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Author: Dave Riggert

Paulino comes off DL to quiet Yankees in Royals’ win

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Felipe Paulino came off the disabled list to toss six shutout innings, Billy Butler drove in three runs and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Saturday night.

Paulino (1-0) retired 11 straight to start the game and did not allow a ball out of the infield until Raul Ibanez singled with one out in the fifth. Paulino gave up only four hits and walked two while striking out six in his first start of the season.

Butler doubled in the first and again in the fifth, each time driving in Alex Gordon, who matched a career high with four hits. Gordon also drove in a run with a double in the sixth.

Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) allowed two runs in the first inning, one earned, which kept up a strange trend. Nine of the 18 runs he’s given up this season have come in the first.

Russell Martin’s long homer off Jose Mijares in the seventh inning represented the only run for the Yankees, who have struggled at the plate for the better part of a week.

Derek Jeter had been swinging the hottest bat on the team, but he went 0 for 4 and left four on base while also committing an error at shortstop in the first inning. Mark Teixeira also went 0 for 4.

The Royals capitalized when Jeter misplayed a grounder by Jarrod Dyson to lead off the game. Gordon followed with a clean single to right field, and Butler delivered a scorching RBI double down the third-base line to bring home both runs.

Kansas City added another in the fifth when Gordon singled for the third straight at-bat. He was running when Butler doubled into the right-field gap, allowing him to score from first.

The Royals built a cushion for their up-and-down bullpen in the sixth.

Light-hitting Chris Getz drew a leadoff walk and Alcides Escobar followed with a base hit, putting runners on the corners. Dyson’s shallow fly to left field was enough to score Getz, and Gordon’s double moments later gave Kansas City a 5-0 lead.

The way Paulino was pitching, that should have been more than enough.

After starting the season on the DL with a strained right forearm, Paulino came out flashing a 96 mph fastball that befuddled the Yankees. He didn’t allow a baserunner until Alex Rodriguez walked with two outs in the fourth, and Paulino didn’t allow a hit until the fifth.

After working out of that trouble, he got some help from Jeff Francoeur in the sixth.

Curtis Granderson doubled to lead off the inning, but he should have known better than to run on the Royals’ right fielder. Francoeur settled under a fly ball by A-Rod and then made a pinpoint throw to punch out Granderson tagging up for third base.

It was the Francoeur’s American League-leading fifth outfield assist and the 102nd of his career. He followed up by making a sliding grab on a fly ball by Teixeira to end the inning.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State baseball splits with Lincoln

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Chris Green recorded his 12th-career win on the mound Saturday afternoon ranking him tied for ninth all-time as he led the Northwest Missouri State University baseball team to a 4-2 win in game one of a doubleheader with the Lincoln University Blue Tigers.  The Bearcats would fall 6-4 in game two.

With the split, Northwest now sits at 16-32 overall and 15-23 in the MIAA while the Tigers are now 8-38 overall and 8-29 in conference play.

In game one, Green pitched the entire seven inning contest as he allowed just two earned runs while scattering six hits and striking out a career-high eight batters.

The Blue Tigers scored their only runs of game one in the second inning off of three hits and a Bearcat error.

Northwest would take a 3-2 lead in the fourth as hits from Tyler Durant and Jake Kretzer set the table for Geno DeAngelis to deliver a two-out, two-run single.

The Bearcats added a run in the sixth on a successful squeeze bunt by Landinn Eckhardt.

Cameron Bedard led the Bearcats offensively in game one recording two hits.

Game two saw another stellar pitching performance but this time from Lincoln’s Taylor Klugman as he would record the complete game win.

The Bearcats would jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the first but Lincoln would answer in the second taking the 2-1 advantage.

Northwest tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth thanks to hits from Eric Swain and Steven Garber but the Blue Tiger’s bats would come alive in the eighth as they would plate four unearned runs off of four hits to take the 6-2 advantage.

The Bearcats answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth but that would be as close as they would get.

Chase Anderson recorded the tough-luck loss on the mound for Northwest pitching 7.2 innings while allowing just one earned run, six hits and striking out six.

