Moore Becomes Youngest AL Pitcher to Start 8-0 Since Ruth

Matt Moore became the youngest AL pitcher to begin the season 8-0 since Babe Ruth did it 96 years ago. (Patrick Smith)

Yankees Power Their Way to AL East Lead Once Again

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer in his first game back in the lineup since September 8. (Elsa)

Entering tonight, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles were tied for the AL East lead. Both teams had one last three-game series against a division rival to end the season. The Yankees are hosting the Boston Red Sox, while the Orioles are in St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees 10 Red Sox 2
 
Sitting 23 games out of first place, the Red Sox simply hoped to play spoiler to the Yankees hopes of a division crown. Those plans got off to an abrupt start Monday night. The Bronx Bombers lived up to their name in the second inning. They tied a club record with four home runs in the inning. Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz only lasted 1 2/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs on six hits (three home runs).

Following his recovery from a strained left calf, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira returned to the Yankees lineup for the first time since September 8. He greeted Red Sox reliever Alfredo Aceves with a two-run slam to the second-deck. The Yankees scored nine runs on eight hits in the inning to break the game wide open.

Meanwhile, Yankees ace CC Sabathia was dealing on the mound. He threw eight strong innings, giving up just two runs on four hits while striking out seven. Freddy Garcia came out and threw a eight pitch ninth inning to complete the Yankees 10-2 victory.

Rays 5 Orioles 3

The Rays came into this final series holding onto the slimmest of playoff hopes.  They completed step one Monday night. The game began as a pitchers' duel between Rays starter Alex Cobb and Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen. The Rays struck the first blow of the game in the fourth inning on a solo shot by shortstop Ben Zobrist. In the seventh inning, Orioles catcher Matt Weiters answered with a solo home run of his own.

In the bottom half of the frame, Rays designated hitter Ben Francisco broke the deadlock with a sacrifice fly. Later that inning, catcher Chris Gimenez came through with the big hit, a two-RBI double to deep right. The Rays tapped on one more run in the eight to take the 5-1 lead into the ninth.

In their last at-bats of the game, the Orioles tried to make a comeback. They got halfway there on a two-run home run by right fielder Chris Davis. This forced the Rays to bring in their closer Fernando Rodney. Rodney struggled some, but still managed to close the door on the Rays 5-3 win for his 47th save of the season.

Looking Ahead

The Yankees now lead the AL East by one game. They have decided to start rookie David Phelps tomorrow against Red Sox starter Jon Lester. In the other pivotal matchup, the Orioles will go with Miguel Gonzalez against Rays ace James Shields. If the Yankees win and the Orioles lose, the Yankees will win the division. The Rays must win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Both games tomorrow are scheduled to begin shortly after 7:00.

King Felix Earns Perfect Coronation

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez celebrates the final out of his perfect game, the 23rd one thrown in baseball history. (Ted S. Warren)

Felix Hernandez is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. His pitching prowess has earned him the nickname of King Felix. Despite being an excellent pitcher, the only outstanding accomplishment Hernandez had received was the 2010 AL Cy Young Award. Pitching for the Mariners doesn't help your odds of winning a World Series ring. That meant the biggest accomplishment out their for King Felix to go after was pitching a perfect game. Hernandez has long admitted his desire to pitch perfection, but try after try had come up short.

Hernandez took the mound this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rays leadoff hitter Sam Fuld got a hold of pitch, but Mariners right fielder Eric Thames tracked it down on the warning track in right center field. In the fifth inning, Rays stud third baseman Evan Longoria hit a line drive, but it was directly at Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley. Other than those two instances, Hernandez had little difficulty staying perfect through five innings.

King Felix struck out the side in the sixth inning. With two outs in the seventh inning, Rays manager Joe Maddon came out to argue an arbitrary strike one call to try and mess up Hernandez's rhythm. After Maddon's ejection, King Felix got Rays right fielder Matt Joyce to hit an inning-ending groundout on a full count. After a long delay, Hernandez showed no signs of wavering in the eighth inning when he struck out the side for the second time in three innings.

In the ninth inning, King Felix first faced two pinch hitters in outfielder Desmond Jennings and utility man Jeff Keppinger. Jennings struck out on a fastball low in the zone, and Keppinger grounded out to short for the second out. It seemed as though every member of the Safeco Field home crowd rose to their feet, if they weren't already. Their man was on the brink of perfection. Rays third baseman Sean Rodriguez got ahead in the count 2-0. Hernandez took a stroll off the mound to collect himself before returning to pitch. The next two pitches were breaking balls for strikes. King Felix completed perfection with a called third strike on his 113th pitch of the game.

Hernandez pitched the 23rd perfect game in baseball history and amazingly the third this season, joining Philip Humber and Matt Cain. On June 8, six Mariners pitchers combined for a no-hitter of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mariners became the first team to have a combined no-hitter and a perfect game pitched in the same season. Hernandez, the Venezuelan-born hero, became just the second pitcher born outside of the United States to pitch a perfect game (Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez became the first in 1991). He has worked hard to deserve this distinction. King Felix has finally earned one of the crowning jewels that every pitcher so badly desires. I wish to offer him congratulations on this deserved accomplishment.

