Brandon McCarthy, Marco Estrada look to bounce back
The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players.
Brandon McCarthy (Glendale native) starting pitcher, Oakland Athletics: After spending nearly two months on the disabled list because of a strained right shoulder, McCarthy has rounded back into form with two quality appearances. However, he’s encountered some tough luck, including seeing his career-best six-game unbeaten streak come to a close Wednesday night against the host Kansas City Royals.
McCarthy, a right-hander who was the Athletics’ opening-day starter, is looking to keep Oakland in the hunt for one of two available wild-card spots in the American League. Making his second appearance since coming off the disabled list Friday, McCarthy (6-4) lost for the first time since April 21 against the Cleveland Indians. He gave up three runs (two earned) and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. McCarthy struck out four and didn’t walk a batter during his 94-pitch performance. He threw 63 strikes before being replaced by Scott Doolittle.
McCarthy allowed an unearned run in the first inning against the Royals before retiring eight in a row. Oakland took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, but Kansas City scored a pair of earned runs in the seventh.
McCarthy is 6-1 with a 2.45 earned-run average in his last nine starts for Oakland, which dropped to 61-55 and is in second place in the American League’s West Division.
‘’It stunk,’’ McCarthy told the Associated Press. ‘’It was a bad loss for us across the board.
“These are games we expect to win and games we have been winning all year. I’m not happy with myself. There are a lot of things I could have done better. Giving up runs, I don’t like to do that. I don’t like doing it late in the game. I don’t like doing it with two outs.’’
In his first start back from the disabled list, McCarthy held a 3-0 lead before the Chicago White Sox scored three runs against him in six-plus innings. He served up a solo home run in the seventh to Dayan Viciedo to knot it at 3.
Oakland will conclude it’s series today with Kansas City before beginning a weekend series against visiting Cleveland.
Marco Estrada (Glendale Community College, 2003) starting pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers: Estrada, a right-hander who helped Milwaukee win the National League’s Central Division last season, continues to search for his first victory of the season. His next opportunity will be Thursday, when Milwaukee meets the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.
Estrada, who is 0-5 with a 4.36 ERA, has gone nearly a year since winning his last game. Estrada’s last victory came Aug. 23, 2011, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then, he’s recorded 14 consecutive starts (28 overall appearances) without a win. In his last start Saturday against the host Houston Astros, Estrada yielded four runs in four innings and struck out three in Milwaukee’s 6-5 defeat.
‘’I just felt completely out of whack out there,’’ Estrada told the Associated Press. ‘’It was the worst I’ve felt all year, and I let a bad team beat me.’’
On Aug. 5, Estrada allowed one run in seven innings, but suffered a 3-0 loss against the hostSt. Louis Cardinals.
The Brewers are 52-64 and in fourth place.
