|
|
Author: Dave Riggert
Moustakas helps Royals top Tigers 4-2, win first series
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Moustakas helped the Kansas City Royals win a series for the first time in 11 tries this season.
Moustakas drove in three runs with a double and sacrifice fly, and the Royals beat Detroit 4-2 on Sunday to take three of four from the Tigers.
Kansas City had lost nine previous series this year and split one.
“We’ve been going out and grinding and playing good baseball,” Moustakas said. “Obviously things haven’t really been going our way. Lately we’ve been playing great ball. Things are starting to fall for us. Our staff has been doing phenomenal and our defense is always there. If we keep doing those things, we’re going to keep getting better.”
Kansas City has won six of its last nine games, leaving the Royals at 11-23.
Jakob Junis (4-2) improved to 3-0 against the Tigers this year and matched his career high with eight strikeouts. He allowed two runs and eight hits in seven-plus innings.
“The slider was working,” Junis said. “I had a lot of strikeouts and strikeouts in big situations. Strikeouts are always good.”
Kelvin Herrera retired pinch-hitter Nicholas Castellanos on a game-ending flyout with a man on for his seventh save in eight chances, ending a game that took just 2 hours, 16 minutes.
Matthew Boyd (1-3) gave up four runs and six hits in seven innings, dropping to 2-6 against Kansas City.
“We got a lot of weak contact,” Boyd said. “I made most of my pitches all game, it’s just that Moustakas was one of my mistakes. I didn’t make my pitch there. It’s unfortunate that the game came down to the Moustakas matchup. I threw the pitch I wanted to. I just didn’t execute it like I wanted to. I had a chance to put him away earlier in the count and I didn’t do that.”
Moustakas hit a sacrifice fly in the first and had a two-run double to the base of the center-field wall in the third. Moustakas scored when Salvador Perez singled on a popup that shortstop Jose Iglesias lost in the sun.
Whit Merrifield led off the first with a double and came home on Moustakas’ sacrifice fly. Merrifield stole three bases for the second time in his big league career, the first since last July 2.
Merrifield stole third against the shift and then Soler stole second before Moustakas’ third-inning double.
“We had one bad inning out there defensively where our third baseman (Niko Goodrum) walked off with another guy stealing third and the first baseman (John Hicks) forgot to hold the runner on,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I’ll put it on myself. I should have just yelled `timeout.’ I should have stopped the game. Guys not familiar with their positions, and that’s disappointing that they ran all over us.”
Hicks homered in the fourth and hit a run-scoring single in the eighth off Brad Keller.
NEGRO LEAGUES SALUTE
The Royals wore the uniforms of the Kansas City Monarchs and the Tigers of the Detroit Stars as the clubs saluted the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues Museum is in Kansas City.
QUICK GAME
The game time was the shortest at Kaufman Stadium since Aug. 18, 2016 against Minnesota.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: 3B Jaimer Candelario did not play because of a jammed and swollen left thumb, injured in a swing. … Castellanos, who had three extra-base hits Saturday, did not start because of flu-like symptoms. … Iglesias is getting treatment for a tender ankle, but was in the lineup. “We’ve talked about trying to give him a break, but we didn’t have an option today,” Gardenhire said.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Michael Fulmer (1-2, 2.80) is to start Monday at Texas, which goes with LHP Matt Moore (1-4, 7.67).
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (0-4, 5.64) is the scheduled starter Tuesday at Baltimore, and RHP Dylan Bundy (1-4, 3.76) starts for the Orioles. Kansas City is 0-14 in games started by Duffy and RHP Jason Hammel.
— Associated Press —
Missouri Western wraps up their first appearance at MIAA Track & Field Championships
 KEARNEY, Neb. – Missouri Western track and field student-athletes completed their first-ever MIAA Outdoor Championships with 14 school records, the first-ever podium finisher and three provisional marks.
