbs up," Maddon said when asked about going 5-6 on the road trip. "The hitting has fluctuated. The pitching has fluctuated. Everybody's doing their part which is why we're .500. But, we're getting guys back (healthy). Impressed with how we continue to fight."
Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, who entered Sunday's game 1-for-16, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Votto's two-out single in the first inning was the only hit allowed by Arrieta (8-6), who had two walks and six strikeouts in 100 pitches.
Arrieta credited an improved changeup on Sunday that helped him avoid the command issues he has experienced throughout the season.
"Getting more comfortable with it," Arrieta said. "It's opening up some doors, allowing me to do some more things. It's a big pitch for me. The two walks, I'm OK with that, as long as I can swing things back in my favor with some quick outs."
Votto's two-run single in the eighth -- his 1,499th career hit -- off Koji Uehara, made the score 6-2 and raised his average to a season-high .317. But the Reds couldn't mount a rally.
In the second, Happ launched a 2-2 pitch from Reds starter Tim Adleman to deep center, putting the Cubs ahead 2-0. Adleman (5-5) allowed three earned runs, six hits and two homers in five innings.
In the fourth inning, Happ clubbed his 12th homer for his second career multi-home run game. He is only the third Cubs player in the past 100 seasons to have at least 11 homers in his first 45 games. Happ had a large contingent of family and friends in attendance throughout this weekend's series.
"This is home away from home, via Pittsburgh," Maddon said. "He really dropped the barrel a couple times. He can do a lot of things for us."
Happ added a broken-bat single off Blake Wood to drive in a run in the sixth to make the score 4-0. It was the third time this season he has had four RBIs in a game.
"I really like the opposite-field single, scoring a run, we need more of that," Maddon said. "He had a wonderful day, obviously."
Rizzo's towering solo home run in the seventh off Austin Brice made the score 5-0. Rizzo's 19th homer of the season landed on the roof of the home bullpen in right field.
"They were just better today," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "Arrieta was really good. He didn't give us much. We only hit a couple balls on the barrel. This homestand (winning) four out of six works. That has to be our mantra for the rest of the year -- we have to pitch better."
NOTES: The Reds haven't swept the Cubs in Cincinnati since Sept. 24-26, 1996, at Cinergy Field. ... Reds RHP Asher Wojciechowski's contract was selected from Triple-A Louisville to give them an extra bullpen arm for a seven-game road trip to Colorado. . . . Arizona. RHP Jackson Stephens, who posted his first major league victory on Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A. LHP Brandon Finnegan was moved to the 60-day disabled list. ... Cubs RF Ben Zobrist made his first start since coming off the disabled list and went 0-for-4.
Votto went 1-for-3 against Arrieta with a strikeout but managed to do something against him no other Reds batter could -- get a hit.
Arrieta allowed only a single by Votto through seven innings, Ian Happ homered twice and Anthony Rizzo added a solo shot, helping the Chicago Cubs avoid a sweep with a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnatio Reds.
Arrieta, pitching in Great American Ball Park where he hurled a no-hitter on April 21, 2016, looked unhittable at times during his seven frames. He retired 10 straight in one stretch and 19 of the final 20 batters he faced.
"Votto did not have good at-bats against him, that tells me his stuff was very good," Maddon said. "That was as good as we've seen Jake in a bit. If he keeps pitching with that command, the confidence is going to come up. I was just watching their hitters react."
The Cubs' offensive star was Happ, who, while starring at the University of Cincinnati, regularly attended games at Great American Ball Park and even played there once against the University of Louisville in 2013. On Sunday, Happ went 3-for-4 with two homers and tied a career high with four RBIs.
"I feel good about how I've been swinging the bat the past couple weeks," Happ said. "I've had some pretty good ABs. I'm just trying to go out there and play good baseball and compete every day."
The victory helped Chicago (41-41) avoid its first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since 1996. The Cubs have beaten the Reds in 24 of the past 31 meetings.
"Two thumbs up," Maddon said when asked about going 5-6 on the road trip. "The hitting has fluctuated. The pitching has fluctuated. Everybody's doing their part which is why we're .500. But, we're getting guys back (healthy). Impressed with how we continue to fight."
Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, who entered Sunday's game 1-for-16, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
Votto's two-out single in the first inning was the only hit allowed by Arrieta (8-6), who had two walks and six strikeouts in 100 pitches.
Arrieta credited an improved changeup on Sunday that helped him avoid the command issues he has experienced throughout the season.
"Getting more comfortable with it," Arrieta said. "It's opening up some doors, allowing me to do some more things. It's a big pitch for me. The two walks, I'm OK with that, as long as I can swing things back in my favor with some quick outs."
Votto's two-run single in the eighth -- his 1,499th career hit -- off Koji Uehara, made the score 6-2 and raised his average to a season-high .317. But the Reds couldn't mount a rally.
In the second, Happ launched a 2-2 pitch from Reds starter Tim Adleman to deep center, putting the Cubs ahead 2-0. Adleman (5-5) allowed three earned runs, six hits and two homers in five innings.
In the fourth inning, Happ clubbed his 12th homer for his second career multi-home run game. He is only the third Cubs player in the past 100 seasons to have at least 11 homers in his first 45 games. Happ had a large contingent of family and friends in attendance throughout this weekend's series.
"This is home away from home, via Pittsburgh," Maddon said. "He really dropped the barrel a couple times. He can do a lot of things for us."
Happ added a broken-bat single off Blake Wood to drive in a run in the sixth to make the score 4-0. It was the third time this season he has had four RBIs in a game.
"I really like the opposite-field single, scoring a run, we need more of that," Maddon said. "He had a wonderful day, obviously."
Rizzo's towering solo home run in the seventh off Austin Brice made the score 5-0. Rizzo's 19th homer of the season landed on the roof of the home bullpen in right field.
"They were just better today," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "Arrieta was really good. He didn't give us much. We only hit a couple balls on the barrel. This homestand (winning) four out of six works. That has to be our mantra for the rest of the year -- we have to pitch better."
NOTES: The Reds haven't swept the Cubs in Cincinnati since Sept. 24-26, 1996, at Cinergy Field. ... Reds RHP Asher Wojciechowski's contract was selected from Triple-A Louisville to give them an extra bullpen arm for a seven-game road trip to Colorado. . . . Arizona. RHP Jackson Stephens, who posted his first major league victory on Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A. LHP Brandon Finnegan was moved to the 60-day disabled list. ... Cubs RF Ben Zobrist made his first start since coming off the disabled list and went 0-for-4.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)