Around the Baseball Diamond: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Pirates quickly falling out of sight

ESPN.com

• Chat wrap: This week's rankings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are nowhere near the top of our Power Rankings as they fell 11 spots to No. 24. The Milwaukee Brewers, meanwhile, hold on to the No. 1 spot for the second straight week, while the Atlanta Braves move up one spot to No. 2.
The American West-leading Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers come in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while the New York Yankees move into the No. 5 position to round out of the top five.
This week's voters were Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the bloggers on the SweetSpot Blog Network. How do you rank all 30 teams? Go ahead and rank them yourself.
Tell us what you think about the Power Rankings. Use the hashtag #ESPNMLBPOWER.

2014 Power Rankings: April 28
RANK	TEAM / RECORD	TRENDING	COMMENTS
1	Brewers 18-7	-- Last Week: 1	The Brewers wrapped up a 4-2 homestand against the Padres and Cubs on Sunday without either Ryan Braun (intercostal strain) or Jean Segura (a Braun bat-to-the-face) in the lineup. They still have the best record in baseball at 18-7, though, and open a three-game series in St. Louis on Monday. -- Ryan Topp (@RDTopp), Disciples of Uecker
2	Braves 17-7	1 Last Week: 3	Mike Minor will return this week, and the Braves will have to figure out which pitcher to kick out of the majors' best starting rotation. More than likely, David Hale will be the one to go, but his 2.31 ERA ranks among the top 20 in the National League. In fact, the other four members of the Braves' rotation all have an ERA that ranks among the top 15 in baseball. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Gondeee
3	Athletics 15-10	2 Last Week: 5	Scott Kazmir is 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA in five starts. He's also allowed only one home run and six walks in 33 1/3 innings pitched. -- ESPN.com
4	Rangers 15-10	4 Last Week: 8	Texas, at 15-10, is tied for the best record in the AL, but the Rangers let two potential wins get away over the weekend in Seattle. The rotation appears to be getting stronger with the return of Matt Harrison, while the bullpen has become an issue. -- Brandon Land (@one_strike_away), One Strike Away
5	Yankees 15-10	4 Last Week: 9	The Yankees finished last week 4-2 after playing two three-game series, with the Red Sox in Fenway Park and the Angels at home. They had strong pitching performances from CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka, Mark Teixeira hit a couple of home runs and they welcomed back closer David Robertson, who picked up two saves against the Angels. -- Stacey Gotsulias (@StaceGots), It's About the Money
6	Tigers 12-9	-- Last Week: 6	April showers continue to steal games from the Tigers (three PPDs this season) and they continue to steal bases at a vastly-improved rate. In '13 they finished last in the AL in steals. They're currently third (19). Also speeding up in Detroit is the loss of patience for a bullpen with the 29th-ranked ERA. Despite that, they're still in first place in the AL Central. -- Ryan Callery, Walkoff Woodward
7	Dodgers 14-12	3 Last Week: 4	The Dodgers had a disappointing 2-5 week, hosting the Phillies and Rockies. They're now a poor 6-9 at home. Clayton Kershaw will make one more rehab start before returning. A bruised right thumb is the latest malady for Hanley Ramirez. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
8	Cardinals 14-12	6 Last Week: 2	The Cardinals' offense continues to sputter, averaging fewer than two runs per game for the week until erupting for seven on Sunday against the Pirates to win the series as Adam Wainwright bounced back from a knee-injury scare. -- Matt Philip (@fungoes), Fungoes
9	Nationals 14-12	1 Last Week: 10	As expected, the Nats have a starter showing No. 1 stuff and it's ... Tanner Roark? His 2.76 ERA isn't a fluke as his walks are low, hits are low and home runs are low. He's doing everything a successful pitcher needs to do. -- Harper Gordek (@harpergordek), Nationals Baseball