Rangers & Rays Offenses Explode in Wins

Rangers outfieler Nelson Cruz had 8 RBIs, including a grand slam. (David Klutho)

With the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays facing off this weekend, everyone expected a lot of power and runs to be scored, but I doubt anyone expected to see this. Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow lasted only 2/3 of an inning and gave up 6 runs. Josh Hamilton and Yorvit Torrealba both hit solo home runs the next two innings. The Rangers added three runs in the 6th, and Nelson Cruz capped things off with a grand slam in the 7th. The Rangers hammered out 18 hits and 14 runs. Cruz matched a career-high with 8 RBIs. The Blue Jays simply could not recover, ultimately losing the game 14-3.

After Franklin Morales threw behind Luke Scott, the benches cleared. (Charles Krupa)

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox really don't like each other. John Lester was on the mound for the Red Sox, but didn't have his A game. The Rays took Lester deep three times. Matt Joyce stuck the big blow with a grand slam in the 3rd. Elliot Johnson and Carlos Pena hit back-to-back bombs in the 4th. With the Rays leading 7-4 in the 6th, Rays reliever Burke Badenhop hit Dustin Pedroia with a pitch. Fast forward to the top of the 9th, same score. Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales threw behind Luke Scott. Scott had some words for Morales, and the benches cleared. No punches were thrown, but lots of words were. Fernando Rodney closed out the win for the Rays in the ninth.

Two very exciting starts to a pair of great weekend series. The Rangers showed again why they have one of the most feared lineups in baseball. I expect the Blue Jays to play better, but Arlington is a tough place to win for anyone. The Rays and the Red Sox were already fired up for this series, but will be even more so now. Things could get interesting with David Price and Josh Beckett on the mound tomorrow. The Rays showed they have just as much hitting to keep up with the Red Sox in any game. We will just have to watch and see how these two series unfold the rest of the weekend.

Lawrie's Suspension Justified, But What About the Umpire?

Photo Credit: Brad White/Getty Images

Unless you play fantasy baseball, you probably were unaware of who Brett Lawrie was until he lost his cool Tuesday night. In case you live in a cave or woke up in a roadside ditch, let me briefly recap what happened. Tuesday night's game was in the bottom of the ninth. The Toronto Blue Jays were up to bat trailing the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Lawrie was batting, and he took a 3-1 pitch that was outside. He began walking to first base, until home plate umpire Bill Miller gave a delayed strike call. A not too pleased Lawrie returned to the batter's box. The full-count pitch was taken by Lawrie because it appeared to be high. Miller called it strike three. An infuriated Lawrie lost his cool and slammed his helmet into the ground near Miller's feet. It bounced up and hit Miller in the leg. Lawrie was immediately ejected from the game. Today, Major League Baseball suspended Lawrie four games and fined him an undisclosed amount. Lawrie did appeal, but nothing is expected to change.

The four-game suspension is a must by MLB. Anytime a player makes contact with an umpire in any way, it must merit a suspension. The length seems appropriate in my opinion. Lawrie apologized after the game and told reporters the helmet took an "unlucky bounce." I believe him when he said he had no intent of injuring Miller. He is only 22 years old and simply reacted immaturely. He has all the talent to be one of the future stars of baseball. I put an emphasis on future. At this point in his career, Lawrie must do a lot of maturing before he can reach that level. Discipline is imperative to success as an athlete both on and off the field. That is something that the youngster must learn. MLB does not want to be represented in this way. It will do all it can to teach Brett Lawrie this lesson the first time.

Now here's the part you may not have considered. There are two guilty parties here. Lawrie is the obvious one, and he has been granted his suspension. The other one is Bill Miller, the home plate umpire, who blew the two calls that caused the whole incident. The 3-1 call was clearly outside, but it is close enough where I will give Miller a break. However, the 3-2 pitch was an egregious blown call that should not be tolerated. There is no possible way that any umpire under unbiased circumstances could call that pitch a ball. Miller was clearly unhappy that Lawrie started walking toward first base following the 3-1 pitch. He decided right there and then that any ball near the plate would be a called third strike. Miller made the ridiculous strike three call and invoked the reaction from Lawrie.

I can hear the objections now. Miller is teaching the young kid a lesson. Miller's human, he simply missed the call. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels purposely hit young phenom Bryce Harper with a pitch. MLB suspended him five games. Therefore, you can't allow umpires to "teach" players lessons, without suspending them as well. I know Miller is human, but so is Lawrie. Lawrie made a mistake and got the suspension he deserved. Miller makes an egregious error, but warrants no suspension. How can this be? Bill Miller allowed his judgment as an umpire to be impaired when making that strike three call. For that, he must be suspended in my opinion. His inability to control his feelings is what led to the entire incident. Bill Miller owes baseball an apology and deserves a suspension. That would be justice served completely.