Cameron Bedard and Eric McGlauflin recorded two hits each for the Bearcats offensively.

Up Next: The Bearcats and Blue Tigers conclude their four-game series and the 2012 season tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader from Bearcat Field.  First pitch of game one is slated for noon.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

St. Louis loses second straight at Houston

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Chris Johnson hit his first career grand slam, Bud Norris continued his dominance of the Cardinals and the Houston Astros beat St. Louis 8-2 on Saturday night to win a fifth consecutive game for the first time since late 2010.

The victory earned the Astros their second consecutive home series win with a game to spare. The last time the Astros won five straight was Aug. 22-26, 2010.

Norris (2-1) limited the Cardinals to one unearned run on three hits over six innings to improve to 7-2 in 11 career starts against them.

Left-hander Jaime Garcia (2-2) was charged with six runs on four hits in six innings for the Cardinals, who lost their season-worst third straight. Garcia walked four and struck out two for his second loss in as many starts.

Jed Lowrie hit a two-run home run in the eighth off Cardinals reliever J.C. Romero for the final margin. It was originally ruled an RBI double, but after a review the umpiring crew changed it to a homer after seeing the ball bounce off the railing above the yellow line over the left-field wall. It was Lowrie’s fourth home run of the season.

Justin Maxwell went 2 for 3 with two doubles, an RBI, a run scored and a walk in his fourth start for the Astros since being picked up off waivers from the New York Yankees on April 8.

Johnson more than made up for a fielding error in the top of the first by taking Garcia deep on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom half to give the Astros a 4-1 lead. The slam came in Johnson’s second start since he went 4 for 4 with two home runs and a career-high six RBIs in Wednesday’s 8-1 win over the New York Mets.

Garcia had walked Brian Bogusevic, Carlos Lee and Jed Lowrie to load the bases for Johnson.

The Cardinals got on the board first with Carlos Beltran’s RBI single to right field that scored Rafael Furcal, who singled to lead off the game and reached third a batter later when Johnson failed to secure a ground ball.

Maxwell, who started at center field in place of Jordan Schafer, put the Astros ahead 5-1 with an RBI double in the fourth to plate Johnson, and Norris added a run an out later with a sacrifice fly.

After a shaky first, Norris was dominant the next three innings, at one point retiring eight in a row. He allowed three walks in the sixth, including one to David Freese with two outs to load the bases, before getting catcher Yadier Molina to ground into a forceout to end the inning.

Norris, who walked four, struck out four and drove in a run, got his first win since April 19 at Washington. The Astros improved to 5-1 with Norris as the starter.

Matt Holiday hit an RBI single off Astros reliever David Carpenter in the eighth inning to score John Jay and cut the Astros’ lead to four before Lowrie went deep.

— Associated Press —

Griffon softball loses NCAA Tourney opener in extra innings

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The Missouri Western softball team fell in a close extra inning battle in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional against Texas Woman’s University. The Pioneers scored an unearned run in the top of the eighth earning the 4-3 victory. The Griffons fall to 42-12 with the loss. Western will play the loser of Angelo State and St. Edwards University in an elimination game tomorrow at 4:30 pm.

Things started well for the Griffons with Jackie Bishop setting the Pioneers down in order in the first and second innings. Bishop struckout four of the first eight Texas Woman’s batters.

In the bottom half of the first Western used a walk and an error by the Pioneer short stop putting runners on first and third. Western then pulled out the double steel with Blair Stalder stealing second and Bre Fleschner stealing home giving Western the 1-0 lead. Western loaded the bases with two outs but a foul out by Leah Steele ended the Griffons threat.

In the third inning Bishop battled out of a base loaded jam giving up just one run on two hits. Bailey Vrazel singled up the middle which scored pinch runner Haley Leopold from second base. Bishop got Katie Hines to pop up back to her ending the inning.

In the fourth Maegan Roemmich singled up the middle with one out but a ground out by Fleschner and a pop up to right by Sarah Elliott ended the fourth for Western.

