Every night The Big Guy breaks down the action in the American League.
Biggest Win
White Sox 4-Angels 2: Chicago remained hot as they picked up their 7th win in 10 games and remain 1.5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central lead. Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski hit a home run in his fifth straight game and the bullpen allowed one run over four innings following start Francisco Liriano’s injury-induced exit after five. The loss sends Los Angeles into third place in the AL West, a half game behind the Oakland Athletics.
Best Hitter
The Detroit Tigers matched the White Sox with a 10-8 win over the Cleveland Racists. Detroits #1-2 hitters, Austin Jackson and Omar Infante combined to hit 8-12. With so many at-bats with Jackson on base, Infante’s 3 RBI earn him the nod. Overall, he went 4-6, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R. A fun fact on the .287 hitting Infante: in 366 at-bats, he has 13 walks. Nice .310 OBP, buddy.
Best Pitcher
The Tampa Bay Rays fell to division rival Baltimore Sunday, but don’t blame David Price. The 14-4 lefty went 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K. Price lowered his ERA to 2.49. The Vanderbilt product has thrown at least 7 innings in each of his last nine starts, each of which have been quality starts.
Stat To Know
Detroit Tigers centerfielder Austin Jackson extended his hitting streak to eight games Sunday. The toolsy 25-year-old posted a single hit in his first seven games before breaking out for four hits against the Cleveland Racists on Sunday. His third season in the league has been quite a bounce back after his sophomore slump.
- Jackson in 2011: .249/.317/.374
- Jackson in 2012: .322/.409/.518
Tomorrow’s Note
The Baltimore Orioles will start a three game set against the Seattle Mariners. The AL West basement dwellers are 8-2 in their last ten, making Seattle the hottest team in the league. The home Orioles are 6-4 in their last ten. The red hot Jason Vargas will take the bump for the Mariners against Baltimore’s 24-year-old Chris Tillman.
The Sports Guys 