DAY THREE NOTES
DAY TWO NOTES
DAY ONE NOTES
UP NEXT — MWSU Athletics —
|
Griffons run-rule Nebraska-Kearney 16-6 to even series
|
Northwest defeats UCO to clinch share of MIAA baseball title
The Northwest Missouri State baseball team clinched a share of the MIAA regular season title with a 9-8 win at Central Oklahoma on Saturday.
The Bearcats improve to 30-19 overall and 25-10 in MIAA play. The Bronchos fall to 32-17 and 24-11 in conference action.
Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored once in the second, six runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the eighth inning. The Bronchos scored six in the first, one in the second and one in the ninth inning.
– The Bearcats had nine runs on ten hits with one error. Central Oklahoma had eight runs on 16 hits with no errors.
– Kevin Handzlik finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI and a homerun.
– Derek Hussey also went 2-for-3 he scored three runs and had one RBI.
– Logan Rycraft was 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a double.
– Hudson Bilodeau finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a double, a triple and a run scored.
– Mondesi Gutierrez was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a double.
– Luke Hassman went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
– Aaron Barratt finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored.
– Brad Roberts picked up his seventh winning after throwing 6.1 innings and striking out seven batters.
– Trevor Dudar picked up his 14th save of the year after throwing one inning and allowed one hit.
Key Northwest Innings
– To lead off the top of the second inning Handzlik hit a solo homerun over the left field fence to put the Bearcats on the board.
– After an out, Hassman walked and Handzlik singled up the middle, they both would then come around to score on a double by Barratt to left center. With two outs, Hussey singled through the left side to score Barratt and Hussey quickly stole second. Rycraft walked and stole second and both runners would come in to score on a triple to center field by Bilodeau. Gutierrez kept the inning going with a double down the right field line to score Bilodeau and give the Cats the lead.
– In the top of the sixth inning, Hussey singled to first base and advanced to single on a balk. Hussey would then come around to score on a double to right center by Rycraft to increase the lead.
– After an out, Hussey walked and promptly stole second. Rycraft reached base on a single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Gutierrez hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Hussey and put the Bearcats up 9-7.
Up Next
– Northwest will conclude the series with Central Oklahoma, Friday May 6, at 1 p.m. in Edmond, Ok.
— Northwest Athletics —
Royals’ rally comes up short against Tigers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It was hot on the field, and Jordan Zimmermann had been sick for two days. And still the Royals were no match for the Tigers right-hander.
Zimmermann allowed two hits over five scoreless innings, Nicholas Castellanos had three extra-base hits and Detroit beat Kansas City 3-2 on Saturday.
Zimmermann (2-0) improved to 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA in seven appearances, including six starts, against the Royals. This shut-down performance came while battling flu-like symptoms.
“Coming back from that took a lot out of me,” said Zimmermann, who noted the 83-degree first-pitch temperature was the highest of any of his starts this year. “I was happy to be able to go five and pitch pretty well and give the team a chance to win.”
Zimmermann did not give up a hit until Lucas Duda’s two-out double in the fourth. He exited after 85 pitches, waking three and striking out five while battling flu-like symptoms.
“I think more than anything else, your energy just gets zapped when you’re fighting those things all night long and not sleeping well,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We knew it going in. His body was aching pretty good, but he wanted to go. He sucked it up there for almost 90 pitches. He gave us as many innings as he could give us. Pretty impressive.”
Castellanos had an RBI double as the Tigers scored three runs in the first inning off Jason Hammel (0-4).
Detroit held on from there, even after Kansas City cut the lead to one in the ninth. Lucas Duda led off with a double and scored when center fielder Leonys Martin dropped Alex Gordon’s line drive that struck him in the forehead. Shane Greene struck out Alcides Escobar and Jon Jay to strand Gordon and log his sixth save.
“You get in that situation where you’re just one hit from tying it up and really a double away from winning the ball game,” Yost said.
The Royals loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Zimmermann struck out Mike Moustakas on four pitches to end the jam.
Zimmermann did not give up a hit until Duda’s two-out double in the fourth.