In the fifth Bishop got the first two Pioneers out but a single up the middle by Tiffany Weise and homer by Katie Hines gave TWU the 3-1 lead after five and a half. Western answered in their half of the fifth as Stalder led off with single and then scored on a Steele double down the left field line with two outs. Unfortunately Taylor Anding got tossed out at third ending the fifth for Western.

In the top of the sixth inning Bishop got the first batter out and walked Sarah Wittenburg before lightening suspended play at 5:56 pm. When the game resumed at 6:50 pm the Griffons stranded one runner on base heading to the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the sixth pinch hitter Tiffany Gillaspy led off with a double to right center and then scored on a two out single by Sarah Elliott tying the game at three after six. Bishop stranded two Pioneers in the seventh escaping a triple by Addison Staley that went off the glove of Griffon center fielder Kendall Sorenson.

In the seventh for the Griffons, Sorenson hit a one out double to center field but was stranded at second. In the seventh a throwing error by Elliot allowed the Pioneers to take the lead. Western flied out three times in the eighth ending the game.

The Pioneers improve to 37-15 on the year and will take on the winner of Saint Edwards and Angelo State at 2:00 pm tomorrow afternoon.

Western had eight hits with Stalder and Sorenson both getting two hits. Western left 10 runners on base. Jackie Bishop falls to 24-5 on the season as she walked a career high five batters while striking out nine.

The Pioneers had seven hits and also left 10 on base. Vrazel had two hits and one RBI while Katie Hines had two RBI while scoring one run and getting one hit. Larisa Garcia improves to 13-7 on the season walking six and striking out two.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Western baseball beats Fort Hays to clinch MIAA No. 2 seed

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The Missouri Western baseball team clinched the second seed in next weekends MIAA Baseball Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. with a 15-1 run rule victory in the series opener against the Fort Hays State Tigers. Western pounded out 14 hits and capitalized on four Tiger errors in the victory. The Griffons improve to 31-14 overall and 24-11 in MIAA play.

Western got a complete game shutout from senior left hander Ethan Ward as he went all seven innings giving up just five hits while striking out five. He gave up one earned run which came in the bottom of the first inning. Ward improved to 6-2 pitching his second complete game of the season.

Western scored runs in five of the final six innings which included a six run third inning and a four run seventh inning.

Of the Griffons 14 hits six of them were doubles with three coming from Michael Schulze. Schulze went 4-for-4 with three doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Spencer Shockley and Bubba Dotson also ahd two hits for the Griffons. Shawn Egge had three RBI while Tony Loeffler scored two runs and had two RBI.

The Tigers fall to 25-20 on the season and 19-17 in MIAA play. Offensively for the Tigers Nash Smith and Jay Sanders had doubles while Brandon Hoefler knocked in Smith for the Tigers only run of the game. Shawn Lewick falls to 6-4 going 3.2 innings giving up 10 hits and 10 runs with just four being earned.

The two teams will play games two and three tomorrow afternoon with two seven inning games starting at 1:00 pm in Hays, Kan.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Royals give up big seventh inning and get beat by New York

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Leave it to CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter, a couple of grizzled veterans, to give the New York Yankees an uplifting performance when they need it the most.

Jeter hit a two-run homer to break open a close game, Sabathia went eight innings for the third straight time, and the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Friday night. They snapped a three-game skid while also taking a bold first step after losing closer Mariano Rivera to injury.

“We lost three in a row. We didn’t finish up the homestand the way we wanted. We had to deal with what we had to deal with yesterday. I thought it was important that we bounce back,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We cashed in four runs with two outs. It was outstanding.”

An encouraging night began with Rivera’s announcement that he plans to return from a torn ACL and meniscus damage in his right knee rather than retire, and it ended when David Robertson struck out the side in the ninth to give Sabathia (4-0) his fourth straight victory.

“CC steps up when we need it,” said Jeter, who singled and scored on Mark Teixeira’s homer in the first before delivering a two-run shot of his own during a four-run seventh inning.

“He likes to be out there,” Jeter said. “He likes to finish games.”

