There were just four games on the MLB slate for Monday. The Chicago White Sox, who were battered on Sunday against the Florida Marlins, jumped all over Cleveland Indians starter Justin Masterson for four runs in the first inning. All in all, Masterson allowed five runs on nine hits in just four innings. White Sox starter John Danks allowed two runs on six hits in five innings.
The White Sox offense collected 14 hits with Mark Teahen collecting three and three RBIs while Juan Pierre, AJ Pierzynski, Omar Vizquel, and Gordon Beckham collected two hits a piece.
Clay Buchholz against the rays
The Boston Red Sox continued their hot streak as they beat the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays. David Ortiz homered off Rays rookie starter Wade Davis in the second inning (one of his two hits). Davis allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings. The Rays had their chances early on against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz.
They loaded the bases in the first inning, but catcher John Jaso grounded into a double play. In the second, the Rays had runners at second and third, but Reid Brignac and Jason Bartlett struck out to end the inning. Carlos Pena homered for the only run off of Buchholz. He allowed six hits while striking out eight in six innings of work. Red Sox relievers Hideki Okajima and Daniel Bard combined for three perfect innings. On offense, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Beltre collected three hits while Jeremy Hermida and Ortiz collected two hits.
The LA Angels were completely shut down by the Toronto Blue Jays and starter Brett Cecil. He allowed just two hits in 7.1 innings. The first hit was a two out single in the third inning and the second hit came in the eighth inning. Angels starter Joe Saunders allowed three runs on four hits in 6.1 innings but he walked five. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Blue Jays broke the game open. They scored four runs off of Saunders and reliever Jason Bulger.
The Pittsburgh Pirates took an early 2-0 lead over Aaron Harang and the Cincinnati Reds on a two-run homerun from Ronny Cedeno. The Reds made it 2-1 in the bottom of the second but then seemed to break the game open with five runs in the fourth inning and another in the sixth. However the Pirates came back to score three runs in the seventh inning and chased Harang from the game.
The Pirates could not mount a comeback against Reds relievers Arthur Rhodes and Francisco Cordero as they lost 7-5. Pirates starter Brian Burres only lasted into the fourth inning and allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks. Delwyn Young collected three hits (all doubles) for the Pirates while Cedeno and Ryan Doumit each had two hits. For the Reds, Drew Stubbs and Orlando Cabrera collected three hits a piece, with Stubbs also hitting a solo homerun.
Stephen Strasburg for Syracuse
The game that seemed to be the most attractive on the night came in Syracuse as the Triple-A Chiefs (Washington Nationals) faced off against the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers). Over 13,000 fans turned out for the matchup but what everyone wanted to see was Stephen Strasburg.
Unfortunately the soon-to-be Nationals starter allowed his first runs in Triple-A and seemed to get knocked around a bit by the Mud Hens hitters. He threw just 52 pitches in five innings but was pulled after allowing five hits. He was not as sharp as in past outings. Rumors have him starting on June 4th for the Nationals against the Cincinnati Reds.