Some have slumped, while others have simmered. Here's our weekly review of who's running hot and cold around major-league baseball.
Stats through May 15
HOT PITCHERS
AL -- Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
Tanaka went 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 15 strikeouts in starts against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 9 and New York Mets on May 14. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 strikeouts in three May appearances. The start against the Mets became his first complete game since joining the Yankees. Overall, he's 6-0 with a 2.17 ERA and 66 strikeouts this season.
NL -- Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
Cueto has continued his stellar play, going 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 16 strikeouts in starts against the Colorado Rockies on May 9 and San Diego Padres on May 15. The right-hander lasted at least eight innings in six consecutive starts from April 16-May 15. He has gone no fewer than seven innings in all nine appearances this season, and he leads the majors in ERA (1.25), strikeouts (76) and WHIP (0.71). Overall, he's 4-2, though he hasn't lost a decision since an April 11 outing against the Tampa Bay Rays.
HOT HITTERS
AL -- David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Ortiz hit .520 (13 for 25) with five home runs and seven RBI in six games from May 9-15 — he hit two homers in back-to-back games against the Twins on May 13 and 14. Extending his run further, he earned at least one hit in eight games from May 6-15, a stretch that raised his batting average from .241 to .303. The lone May game that he has gone without a hit was a 0-for-4 effort in a loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 4. He has 11 home runs and 25 RBI this season.
NL -- Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
Stanton hit .500 (12 for 24) with two RBI in seven games from May 9-15. He owns a major-league-best 17-game hitting streak that stretches from April 29-May 15. He hasn't gone hitless in consecutive games since failing to earn a hit in three straight from April 19-21 against the Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves. Overall, he has hit .325 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI this season.
HOT TEAMS
AL -- Los Angeles Angels
The Angels went 6-1 from May 9-15, a stretch that included winning five of six games on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. The lone loss in the span came against the Blue Jays on May 12, and the pair of three-game winning streaks enjoyed in the span matches a season-best total from April 28-30 after victories over the Cleveland Indians. At 22-18, they are 2½ games behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West.
NL -- San Francisco Giants
The Giants went 5-2 from May 9-15, a stretch that included two victories each over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Offense was a large reason for their success. They scored at least four runs in four of the victories during the span. At 27-15, they own a four-game lead on the Colorado Rockies in the National League West, and they own the most victories in the majors.
(Clockwise from top left) Boston's Clay Buchholz, Minnesota's Chris Colabello, Washington's Danny Espinosa and Miami's Nathan Eovaldi are this week's coldest pitchers and hitters.
COLD PITCHERS
AL -- Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
Buchholz went 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA (nine runs and 20 hits allowed) in starts against the Texas Rangers on May 9 and Minnesota Twins on May 15. The right-hander allowed 10 hits apiece in both appearances, and he has failed to last beyond 6 1/3 innings in all but one of his eight starts this season (he went seven innings in a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 26). Overall, he's 2-3 with a 6.17 ERA this season.
NL -- Nathan Eovaldi, Miami Marlins
Eovaldi went 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA (eight runs and 16 hits allowed) in starts against the San Diego Padres on May 10 and San Francisco Giants on May 15. The right-hander failed to last beyond five innings in both appearances. Before then, he had lasted at least six innings in each of his previous seven starts. He has a 6.06 ERA in three May appearances. Overall, he's 2-2 with a 3.62 ERA this season.
COLD HITTERS
AL -- Chris Colabello, Minnesota Twins
Colabello went 0 for 18 with 10 strikeouts in six games from May 9-15. The slump is his longest of the season, and it followed a six-game hitting streak from May 3-8. His batting average dipped from .271 to .238 in the six-game slide. He has hit .135 in May. He has four home runs and 30 RBI this season, though he hasn't produced a run since totaling two RBI in a loss to the Cleveland Indians on May 8.
NL -- Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
Espinosa hit .091 (2 for 22) with nine strikeouts in six games from May 9-14. He failed to earn more than one hit in a game in 12 consecutive contests from May 2-14. He struck out twice in three of the games from May 9-14, a struggle that has contributed to him batting .116 in May. He has hit .228 with six home runs and 10 RBI this season.
COLD TEAMS
AL -- Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays went 3-4 in games from May 9-15. The slide included the conclusion of a 1-5 homestand. Victories over the Seattle Mariners on May 13 and May 14 marked the first consecutive wins for Tampa Bay since winning three in a row over the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees from May 1-2. At 18-24, the Rays are 4½ games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. Only the Houston Astros have fewer victories in the AL with 14.
NL -- Chicago Cubs
The Cubs were 1-5 in games from May 9-15. They failed to score more than two runs three times in the slide, which included three losses to the Atlanta Braves and two to the St. Louis Cardinals. After winning three consecutive games from April 30-May 3, they went 2-9 in games from May 4-15. At 13-26, they trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 12 games in the National League Central and own the worst record in the majors.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Aroma still matters. Hope there's a bad scent of old colognes mixing in dugout tonight. Let's stir up some nostalgia pic.twitter.com/TgXnZkFe2S
— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) May 14, 2014
Hey, they must mask the stink somehow. The Tampa Bay Rays were in a funk leading into their game Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners. They flew to the West Coast after a 1-5 homestand, only to receive a 12-5 throttling from the Mariners on Monday at Safeco Field. So manager Joe Maddon lightened the mood by asking players and staff members to spray on old-school colognes and aftershaves before taking the field. The night ended with a 2-1 victory, and the Rays followed that effort with a 2-0 win in the series finale Wednesday. In this case, an odor intervention was a good idea.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