Jeter’s homer off Bruce Chen (0-4) was his fifth of the season, a number he didn’t reach until Sept. 4 last season. He’s batting a robust .404 this year, though he brusquely dismissed any notion that he’s playing above his own expectations.

“They are very good hitters. Right now Jeter is very hot,” Chen said. “I’m not saying he’s not a good hitter, but like right now, he’s on fire and hitting the ball well.”

The Yankees had reason to celebrate when Jeff Francoeur went down swinging for the final out.

Rivera told his teammates prior to the game that he plans to have surgery to repair a torn ACL and damaged meniscus in his right knee. The injury occurred Thursday night when baseball’s career saves leader was shagging fly balls near the warning track during batting practice.

“I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters,” Rivera said. “I’m not going out like this.”

The news appeared to give the Yankees a lift, especially after dropping their third straight game Thursday night. Sabathia was sharp on the mound and the potent New York lineup finally let loose after struggling to put up runs for the better part of a week.

“It feels good. It always feels good,” Sabathia said, “especially considering everything we’ve been through over the past day.”

Jeter’s leadoff single was his fifth hit in six at-bats in the series, and Teixeira made it hurt when he pounded a 1-1 pitch into the seats overlooking the Royals’ bullpen in left field.

Kansas City answered in the bottom half of the first. Alex Gordon followed a base hit by Jarrod Dyson with an RBI double, and Francoeur’s two-out double tied the game.

The Royals couldn’t have known that’s all the offense they would muster.

Sabathia retired 12 straight after a two-out double by Alcides Escobar in the second. Eric Hosmer broke up the streak with a two-out triple in the sixth that hit the wall just over Curtis Granderson’s head — about two feet shy of clearing the center-field fence.

Francoeur grounded out to end the inning.

Sabathia also left a runner on third in the seventh, when Mike Moustakas doubled leading off and Chris Getz delivered a base hit. Escobar grounded into a double play to end that inning.

Sabathia allowed seven hits and struck out five without issuing a walk.

“I sitting over there during the course of the game, trying to figure out a better left-hander in the game today,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I couldn’t come up with one.”

Chen matched him nearly inning-for-inning until the seventh.

Cano led off with a single, but all the real damage came with two outs. Eduardo Nunez hit a go-ahead triple into the right-field corner, and Chris Stewart followed with an RBI single.

Then the big blow from Jeter, a two-run shot over the center-field wall.

Robertson finished up the game in a non-save situation. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the right-hander would likely get the first chance to save games in place of Rivera, though he did not rule out former Rays closer Rafael Soriano also pitching the ninth.

“We wanted to give him a little experience in that sense, but he also hasn’t worked in three or four days, too,” Girardi said. “You like to keep your relievers going, so we thought we would get him in there.”

— Associated Press —

Cardinal loses series opener at Houston

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There was a particular pitch Jose Altuve was looking for after studying Kyle Lohse in preparation for Friday night’s game.

When he saw that 90 mph, sinker barreling his way, he knew just what to do with it.

Altuve put the Houston Astros on top with a three-run homer in the second inning and they held on for a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I went out today with a plan and I was expecting that pitch,” he said. “He threw it and I hit it really good.”

The win is the fourth straight for the Astros and the second consecutive loss for the National League Central-leading Cardinals.

The game was tied at 2-2 before Altuve’s shot, which a fan in the top row of the Crawford Boxes in left field caught, to give Houston a 5-2 lead.

“He has a nice short swing, and he’s not missing too many pitches that catch too much of the plate, and he did it again tonight,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.

It was another good night for Altuve, who is among the top batters in the NL with a .360 average this season and whose 14 multi-hit games lead the NL.

It is the fifth straight game where the Astros have had at least one homer, which is their longest streak since also homering in five in row from last May 29 to June 2.

Houston starter Lucas Harrell (2-2) gave up seven hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings. Closer Brett Myers allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for his seventh save after three other relievers combined to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Lohse (4-1), who started the season 4-0 for the first time in his career, had his worst outing of the season. He allowed seven hits and five runs — both season highs — in a season-low five innings. Three of his runs were earned the others came because of two errors by the Cardinals.