10	Giants 15-10	3 Last Week: 7	After a week of offensive woes, the Giants reversed their fortunes at home against the Indians, capped off by a walk-off three-run home run by Brandon Hicks on Sunday. Hunter Pence is also now 11-for-23 in his past six games. One of the best bullpens (2.01 ERA) in the league is keeping the Giants in close games, and they've already partaken in 12 games decided by one run. -- Connor Grossman (@GiantsBaseball), West Coast Bias
11	Rockies 14-12	5 Last Week: 16	The Rockies wrapped up another winning week, this time against two strong division rivals in the Giants and Dodgers. Winning a road series at Dodger Stadium should bolster the young team's confidence going into a softer week against the struggling Diamondbacks in the desert followed by the Mets at Coors. -- Juan Pablo Zubillaga (@rockieszingers), Rockies Zingers
12	Orioles 12-12	2 Last Week: 14	It's been an April to forget for Ubaldo Jimenez. He's 0-4 with a 6.59 ERA in five starts for the Orioles. -- ESPN.com
13	Mets 14-11	8 Last Week: 21	The Mets have won six of their past eight games as they head into a three-city, nine-game road trip. They are 6-0 when Anthony Recker starts behind the plate. -- Joe Janish (@metstoday), Mets Today
14	Red Sox 12-14	3 Last Week: 17	Streaking is normally looked down upon, but it's OK since the Red Sox haven't been doing that lately anyway. The Sox have yet to string along three straight wins this season, and Mike Napoli (.307/.402/.545) has been one of the few hitters with a pulse. Yes, the team's healthy, but a daunting homestand against the Rays, A's and Reds awaits. Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. -- Brett Cowett (@BACowett), Fire Brand of the AL
15	Angels 11-13	3 Last Week: 18	Try as they might, the Angels just can't seem to get above the .500 mark. They've had five chances already this year to slay this particular white whale, but have come up short each time. Their plus-29 run differential indicates it'll happen sooner or later, but their 2-7 record in one-run games and 4-10 mark in contests decided by three or fewer runs says otherwise. -- Nate Aderhold, Halos Daily
16	Reds 11-14	3 Last Week: 19	After winning seven of nine to climb back to .500, the Reds promptly dropped three in a row to Atlanta over the weekend. Johnny Cueto continues to dominate NL hitters; the righty is second in the league in ERA (1.15) and strikeouts (50), while leading NL starters in wins above replacement (1.9). -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation
17	Royals 12-12	6 Last Week: 11	The Royals have the lowest rotation ERA in the AL and that's with Bruce Chen posting a 7.45 ERA through four starts. Rookie Yordano Ventura tossed his best game yet: eight shutout innings against the Orioles on Friday. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
18	White Sox 13-13	7 Last Week: 25	White Sox fans are pretty upbeat considering the team effectively replaced Chris Sale with Hector Noesi over the past week. Maybe it has to do with that Jose Abreu character, who hit five home runs during that same time frame. The Sox have scored and allowed the most runs in the AL, and are thus .500. Makes perfect sense. -- James Fegan (@TheCatbird_Seat), The Catbird Seat
19	Twins 12-11	8 Last Week: 27	After four weeks, the Twins are above .500 despite having a 6.04 ERA from their rotation, which is sort of amazing. The offense continues to click with an MLB-leading .353 OBP. -- Nick Nelson (@nnelson9), Twins Daily
20	Rays 11-14	8 Last Week: 12	Pitching and defense propelled the Rays from the cellar to the ceiling of the American League. However, it was their downfall this week. Subpar pitching from replacement starters taxed the bullpen, and the defense committed four errors on Sunday. What should be a marquee matchup with the Red Sox this week is now a meeting of the bottom two teams in the AL East. -- Tommy Rancel (@TRancel), The Process Report
