American League Roundup: Loaiza unlikely ace for White Sox

Non-roster-player-turned-ace shuts down Baltimore in 3-1 victory

? A month ago, Esteban Loaiza was a non-roster player trying to make the starting rotation of the Chicago White Sox.

Now he’s the ace of the staff, dominating the opposition in a fashion that White Sox manager Jerry Manuel hasn’t seen in nearly a decade.

Loaiza took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning Tuesday night and won his fourth straight start, leading Chicago over the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1.

Signed as a free agent after going 9-10 with Toronto last season, Loaiza emerged from spring training as the first White Sox pitcher to make the starting rotation as a non-roster invitee since Danny Darwin in 1997.

The right-hander since has accounted for a third of Chicago’s 12 wins. “He’s really performed extremely well. He’s a hot guy right now,” Manuel said. “The mixing of pitches, changing speeds, attacking the strike zone — he’s doing everything.”

Asked to recall a pitcher that was so overwhelming, Manuel said, “I think the last one I saw was probably Dennis Martinez, when he was with Montreal. You knew he would be good every time out.”

Loaiza struck out eight, walked none and hit two batters in lowering his ERA to 1.24. It’s almost as if he’s a completely different pitcher than the one that started the season with a 69-73 lifetime record.

Yankees 8, Angels 3

Anaheim, Calif. — On the 100th anniversary of New York’s first game, the Yankees defeated the team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs. Jorge Posada hit his sixth homer of the season, and New York’s rotation improved to 15-0, the best beginning for starting pitchers ever. Jeff Weaver (2-0) allowed three runs and nine hits in 61¼3 innings. Posada hit a two-run homer, and Bernie Williams and Jason Giambi each had two hits and two RBIs.

Mariners 8, Indians 5

Seattle — Mike Cameron hit a grand slam off Danys Baez in the ninth inning to cap a five-run rally and give Seattle a victory against Cleveland. The Indians scored three times in the top of the ninth to take a 5-3 lead, but Seattle fought back against Baez (0-2). Randy Winn singled, Bret Boone walked, and Edgar Martinez singled home Winn.

Devil Rays 4, Blue Jays 3

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Joe Kennedy allowed three runs over eight innings for a rare win by a Tampa Bay starter and Toby Hall hit a go-ahead single. Kennedy’s victory was just the second by the Devil Rays’ rotation this season and his first since beating the Blue Jays last Sept. 15. He is 5-0 against Toronto, which wasted a three-run lead and dropped to 2-7 on a season-long, 11-game road trip.

Red Sox 5, Rangers 4

Arlington, Texas — Pedro Martinez allowed just an unearned run and three hits in seven innings to lead Boston past Texas. Manny Ramirez homered and had three hits for the Red Sox (14-6), who won for the eighth time in 10 games.

A’s 6, Tigers 5,

11 innings

Oakland, Calif. — Miguel Tejada homered in the bottom of the 11th inning as Oakland sent hapless Detroit to its 17th loss in 18 games this season. Detroit’s dismal start is the worst in baseball since Baltimore began 0-21 in 1988.