“He had trouble getting the ball down,” Matheny said. “He got balls in the air. This was a day that he just didn’t have that down bite. When he is up in the zone, it is going to be a tough day for him.”

Lohse was unable to build on the success he had last season against the Astros when he was 2-0.

Jordan Schafer reached in the first inning on a fielding error by Matt Carpenter. Altuve followed with a single and the pair advanced on a double steal. A single by Carlos Lee scored Schafer before Jed Lowrie’s single sent Altuve home to make it 2-1.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first after Rafael Furcal singled and scored when Allen Craig reached on an error by Chris Johnson with two outs.

The miscues continued in the bottom of the second when Schafer reached on an error by Craig, the first baseman, after a single by Harrell. That set up Altuve’s home run.

Carpenter walked with one out in the second inning and later scored on a balk by Harrell to tie it at 2-2.

Jon Jay singled and scored on a triple by Matt Holliday that landed near the bullpen in right center to get St. Louis within 5-3 in the third inning. Harrell was a bit shaken up after landing hard on his chest after diving to try and grab the hit by Jay. He was looked at by trainers and remained in the game.

Holliday scored on a sacrifice fly by Craig to cut the lead to 5-4.

“I thought I was good at the beginning of the game and then the balk really hurt me,” Harrell said. “Then in the third when the wind got knocked out of me, I didn’t take enough time and when I got back up on the mound I kind of rushed and I should have taken a little bit more time.”

The Astros had a chance to add to their lead in the seventh inning after Brian Bogusevic walked after a two-out double by Lowrie. But Johnson grounded out to end the threat.

Yadier Molina singled in the sixth inning before a walk by Skip Schumaker with one out chased Harrell. He was replaced by Wesley Wright, who retired the next two batters to escape the jam.

Schafer walked with two outs in the eighth inning. He has reached base safely in each of the 25 games he’s played this season — tying the longest streak to start a season in franchise history. Denis Menke also reached the mark for the Astros in 1969.

He stole second base for his 11th steal of the season before a fly out by Altuve ended the inning.

— Associated Press —

Royals win finale at Detroit on Getz single in ninth inning

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The Kansas City Royals started strongly for a change and finished with a rare win.

Chris Getz’s infield single in the ninth inning put Kansas City ahead, and the Royals held on to beat Detroit 3-2 Wednesday for their seventh victory this year.

Kansas City completed a 4-3 trip — after losing 12 straight — and starts a homestand Thursday night against the New York Yankees.

“We’re happy,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The Tigers are trying not to get too upset about a slump that has prevented them from winning back-to-back games in two weeks and dropped them to .500 after a 9-3 start.

“Our expectations were we had to win the division by 25 or 30 games — they were pretty unrealistic in the first place,” Detroit catcher Alex Avila said. “Our goal at spring training was to win the division, by one game or 10 games doesn’t matter to us. We’re not happy with the way we’ve played, but that’s part of baseball and no one in this clubhouse is worried about it.”

Joaquin Benoit (0-1) gave up a double to Mike Moustakas, who advanced to third on a groundout and scored when Getz hit a grounder that was too deep into the hole for shortstop Jhonny Peralta to make a strong enough throw to get him out at first.

“Peralta plays up the middle, so I tried to shoot it in the hole,” Getz said.

Tim Collins (1-0) got Prince Fielder to fly out to the warning track in left and struck out Ryan Raburn in the eighth for the victory after Detroit tied the game on Brennan Boesch’s two-run homer earlier in the inning.

Jonathan Broxton gave up a one-out single to Avila and got Andy Dirks to ground out into a game-ending double play for his fourth save in five chances.

Tigers ace Justin Verlander started two innings by letting the leadoff batter get on, and both of those batters scored. Jarrod Dyson opened the game with a walk and scored on Eric Hosmer’s two-out double that ended his 0-for-19 slump. Alex Gordon singled in the sixth and came around on Jeff Francoeur’s groundout.