21	Blue Jays 12-13	6 Last Week: 15	The Jays went 2-4 this past week against the Orioles and Red Sox, allowing over 6.5 runs per game. Toronto will finally get an extended look at opponents outside the AL East, starting with the Royals and Pirates. -- Matthias Koster (@Mopupduty), Mop-Up Duty
22	Indians 11-14	-- Last Week: 22	The top of the Indians' lineup finally started to heat up last week -- Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher hit a combined .363 over the past seven days. Unfortunately, the 4-5-6 spots in the lineup (Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera) went a combined 0-for-27 over the weekend as the Indians were swept by the Giants. -- Stephanie Liscio (@stephanieliscio), It's Pronounced "Lajaway"
23	Phillies 13-12	1 Last Week: 24	Chase Utley remains healthy and productive. Together with a streaking Carlos Ruiz and excellent outings by Cliff Lee, A.J. Burnett and Cole Hamels, he helped the Phillies put together a 5-2 week. But if the bullpen, third-worst ERA in MLB, does not improve, the Phillies will have to hope for a lot of complete games. -- Ryan Sommers, Crashburn Alley
24	Pirates 10-16	11 Last Week: 13	Pirates right fielders were among the worst in the majors last year (prompting the trade for Marlon Byrd), and are struggling again with a .221/.289/.279 line, with two home runs and no doubles or triples. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
25	Marlins 11-14	1 Last Week: 26	The offense disappeared in a 2-4 week (facing the Braves and an improved Mets rotation will do that). They begin a nine-game homestand Tuesday versus the Braves, Dodgers and Mets. They're 9-4 with a 2.54 ERA and a .293 batting average in Marlins Park. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
26	Padres 12-14	6 Last Week: 20	More injury news for the Padres, as Chase Headley landed on the DL with a strained right calf. In good news, however, Cameron Maybin returned on Sunday after missing the first 25 games with a ruptured biceps tendon and went 2-for-4. Carlos Quentin, out all season with a bone bruise in his left knee, should start a minor league rehab assignment at the end of the week. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
27	Mariners 10-14	4 Last Week: 23	At least one Mariner is finally warming up. Kyle Seager hit five home runs during the week, including two on Sunday as the Mariners rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Rangers. Seager hit the go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth and also had a walk-off three-run homer against the Astros earlier in the week. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot
28	Cubs 8-16	1 Last Week: 29	On Sunday, Jason Hammel notched his fourth win before May 1. The last time the Cubs had a pitcher with four or more wins before May 1 was 2008, when both Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano had four. The Cubs went to the playoffs that year ... just sayin'. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers
29	Diamondbacks 8-20	1 Last Week: 28	Things seemed to stabilize a bit in the past week for Arizona, but splitting a four-game set against the Cubs while going 3-4 for the week isn't much to brag about. The D-backs now have to deal with a foot injury to Mark Trumbo that will leave him out for 4-6 weeks, stretching the outfield thin as manager Kirk Gibson may be reluctant to play Cody Ross every day. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@InsidetheZona), Inside the 'Zona
30	Astros 9-17	-- Last Week: 30	Won two in a row versus the A's, after losing 25 of the prior 30 against Oakland. Collin McHugh became the first Astros starter to record an out in the eighth inning this year, going 8 2/3 innings in Sunday's win. A light week coming up, with only five games. Banged-up Nationals and weakling Mariners come to town. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
Biggest Jump: 8 Biggest Drop: 11

