“I might have come out a little too amped up,” McCarthy told the Associated Press. “I was rushing things a little bit. Once I was able to slow things down, I was OK.
“I think I had gotten a little too fine, trying to pinpoint [pitches] instead of just letting it go.”
He’s posted a 4.67 earned-run average in five starts this season. He out dueled former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay on April 21. McCarthy gave up three runs and six hits in six innings in Toronto’s 5-4 road win against the Toronto Blue Jays. He walked two and struck out two.
He’s struck out 18 and walked 12 in 27 innings this season.
McCarthy is next scheduled to start Thursday against the host Oakland Athletics. The Rangers were 12-12 and in second place in the American League’s West Division entering Monday’s road game against the first-place Seattle Mariners.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman: Sanchez, a two-time All-Star pick, finished with a pair of doubles and scored one run in Pittsburgh’s 7-4 home loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
Sanchez has hit safely in seven of his last 10 games, picking up at least two hits in four of those contests. He’s batting .330 with two home runs and nine runs batted in.
The Pirates fell to 12-13 and are in fifth place in the National League’s Central Division.
Mark Loretta (St. Francis High, 1989) Los Angeles Dodgers infielder: The two-time All-Star continues to flourish in his role as a versatile infielder for the Dodgers, who were 18-8 and in first place in the National League West Division entering Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 37-year-old Loretta, who signed as a free agent with the Dodgers last offseason, is batting .391 with no home runs and three runs batted in.
He went hitless in three plate appearances Sunday in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win against the San Diego Padres. Loretta has hit safely in five of his last 10 games, including a run-scoring single in the Dodgers’ 8-5 win against the Padres on Thursday.