The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after six hitters. Castellanos, Victor Martinez and John Hicks had RBI doubles in the first.
The Royals got on the board in the sixth when Abraham Almonte snapped an 0-for-12 skid with a home run off left-hander Blaine Hardy, who was called up Friday.
Hammel settled down after the first and pitched 6 2/3 innings. He gave up 10 hits, walked one and struck out five.
“It is tough to come out and give up three in the first inning,” Hammel said. “I’ve got to do a better job setting the tone. Fighting from behind is not easy. The first inning, I was flat with the two-seam and a changeup to Castellanos I’d want back, just an 0-2 bad pitch. We got some length, but good enough length to lose.”
The Tigers loaded the bases in the seventh, but reliever Brian Flynn retired JaCoby Jones on a foul pop up to third baseman Moustakas to end the threat.
Martinez, Martin and James McCann each had a pair of hits for Detroit.
Jorge Soler went 0 for 4, snapping his career-high 19-game on-base streak and 10-game hitting streak.
DEBUT TIME
Royals RHP Jason Adam pitched a scoreless ninth in his major league debut, walking one, allowing Castellanos’ second double and striking out one. Adam is from Blue Valley Northwest High, a Kansas City suburb. “The first hitter I was definitely nervous,” Adam said. “I think we saw that with a walk. It was just a surreal moment. I had a lot of people tell me to take it in when you jog in and I did.” … Gardenhire said C Grayson Greiner will start Sunday for his big league debut. He was called up Friday from Triple-A Toledo, where he hit .259 in 17 games.
PERFECT ON CHALLENGES
Bill Duplissea, the Royals’ instant replay coordinator, is perfect in nine challenges this year. The Royals are the only team in the majors with a perfect challenge record this year.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: There is no timetable when 1B Miguel Cabrera (right hamstring strain) will return after being placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday. “I can’t tell you if 10 days is enough, only he will be able to do that as we go along,” Gardenhire said.
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Matthew Boyd will start the series finale. He is 2-5 with a 7.05 ERA in 10 career starts against Kansas City.
Royals: RHP Jakob Junis has a 5.19 ERA in three home starts this season.
— Associated Press —
Tigers get swept by No. 20 Georgia
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball lost its series finale to No. 20 Georgia, 7-1, Saturday afternoon (May 5) at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers fall to 30-18 with the loss and 9-15 in SEC play. Senior utility man Matt Berler had a hit and an RBI Saturday and junior lefty Tyler LaPlante allowed just one earned run over 6.0 relief innings, setting a Division I career-high with eight strikeouts.
Mizzou RS junior RHP Bryce Montes De Oca took the loss, allowing five runs over 2.0+ innings, walking four and scattering four hits. He struck out one and fell to 6-4 with the loss.
TURNING POINT
Georgia manufactured single runs in both the first and second innings, taking advantage of walks in each frame to plate runs. However, the game was put out of reach in the top of the third inning as UGA 1B Adam Sasser hit his fourth homer of the series, a three-run shot to right field, extending Georgia’s lead to 5-0. Mizzou did not tally its first hit until an Alex Samples single in the fourth as the offense struggled to get anything going.
QUOTING MIZZOU
Head Coach Steve Bieser
On Georgia getting to Mizzou starter Bryce Montes De Oca early…
“The biggest thing I saw was that he just didn’t have a put-away pitch. When guys got to two strikes, he couldn’t put them away. He could jump ahead and just couldn’t finish the guys. There just wasn’t much there for him to work with. We were hoping he could go 3.0 innings for us and then go to the bullpen from there and divide the game up that way. You expect after he works out of the first couple innings, which weren’t very good, I was hoping for a better fate in the third inning, and we just got caught too long with him. Big blow there and that took the wind out of our sails.”
TOP TIGERS
- Junior lefty Tyler LaPlante struck out a career-high eight, allowing just one earned run on six hits without a walk over 6.0 relief innings.
- Senior Matt Berler had an RBI single in the sixth inning.
