So the American League Central standings are the same as they were two weeks ago, at least in terms of the order of the teams but some things have changed. The White Sox are still in first place and the Twins are still bringing up the rear but the Twins have picked it up a bit are now only a half a game out of last place.
Anyway, let’s get to the division recap and see what’s happening in the middle of the country, shall we?
Chicago White Sox
The South Siders are still on top of the division standings with despite being only 5-5 in their last 10 games. They have actually lost two out of the first three series this month. They won their first series against Seattle but then lost two out of three to both the Blue Jays and to the Houston Astros this past weekend. They’re in the midst of a series with the St Louis Cardinals this week and won the first contest.
The big story so far this season for the White Sox? Well, there are several: Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn and Chris Sale. Paul Konerko is winning a battle against Father Time, Adam Dunn is winning a battle against the Grimm Reaper — he has pretty much come back from the dead — and Chris Sale is mowing people down whenever he pitches.
Want to find out more about the pale Sox? Visit South Side Hit Girl.
Cleveland Indians
Hanging in there in second place is Cleveland. They are also 5-5 in their last 10 but only have one series loss so far this month. This weekend they took two out of three from the St Louis Cardinals behind good pitching. Even in their one loss on Saturday, they held the Cardinals to two runs. Unfortunately for the Indians, they didn’t score any and were shut out by Kyle Loshe. But there is good news for Cleveland. They’re in the midst of a nine game road trip and are 4-3 so far. They have two more games against the Cincinnati Reds before they finish up their road trip. After that, they will be welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three game set and will have a rematch against the Reds at home.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are definitely the team who has not lived up to expectations so far this season. They’re in third place, they’re five games under .500 and are currently six games back in the standings. After dropping their first two series of the month to the New York Yankees and Indians, they were able to win two out of three this weekend against the Reds. Including a big win on Sunday that saw the Tigers rally from a 6-3 deficit to win 7-6. The big story of that game was their ability to score runs late against hard throwing Aroldis Chapman which resulted in his second loss of the season.
One would think a win like that would spark a team but the Tigers ended up losing to the Chicago Cubs last night at Wrigley. To be fair, the Tigers are dealing with their fair share of injuries this season but as they say, it’s getting late early.
To read up on everything Tigers, please visit Motown Lowdown
Kansas City Royals
Poor Kansas City. They are dreadful at home. They are 9-20 at Kauffman Stadium which is by far the worst home record in the majors and they’re 4-6 in their last 10 games.
You know things are rough for your team when this is what gets you headlines:
Screencap from mlb.com
That’s Bruce Chen being interviewed while teammate Humberto Quintero is, well, he’s doing something that you usually see children doing because they don’t know any better.
At least started this week off right for the Royals, with a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at home last night.
For everything royal blue, visit Drinking the Royals Blue Aid
Minnesota Twins
The Twins who are still in last place, have made a bit of a run in the past week winning seven of their last 10 games. In fact, of all the teams in the AL Central, they’ve had the best run so far in June. How about that? Despite that ran, they’re five games under .500 and still eight and a half games out of first place but they are only half a game behind the Royals in a battle of the cellar dwellers.
The Twins beat the Phillies last night with a 17-hit barrage that included home runs from Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham. With any luck, the Twins will beat up on the equally hapless Phillies and maybe move up into fourth place!