Marlins score 9 off NL ERA leader Aaron Harang to batter Braves

Final

Series: Game 2 of 3

Braves 3

(17-9, 8-6 away)

Marlins 9

(13-14, 11-4 home)

80°
Scattered Clouds

7:10 PM ET, April 30, 2014
Marlins Park, Miami, Florida

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATL	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	6	1
MIA	0	4	1	2	2	0	0	0	-	9	15	0

W: N. Eovaldi (2-1)
L: A. Harang (3-2)

Associated Press

Marlins Pummel Braves

The Marlins beat the Braves for the second straight day, topping Atlanta 9-3.Tags: MLB, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Marcell Ozuna, Adeiny Hechavarria, Christian Yelich, Highlights

MIAMI -- Even the major-league ERA leader can make mistakes, and when he did, the Miami Marlins were ready.
Miami scored nine runs off Aaron Harang, including homers by Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, to drub the Atlanta Braves for the second night in a row Wednesday, 9-3.Harang (3-2) gave up 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings, and his ERA rose from a major-league low 0.85 to 2.97. The Marlins tied a season high with 15 hits, including seven for extra bases."They were all hitting like Ted Williams tonight," Harang said.Miami scored only one run against the veteran right-hander in a loss a week earlier in Atlanta."When he did give us a pitch to do something with, we did a much better job of not missing it tonight," said Casey McGehee, who had three hits. "Against him in Atlanta, a lot of the pitches we had to hit we fouled off or missed or took. Tonight we took advantage of our opportunities."Ozuna hit a three-run homer, and Yelich added his first home run of the year. The homers were the first allowed by Harang this year."Seven days ago to now, it's a totally different team," Harang said. "I had them totally baffled at home. They were comfortable today."Adeiny Hechavarria legged out a double and a triple for the last-place Marlins, who have outscored the NL East leaders 18-3 in the first two games of their series.The Marlins will sweep a series from Atlanta for the first time since 2009 if they can beat Ervin Santana on Thursday.Miami's 9-0 lead after five innings was a rare luxury for Eovaldi (2-1), who has the lowest career run support among active major-league starters. He allowed only three hits and one run in seven innings to lower his ERA to 2.58."You try to get the guys back in the dugout as fast as possible and let them keep hitting," Eovaldi said. "I just attack and stay on them. When we have a big lead, don't be afraid to give up a run or two. Keep pounding the strike zone."The Marlins are batting .215 on the road, where they're 2-10. But they're batting .307 in their spacious 2-year-old ballpark, where they're 11-4 to lead the majors in home victories."I love it. Keep it coming," manager Mike Redmond said. "Maybe we're starting to see a little change here at home where we're starting to get comfortable in this ballpark. They're starting to hit to this ballpark. It's not about swinging for the fences, because you can't play like that here."The Braves totaled six hits, including Justin Upton's eighth homer. They've totaled five hits in the past two games against Eovaldi and Jose Fernandez."We're big-league hitters. We should be able to put some hits up against those guys," Chris Johnson said. "They're really, really good, but at some point, with them being in our division, we've got to be able to figure them out. We've got to put some runs on the board. There's no excuse for it."Harang had allowed a total of three runs in his first five starts, but the Marlins scored four against him with four consecutive hits to start the second inning. Garrett Jones singled home the first run, and Ozuna followed with his fourth homer.Hechavarria tripled and Yelich hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 7-0.The nine runs allowed by Harang matched his career high. He fell to 5-5 in 15 starts against the Marlins with an ERA of 6.54.Eovaldi allowed a double by Jason Heyward to start the game, then held the Braves hitless until the sixth.

Game notes

Braves RHP Gavin Floyd is ready to come off the disabled list after recovering from elbow surgery a year ago, but manager Fredi Gonzalez was noncommittal regarding how he will be used. Floyd isn't scheduled to start this week. ... Marlins INF Rafael Furcal (hamstring) took grounders before the game is scheduled to resume his rehabilitation assignment this weekend with Triple-A New Orleans. ... Miami RHP Jose Fernandez estimated that in his victory Tuesday he threw 30 changeups, twice his previous high. ... Santana (3-0, 1.95 ERA) starts Thursday for the Braves against Miami's Henderson Alvarez (1-2, 2.73).

Regular Season Series

Miami leads 3-2 (as of Wed 4/30)
Mon 4/21	@ATL 4, MIA 2	Recap
Tue 4/22	MIA 1, @ATL 0	Recap
Wed 4/23	@ATL 3, MIA 1	Recap
Tue 4/29	@MIA 9, ATL 0	Recap
» Wed 4/30	@MIA 9, ATL 3	Box Score
May 1, 2014	ATL (Santana) @ MIA (Alvarez)	7:10 PM ET
May 30, 2014	ATL @ MIA	7:10 PM ET
May 31, 2014	ATL @ MIA	4:10 PM ET
Jun 1, 2014	ATL @ MIA	1:10 PM ET
Jul 21, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:10 PM ET
Jul 22, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:10 PM ET
Jul 23, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:10 PM ET
Jul 24, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:10 PM ET
Aug 29, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:35 PM ET
Aug 30, 2014	MIA @ ATL	7:10 PM ET
Aug 31, 2014	MIA @ ATL	5:10 PM ET
Sep 5, 2014	ATL @ MIA	7:10 PM ET
Sep 6, 2014	ATL @ MIA	7:10 PM ET
Sep 7, 2014	ATL @ MIA	1:10 PM ET
Complete Schedule: Braves \| Marlins

