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Rays rookie gets silent treatment, so he high-fives air

Ramirez has allowed nine runs (six earned) in 13 1/3 innings over his last two starts and is winless in his past three outings.

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The Chicago White Sox have lost eight of their last 10 games. 500 record (53-54), yet are still in the thick of the playoff race.

“It was awesome”, Shaffer said of the dugout antics. I looked up at them in the stands just to see what they were doing once I got on deck. “If you had to do it over, I would do exactly the same thing”.

But Boxberger disagreed, saying the Rays should have walked Abreu but pitched to Cabrera. “But it’s not my choice”. Ramirez led off with a single and stole second and tried to score from there on a single by Adam LaRoche. Casali’s throw glanced off shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera’s glove and struck the side of his head, knocking him down (and later out of the game) and allowing Eaton to advance to third.

Nobody with the team, though, is suggesting the four-time All-Star is injured, and the White Sox have him pointed toward a start Monday against the Los Angeles Angels to open a three-game series and a six-game homestand.

But as he walked by the huddle, the club swallowed him up and the party began. Boxberger said he didn’t know until it was called he would be walking Cabrera. It’s a play that reinforces what you saw for most of the season.

“When I start my at-bat, all my weight is in the back and then when the pitch is coming all my weight is in the front. It’s the manager’s decision, and that’s what he wanted to do”. Shaffer even did his part, celebrating with imaginary teammates.

Pressed about it further, he basically said the same thing as Kiermaier.

“Just got to be better”, Rodon said after losing a third consecutive start at home.

Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Chris Davis added an RBI single later in the inning as the Orioles rallied from an early six-run deficit to pull out an 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Shaffer, meet the silent treatment.

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If building blocks for 2016 and beyond are what really matter in the last 56 games of 2015, then the small but perhaps important step taken by right fielder Avisail Garcia was the most important “W” of the day. He’s just not getting the results.

Richie Shaffer