Matt Moore struck out nine on his way to becoming the first Tampa Bay pitcher to win five games in April. The young left-hander joined Boston’s Clay Buchholz as MLB’s only five-game winners this month. Moore surrendered three hits and one earned run in six innings of work.
Moore’s 1.13 ERA is second lowest in the majors behind St. Louis right-hander Jake Westbrook (0.98).
Moore benefited from a two run homer by Ben Zobrist in the first inning before his night got started. Tampa Bay went on to pound out 19 hits against White Sox pitching in the 10-4 win.
“It seems like every time we’ve been on the road I’ve had a lead going into the bottom of the first,” Moore said. “That makes it so much easier for a starting pitcher to kill those nerves or anxiousness going out there. … It’s very encouraging seeing that happening in the top of the inning. The 19 hits and 10 runs allowed were a season-high against the White Sox.
Tampa Bay will try to salvage a split in the weekend series when they send left-hander David Price (0-2, 2.52 ERA) against Chicago right-hander Dylan Axelrod (0-1, 3.80 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale.