Angels send reeling Indians to 6th straight loss

Final

Series: Game 3 of 3

Indians 1

(11-17, 4-11 away)

Angels 7

(14-13, 6-6 home)

78°
Clear

7:05 PM ET, April 30, 2014
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CLE	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
LAA	0	2	1	0	2	2	0	0	-	7	8	0

W: C. Wilson (4-2)
L: Z. McAllister (3-2)

Associated Press

Angels Cruise Past Indians

The Angels topped the Indians 7-1 and handed Cleveland its sixth straight loss.Tags: MLB, Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Indians, David Freese, Mike Trout, Highlights

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- One of the keys to C.J. Wilson's success over the years has been ignoring big leads when he gets them. The approach worked in a big way on Wednesday night.
Wilson pitched two-hit ball over eight innings, Hank Conger hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Zach McAllister, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 7-1 to send the Indians to their sixth straight loss."I try to hold the other team down so that there's no momentum," Wilson said. "I think a lot of guys fall into the trap of thinking in the fourth inning: `Hey, this game is over, so I'm going to cruise from here.'"You see it happen, and we do that to teams all the time. I mean, we'll be down 4-1 and then all of a sudden, we get a rally going and it's boom, boom, boom. That's the way our offense is capable of being. So you've got to take every pitch seriously and every at-bat seriously."The Angels have scored seven or more runs in each of Wilson's victories, and fewer than four in both losses. Wilson (4-2) struck out eight, walked one and retired his last 18 batters after a leadoff double in the third by No. 9 hitter Elliot Johnson.Cleveland's other hit against the left-hander was an RBI single in the second by David Murphy, who was thrown out trying to steal for the inning's final out."Mechanically, I got into a little more of a groove as the game went on," Wilson said. "The first couple of batters I felt good, but the ball was sailing on me a little bit. Then as I got more into the flow of the game, I was able to keep the ball in the strike zone more often and tried to expand later in the count when I had the advantage."Wilson recorded only two of his outs during his final five innings on balls to the outfield, including a sensational diving grab by left fielder J.B. Shuck on a drive toward the corner by Mike Aviles."He was very effective with different fastballs -- cutting it, changing speeds with it, then throwing the breaking ball off of that," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "He was so aggressive in the zone, working ahead -- just attacking."David Freese had a two-run single in the fifth against Marc Rzepczynski, and Mike Trout added a two-run double in the sixth off demoted starter Carlos Carrasco. Cleveland's bullpen entered having stranded 42 of 46 inherited runners, the best percentage in the majors.McAllister (3-2) threw 101 pitches over 4 1/3 innings and was charged with five runs, four hits and four walks. Pitching on three days' rest for the first time in the big leagues after throwing 75 pitches over five innings in a 5-3 loss at San Francisco on Saturday, McAllister was bumped up in the rotation after Carrasco went 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in four starts."I didn't have the command I would have liked, and I went deep into some at-bats that really pushed my pitch count up," McAllister said. "I made a lot of pitches early and walked some guys. But as far as the way my body felt and my arm felt, I felt extremely good out there."Cleveland, which heads home to host the Chicago White Sox, was swept in consecutive series for the first time since last June at the New York Yankees and Detroit. The Indians totaled just 13 runs during the six-game trip, batting .183 and going 6 for 36 with runners in scoring position."We had a tough trip, and we have to put it behind us," Francona said. "Not a lot went right for us on this trip. Now we have to go fix it, and we'll do that."Cleveland opened the scoring in the second with Murphy's two-out single. Conger's homer put the Angels ahead in the second, ending McAllister's streak of 37 1/3 homerless innings since Houston's Brandon Laird connected Sept. 20.Albert Pujols made it 3-1 in the third with a sacrifice fly to center fielder Michael Bourn, who had no chance to make a play on Howie Kendrick at the plate after Aviles banged into him.

Game notes

Johnson started at 2B for the Indians in place of Jason Kipnis, who left Tuesday night's game because of a strained abdominal muscle. "There's no rush to put a guy on the DL. We can handle it. We'll just kind of see how he responds," Francona said. ... All 15 big league homers by the switch-hitting Conger have been against right-handed pitchers, and nine of them have come with at least one man on base. ... The Angels didn't fly their 2002 World Series championship banner, their eight division title flags or the California state flag because of fierce Santa Ana winds, which were clocked at 27 mph at gametime.

