In a battle of first-place teams out west, the A's and Rangers faced off in Texas with their respective aces on the mound. Sonny Gray held up his end of the pitching duel, throwing his first career complete game in shutout fashion. Gray allowed just three hits and struck out six Rangers. His 1.76 ERA is the fifth-lowest in the AL.
MLB news: Sonny Gray outduels Yu Darvish, Rays’ struggles continue
Sonny Gray outperformed Yu Darvish as Oakland topped Texas, the White Sox offense kept on scoring and extended the Rays’ struggles in the process, and Justin Morneau continued his hot start to the season.
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Darvish, however, struggled through the shortest outing of his career. He pitched just 3⅓ innings and allowed six hits and four runs before the A's knocked him out of the game. The right-hander's four strikeouts were his lowest total of the season so far. In nine career starts against the A's, Darvish has a 4.73 ERA; only the Red Sox and White Sox have performed better against him during his career.
The night wasn't all lost for Texas, as center fielder Leonys Martin turned a pretty spectacular double play while taking a chunk out of the outfield wall at Global Life Park in the process. Josh Reddick was initially ruled safe at first base, but replay review confirmed that Prince Fielder did indeed reach first base before him.
White Sox take four-game set over Rays
A tough week for the Rays continued, as they fell to the White Sox, 7-3. After Matt Moore decided to undergo Tommy John surgery last Monday, Tampa Bay dropped five of seven games, falling to 11-15 and last place in the AL East.
Without Moore, Jeremy Hellickson and Alex Cobb, the Rays' starters have been uncharacteristically poor in 2014. Normally among the top rotations in the game, the unit's 4.49 ERA is now the sixth-highest in baseball.
The White Sox have been a different type of surprise, and their win on Monday pushes them above .500 at 14-13. Chicago's offense still leads the majors in runs scored at 5.6 per game, and the White Sox are now second in the AL with 32 home runs after Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run shot off Jake Odorizzi on Monday.
Morneau, Rockies’ offense continue hot start
Coors Field might prove to be just what Justin Morneau needed. The 32-year-old looked to be on the downslope of his career heading into 2014, but a move to Colorado and a solid April have rejuvenated his bat for the time being. Morneau is batting .351/.376/.628 with six long balls after homering off Arizona's Wade Miley on Monday.
The Rockies went on to beat the Diamondbacks, 8-5, adding to their NL-leading home run tally in the process. Troy Tulowitzki also homered, continuing his hot start to the season.
Tulowitzki is hitting .366/.476/.720 for Colorado in 2014, leading an offense that has propelled the Rockies to a 15-12 start.
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