“The one pitch I want back is the one in the first to Hosmer,” Verlander said. “I got (Billy) Butler with a runner on third, and then I made just a horrible pitch to Hosmer. That’s something I can’t do.

Verlander allowed two runs, six hits and a walk and struck out seven. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and league MVP also hit a batter in his 123-pitch, eight-inning outing.

“The way our kids battled Verlander was impressive,” Yost said.

Kansas City starter Jonathan Sanchez gave up only one hit — with two outs in the fifth — two walks, hit a batter and struck out two in five innings.

“Sanchez used his fastball well,” Yost said. “After battling strep throat the past three days, so he started to lose some energy in the fifth.”

Jose Mijares pitched a perfect sixth inning. Kelvin Herrera allowed two runners to get in scoring position in the seventh, but Aaron Crow kept Detroit scoreless by getting pinch-hitter Ramon Santiago to ground out. Crow, though, gave up Austin Jackson’s leadoff single in the eighth, and Boesch made it 2-all with a line drive over the right-field fence for his fourth homer.

In a 9-3 loss to Detroit on Tuesday night, the Royals gave up five runs after allowing Minnesota to score four in the first inning of a 7-4 setback at Minnesota on Sunday.

A day after being encouraged by his team’s offense, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was disappointed by a lineup that was highly touted just a month ago.

“It looked like we were coming out of it a little, but then we get (five) hits,” Leyland said.

— Associated Press —

Beltran drives in seven as Cards roll past Pittsburgh

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Trying to explain his 3 for 32 slump earlier in the day, Carlos Beltran said he just hadn’t been seeing the ball very well lately. But the St. Louis Cardinals cleanup hitter added several times, it was nothing to worry about.

Beltran said bye-bye to the bad times in a big way, driving in a career-best seven runs with a pair of three-run home runs and RBI single in the first three innings, leading the way as the Cardinals punished A.J. Burnett and the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-3 on Tuesday night.

“Lately, God knows, I’ve been searching at the plate, trying to find my swing, trying to feel comfortable, trying to be able to go out there and have quality at-bats,” Beltran said. “This game can be like this. It’s a funny game. You have to stay positive.”

Manager Mike Matheny found it somewhat humorous after so much pre-game attention was devoted to discussing Beltran’s tailspin.

“I think the one person that wasn’t even beginning to panic was Carlos,” Matheny said. “He just knows what he’s doing. It was nice to see him have a huge day like that.”

Matheny had been set to give Beltran a day off on Thursday and wasn’t sure whether the big day changed anything.

Rookie Lance Lynn (5-0) joined James Shields as the major leagues’ only five-game winners, allowing three hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts to beat the Pirates for the second time in three starts. Lynn has a 1.60 ERA as the replacement starter for Chris Carpenter, sidelined indefinitely with nerve issues in his right shoulder.

“It means we have five wins when I’m pitching, so that’s good,” Lynn said. “That’s all I’m trying to do is help us win when I’m out there. I’m off to a good start and the team’s really been carrying me.”

Burnett (1-2) entered with a 1.38 ERA, and worked seven scoreless innings against the Cardinals for his lone victory on April 21 at home, but trailed 4-0 after six pitches. The right-hander surrendered 12 runs on 12 hits in 2 2/3 innings, as the Pirates tried to save their bullpen.

“I stunk,” Burnett said. “There is nothing more I can say. I was up all night, I couldn’t get anything down. It doesn’t matter who you pitch against, if you get your pitches up you’re going to get hammered.”

The runs allowed topped Burnett’s previous worst of nine on four occasions, the last time Aug. 26, 2011 at Baltimore. He allowed 12 or more hits for the seventh time, exiting one shy of his career worst Aug. 3, 2011 at the Chicago White Sox.

Pirates catcher Rod Barajas was ejected for complaining about home plate umpire Angel Campos’ calls in the second inning, tossing his mask in disgust after a pitch called a ball for a 1-2 count against Beltran. Manager Clint Hurdle was subsequently tossed for defending his player, his first of the season and sixth in his second season with Pittsburgh.

