The American League East often is called the toughest division.

Friday, however, the AL West dominated the East with four shutouts.

The A’s blanked the Yankees 2-0, the Mariners beat the Jays 4-0, the Rangers pounded the first-place Red Sox 7-0 and the Angels limited the Orioles to just three hits in a 3-0 win.

STATS Inc. says it’s the first time one division shut out another four times in a day since 1981 and third time ever since divisional play started in 1969. The NL West did it to the NL East on May 12, 1981, and the AL East did it to the AL West on June 7, 1969.

We’ll see how things turn out tonight.

Chances are it won’t happen again for a long time.

– Rick Green

By MIKE COPPER

mike.copper@timesnews.com

Chris Cron regards himself as a teacher of baseball as much as a manager. Maybe more teacher than manager.
It’s why he loves to be hands-on during the Erie SeaWolves’ pregame workouts.
Cron can still be found hitting grounders and fungo-bat fly balls. However, standing behind the mesh netting while tossing batting practice is out for now.
That duty has been delegated to pitching coach Ray Burris while Cron recovers from long-delayed shoulder surgery.
“For me, I did it because I wanted to be able to do normal activities,” Cron said. “I want to be like the people who are reading this article; just get up and reach for a gallon of milk and be able to pour it.”
Doing such a prosaic task without pain is why Cron, like so many in baseball, marveled at what 49-year old Jamie Moyer achieved April 17.
That was the date Moyer — one year, four months and 12 days older than Cron — became oldest pitcher ever to win a major league game. The left-hander went the first seven innings of the Colorado Rockies’ 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Coors Field.
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Baseball finally came to Erie Insurance Arena.

Sort of.

Erie SeaWolves’ sluggers Rawley Bishop and Jordan Lennerton each hit unique home runs during Wednesday afternoon’s 2-1 victory over the Akron Aeros. Because of ongoing renovations to the arena, they saw their solo shots land in an open space between Jerry Uht Park’s new left-field wall and the arena’s impending sky boxes.

The balls actually landed somewhere amid construction equipment inside the facility.

Those homers comprised all of the offense for Erie, which improved to 20-18 at the conclusion of its 6-1 home stand. Akron (23-14) remained in first place in the Eastern League’s Western Division, although the SeaWolves and Harrisburg are crowding them.

– Mike Copper

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It’s a big weekend for two of baseball’s top-slugging prospects. The Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper and Los Angeles’ Angels’ Mike Trout were called up Friday.

Harper hasn’t been in the minors long — just 129 games — but injuries to Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman likely pushed up the timetable on Harper. Harper, a 19-year-old outfielder and the top pick in the 2010 draft, was hitting .250 with one homer and three RBIs in 20 games in Triple-A.

Trout’s move came coupled with the Angels’ decision to release veteran Bobby Abreu in hopes of sparking a slumping offense. Abreu, who the Cleveland Indians had interest in toward the end of spring training, has five hits in 27 plate appearances this season.

Trout, a 20-year-old outfielder, is more seasoned than Harper. Trout, who was hitting .403 in Triple-A this season, hit .220 with five homers, 16 RBIs and had four steals in 40 games with the Angels last season.

–It was nice to see Justin Masterson post a solid start Friday after struggling in his prior three starts. Masterson, who reached the ninth inning before Vinnie Pestano struck out the final two batters, struck out five and walked five in his no-decision against the Angels. The Indians rallied for a 3-2 win as Asdrubal Cabrera knocked in the winner with a walk-off single in the ninth.

Masterson has struggled against left-handers this year before Friday, and (in his previous three starts) he had given up 15 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. Masterson, a right-hander, throws from a low arm slot, which makes him extremely effective against righties. Last season, his numbers were decent against lefties for most of the season, too. However, before Friday, left-handed hitters had a .929 OPS (on-base plus slugging) against him.

The Indians need Masterson (0-2) to maintain control against lefties and continue to go deep into games if they intend to contend in the AL Central.

–Tony Battaglia

Starting lineups for Thursday’s Eastern League game between the Bowie Baysox and the Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park:

Bowie Baysox (2-5): 1. Buck Britton LF, 2. L.J. Hoes CF, 3. Zelous Wheeler 3B, 4. Manny Machado SS, 5. Tyler Townsend DH, 6. Caleb Joseph C, 7. Robbie Widlansky RF, 8. Brandon Waring 1B, 9. Jonathan Schoop 2B.

Starting pitcher: Jacob Petit LH (0-0, 3.00 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (2-3): 1. Jamie Johnson CF, 2. Niuman Romero SS, 3. Tony Plagman LF, 4. Rawley Bishop 3B, 5. Jordan Lennerton 1B, 6. Bryan Pounds DH, 7. Rob Brantly C, 8. Brandon Douglas 2B, 9. Michael Rockett RF.

Starting pitcher: Jay Voss LH (0-1, 9.64 ERA).

– Mike Copper

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The Tampa Bay Rays signed former Erie SeaWolves pitcher Fernando Rodney to a one-year contract, with an option for 2013. The right-hander reliever comes east from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whom he played for the last two seasons.

Rodney, 34, was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1997. The Dominican native worked his way up through their minor-league system, which included small portions of the 2001 and 2002 Eastern League seasons with the SeaWolves.

In 25 Double-A games for Erie, Rodney was 1-0 with a 2.02 earned-run average and 12 saves. He was promoted to the Tigers later in 2002, and pitched for the parent franchise until 2009.

– Mike Copper

For a team that wasn’t suppose to be in the running for baseball’s premier talent this offseason, the Los Angeles Angels made a huge splash in baseball’s  hot stove Thursday.

The Angels signed former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols for 10 years and between $250million-$260 million, according to sources. As if signing one of baseball’s best hitters wasn’t enough, the Angels also agreed to a five-year, $77.5 million deal with former Texas Rangers starter C.J. Wilson.

Wow.

The moves make the Angels an instant contender for the 2012 World Series.

I think Cleveland Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said it best when referring to Pujols: “I would’ve preferred he stayed in the National League.”

It will be interesting to see how Pujols adjusts to AL pitchers.

In St. Louis and Texas, the sting of losing two of the key players in the 2011 World Series will be felt by both clubs. The question is: How long will it take before both teams fill needs and adjust to the losses?

–Tony Battaglia