Struggles for Meche, Peavy, Burnett, Hughes, Chapman

On Monday, March 22, both the winning and losing pitchers struggled and finished the game with 6.55 ERAs as the Royals defeated the White Sox 9-5. It was a day that signaled hope for some players and concerns about others.
Kansas City RHP Gil Meche left because of a stiff shoulder after producing a pitching line of 343311. White Sox RHP Jake Peavy’s ERA really soared with his line of 3 10 7704. Royals reserve middle infielders Willie Bloomquist (.556 average) and Mike Aviles (.538) continued to hit. Let’s see how they do back in KC.
In the Tigers’ 8-2 victory over the Blue Jays, Detroit 3B Brandon Inge hit his first home run this spring. He’s recovering from surgery on both knees, but manager Jim Leyland expects Inge to be ready for Opening Day.
The Phillies roughed up Yankees RHPs A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes to win 9-7. Starter Burnett had a line of 475534, and Hughes’ line of 4 1/3 4406 included three homers. SS Wilson Valdez went deep against Hughes in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game.
In one of the spring’s best performances, Indians RHP Fausto Carmona looked like the 19-game-winning 1997 model Carmona in a 9-2 victory over the Cubs. His line was 620002, and Chicago manager Lou Piniella said Carmona had the “best start of any of the pitchers who’ve faced us.” Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija clung to his hope of landing a spot in their rotation with a line of 442224 that improved his ERA to 6.75.
3B Ryan Zimmerman and LF Josh Willingham hit two homers and drove in three runs apiece against Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey, whose line was 4 2/3 76513 in a 7-5 loss to the Nationals.
The Rockies defeated the Reds 9-1, but the news was all about Cincinnati rookie LHP Aroldis Chapman’s difficulty – a line of 1 2/3 24022 before leaving the game because of a stiff lower back. SS Drew Sutton’s error led to the runs. Colorado 1B Brad Eldred did some damage with two homers, and LHP Jorge De La Rosa dominated with a line of 5 1/3 31115. The Reds’ only run came on OF Drew Stubbs’ third homer.
Back to Chapman. His injury was diagnosed as back spasms, on a day when backs were all over the news. Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols underwent an MRI exam and received an anti-inflammatory injection because of a tight lower back.