“Things just kind of got a little heated,” Barajas said. “I felt one way, he felt the other way. You get a little frustrated when things don’t go the way you think they should.”

Hurdle said he was frustrated because “We’ve had some disagreements for two days out there. Rod was out there trying to protect his pitcher, making sure we got a fair shake.”

Beltran had one double among his three hits and three RBIs the last nine games, a slump that started three games after he was moved to cleanup. He said after batting practice that he hadn’t been seeing the ball well but several times expressed confidence it would be over soon, then turned it around with his first swing, a three-run shot to right that made it 4-0.

“When I hit the first one out, it was a changeup, I was able to stay on that pitch and drive it out of the ballpark,” Beltran said. “It’s always a good feeling knowing that you’re staying back, you’re seeing the ball well.

“After that i was able to feed off that.”

Beltran had an RBI single in the second before launching another three-run homer in the third that made it 12-1, a drive to left center for Beltran’s team-leading seventh homer after a replay overturned the initial umpire ruling and justified fireworks and a sign in the shape of a truck grill that blinked its headlights even though Beltran initially had to put the brakes on at second base.

Beltran topped his previous RBI high of six and he added a broken-bat single in the fifth to match a career best with his 21st four-hit game.

The top four in the lineup — Rafael Furcal, Jon Jay, Matt Holliday and Beltran — were a combined 9 for 9 with two homers, 10 RBIs and seven runs the first three innings. Jay had three hits and was hit by a pitch his first four trips and is batting .429 with an 11-game hitting streak.

Furcal singled twice with a steal and sacrifice fly, Holliday had two hits, a walk and an RBI and the Cardinals got triples from Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter, who had three hits.

The Cardinals have outscored the Pirates 22-10 the first two games. It was the most lopsided loss for Pittsburgh since a 15-1 whipping at Los Angeles Sept. 18.

The NL Central leaders have won five of six and will go for a three-game sweep Thursday with Jake Westbrook (3-1) opposing Erik Bedard (1-4). The Cardinals have outscored their opponents by 65 runs, best in the majors, after 24 games.

— Associated Press —

KU’s McCay gets eligibility waiver request appeal denied by NCAA

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The NCAA Subcommittee for Legislative Relief said Wednesday it has denied Kansas sophomore wide receiver Justin McCay’s eligibility waiver request appeal. With the denial by the subcommittee, McCay will have to sit out the 2012 season and will be eligible to compete for the Jayhawks in 2013 as a junior.

“Today we received notice from the subcommittee that they rejected Justin McCay’s appeal to be able to play immediately,” said Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis. “They informed our compliance officer that there wasn’t that one catastrophic event evident to rule in his favor.

“I’m extremely disappointed that common sense did not prevail. I have read all of the information on this case and it is a shame that this case resulted in a rejection. I cannot release all of the details of Justin’s case as it would be an invasion of his privacy. I can only say that the University of Kansas felt the evidence was overwhelmingly in his favor. I also do not understand why the NCAA had us appeal this case to the subcommittee only to have received the same answer with the same rationale.”

McCay, who received the news Wednesday afternoon, was equally disappointed.

“This is a very disappointing day for me and my family,” said McCay, who transferred to Kansas from Oklahoma in January. “I was very hopeful throughout the process that I would receive a more favorable result, but unfortunately that is not how things turned out.

“I am so grateful to all of the people who worked so hard on my behalf throughout this process. First of all, I would like to thank the compliance staff at KU for all of the effort they put in to submitting my waiver request. I would also like to thank the Athletics Director at the University of Oklahoma, Joe Castiglione, for his assistance and support. Lastly, I would like to thank Coach Weis, the entire KU staff and all of my teammates in supporting me during this process. It was a long, difficult process, and I truly appreciate all of the support they gave me along the way.

“Despite the disappointment I am feeling today, I have no regrets. I am very happy to be at Kansas and I am going to go out and work hard every day to be the best teammate I can be. Even though I won’t be playing in games this year I am going to take advantage of every opportunity I have to improve as a player.”

— KU Sports Information —

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