Starting pitching situation bleak

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This is more like what this year’s Los Angeles Angels were expecting.
Thursday night the Angels won their fifth in a row, downing the Kansas City Royals 5-4 thanks to home runs from Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo and Chris Ianetta. The win pulled the Angels even with the Seattle Mariners for third place in the AL West and gave roughed-up pitcher Joe Blanton his first win of the season in nine starts.
The Angels are now 20-27 and the highest they’ve been in the standings since April 27. It’s not proof that everything is right in Anaheim, but it’s a promising sign that things are getting better.
The most impressive moment for the Angels came early: Trout’s first inning home run traveled 463 feet, the longest of his career, the third longest this week and 11th longest of the season, according to Home Run Tracker .

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Cleveland’s surge to the top of the AL Central standings has been primarily fueled by offense. The Indians piled up 12 runs and 16 hits in Thursday’s romp at Boston, and for the year they’re second in runs scored, trailing only Detroit. The Tribe continues to get on base (fourth in OBP) and knock down the walls (first in homers and slugging). Keep your pitchers away from these guys.
The pitching hasn’t been nearly as sharp, posting a 4.07 ERA (19th in the majors). But let’s take a second to appreciate Thursday’s winning pitcher, emerging 25-year old Zach McAllister .
McAllister scored his fourth win of the year at Fenway and it was, curiously enough, his worst outing of the season (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K). A captain of consistency, McAllister has allowed three runs or less in all nine of his turns, fashioning a 2.89 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. His strikeout rate is nothing special this year (6.27/9), a dip from his 2012 clip, but he’s collecting 2.73 whiffs for every walk. McAllister isn’t going to beat himself, you have to beat him.

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The Cincinnati Reds rolled through a nine-game road trip, and with the struggling Chicago Cubs coming to town Friday night, there’s little reason to think one of the best home teams in the majors won’t continue its success.

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Edwin Jackson takes the mound as the Cubs aim to salvage the series in Pittsburgh after dropping the first two games to the Pirates by just one run. The Cubs are just 6-12 in one-run games.

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PITTSBURGH — Francisco Liriano seemed to turn back the hands of time.

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Pitching has been vital to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ recent surge, but improvement from the offense may be more important to beating Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija for the first time.

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Matt Garza returns to the mound as the Cubs square off in Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Join the conversation on Cubs Pulse.

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Cubs pitcher Matt Garza will be making his season debut tonight as the North Siders face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Catch all the action on Comcast SportsNet beginning at 6:00.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Julio Teheran pitched 8 1-3 strong innings, Dan Uggla hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves won their fourth straight game with a 5-1 victory over the struggling Minnesota Twins on Monday.

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