Max Scherzer helps Tigers take two-game set from White Sox

Final

Series: Game 2 of 2

Tigers 5

(14-9, 5-4 away)

White Sox 1

(14-15, 9-7 home)

46°
Overcast

2:10 PM ET, April 30, 2014
U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DET	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	5	8	0
CHW	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	6	1

W: M. Scherzer (3-1)
L: H. Noesi (0-2)

Associated Press

Scherzer Stifles White Sox

Max Scherzer struck out seven over six scoreless innings of work in the Tigers' 5-1 victory over the White Sox.Tags: MLB, Tigers, White Sox, highlight, Bryan Holaday, Max Scherzer

CHICAGO -- Max Scherzer wasn't at his best Wednesday.
But it was more than enough to beat the White Sox.
Scherzer threw six scoreless innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 to finish a two-game sweep.
Scherzer (3-1) won his third straight start, allowing four hits while striking out seven to become the first pitcher in team history with at least seven strikeouts in each of his first six starts.
He also became the first in the majors to do it since Tim Lincecum began the 2010 season with at least six strikeouts in his first seven starts.
But it was the three walks and 105 pitches that gnawed at the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.
"They fought me all the way through the whole at-bat," Scherzer said. "I just thought I could have been a little more efficient so I could have pitched deeper into the game."
Scherzer beat the White Sox for the second straight time, following up his April 24 win when he went six innings and allowed two runs in a 7-4 victory.
He also helped Tigers win for the fourth time in five games, and shut down the powerful White Sox offense for the second straight day.
"Yeah, we missed out on a couple of opportunities today and yesterday too, but those guys are pretty good pitchers and have been for a while," White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers said.
"They do some good things in those situations and get the job done. We just have to find a way to battle through on some of those and get some runs across."
On Tuesday, Justin Verlander and two relievers held the White Sox to seven hits in a 4-3 Detroit win.
Scherzer and the Tigers continued that Wednesday against a team that started the day first in the American League in runs and second in home runs and slugging, coming within one out of a shutout.
"There's 29 other managers that would like to be able to do that," Detroit's Brad Ausmus said of starting Verlander and Scherzer on consecutive days.
Chicago's Robin Ventura is certainly one of those managers. As with Flowers, he heaped praise on Scherzer.
"He's great, he's always tough. You get some guys on, you get opportunities and that's when good pitchers really show their stuff. He did that today," Ventura said. "We at least got him a high pitch count and he couldn't get eight or nine innings. But, he's just tough."
The Tigers got all the runs they needed in a four-run fourth, when Detroit scored four times against Hector Noesi (0-2). Bryan Holaday capped the rally with a two-run double.
Noesi, making a spot start for Chicago, went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits. He breezed through the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth in his first start of the season.
"We don't know much about the guy, and I don't think he has been extended that far so it may have been a combination of the hitters getting a chance to see him a few times and also maybe because he hadn't been as deep into a game this year," Ausmus said. "He could have been getting a little tired as well."
The White Sox challenged Scherzer as well, but left seven runners on against the Tigers righty.
"I'm very cognizant of what they're able to do and always willing to give them credit," Scherzer said. "Today I thought they did a good job of battling me but when push came to shove I thought I was better."

Game notes

The Tigers announced that left-hander Robbie Ray will make his major-league debut Tuesday in Detroit against the Astros. Ray, 22, was acquired this offseason from the Nationals as part of the trade that sent starter Doug Fister to Washington, and will start in place of injured starter Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez is on the disabled list with a laceration on his right middle finger and threw from flat ground prior to Wednesday's game. . C Alex Avila missed his second straight game with back spasms. . Robin Ventura said LHP Chris Sale is "feeling better" but a rehab start is a possibility if his recovery continues to be extended. Sale has been on the disabled list since April 22 -- retroactive to April 18 -- with a flexor muscle strain in his left arm. Ventura also said RHP Felipe Paulino (right rotator cuff inflammation) will have a rehab assignment coming up "pretty soon."