- Senior RHP Andy Toelken pitched a shutout ninth inning.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will be off during the midweek before heading back on the road for the final SEC away series of the season at red-hot South Carolina next weekend.
— Mizzou Athletics —
Wong’s walk-off HR lifts St. Louis past Chicago
ST. LOUIS (AP) — For the St. Louis Cardinals, there’s more importance to their early season games with the Chicago Cubs this year than most seasons.
The games are about St. Louis putting to rest any leftover doubts after a dismal 5-14 record against its rival a year ago.
The Cardinals showed on Saturday they aren’t about to just lie down and let the Cubs cruise to a third straight National League Central title. Kolten Wong hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to cap an 8-6 win, one which had all the back-and-forth of a postseason affair rather than an early May contest.
Wong’s game-ending blast put the finishing touch on a game in which St. Louis trailed 4-0 after one inning and by two runs entering the bottom of the ninth. Both times the Cardinals recovered on their way to a fourth straight win, along with wining for the third time in four games against Chicago this season.
“I’ve never (played) in the World Series or those kinds of games,” St. Louis outfielder Marcell Ozuna said. “This feels like more than a regular game.”
Ozuna tied the game in the ninth inning with a two-run double off Chicago closer Brandon Morrow, who allowed his first runs of the season. An inning later, it was Wong who sent a 1-1 pitcher from Luke Farrell (1-1) into the right field seats for the game winner.
“We would have loved a double, and the homer was even better,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.
Wong’s game-ending home run is the third of his career, his first since a victory over Pittsburgh on May 3, 2015.
The blast made a winner out of reliever Tyler Lyons (1-0), and it sent Chicago to a season-worst fourth loss in a row. Anthony Rizzo homered for a third time in four games for the Cubs, who lost despite scoring more than three runs in a game for the first time since April 24th.
Javier Baez added his eighth home run in the loss for Chicago, which had won five games in a row before its current losing stretch.
“They’re a good team, they’re always a good team,” Rizzo said. “They put together hits, they put together rallies and it’s a good group of guys and they play hard.”
INJURED CARDINALS
Center fielder Tommy Pham, catcher Yadier Molina and Norris were all taken out of Saturday’s game with injuries. Pham, who is hitting .327 and has scored 24 runs this season, was taken out in the second inning with right groin tightness. Molina was lifted in the eighth inning after being hit in the groin by a tipped 102-mph pitch from reliever Jordan Hicks, and Norris had to exit after getting the first two outs of the 10th because of tightness in his triceps. Matheny said all three would be evaluated on Sunday.
MORROW’S SORROW
Chicago had been 14-0 when leading after six innings this season, thanks in large part to a bullpen that was third in the National League with a combined 2.57 ERA. Morrow had thrown 10 scoreless innings in his first season with the Cubs before allowing the two ninth-inning runs on Saturday, and the runs ended his overall scoreless streak of 18 1/3 innings that dated back to last season.
CHATWOOD’S WALKS
Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood walked five batters while allowing three earned runs in four innings of work. The former Colorado Rockies starter has now walked 27 batters in 32 2/3 innings this season, though his ERA still stands at a respectable 3.31. “It’s delivery-related because he’s pretty tough,” Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. “I just think he needs to find that rhythm.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Chicago manager Joe Maddon said there was no updated on the progress of reliever Eddie Butler, who has been on the disabled list since April 20th with a right groin strain. Butler is 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA in six games this season.
Cardinals: St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said reliever Dominic Leone is likely headed to the disabled list after exiting Friday night’s game during warmups with cramping in his right biceps. Matheny said Leone’s arm is “structurally” healthy, and that the Cardinals wanted to wait a day before making a roster move to see how Leone responded. Leone is 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 15 appearances this season.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Jon Lester (3-2, 2.73 ERA) didn’t allow an earned run 5 2/3 innings in his last start, a Chicago win over Colorado. The left-hander will try and continue his resurgent season when the Cubs close out their series against St. Louis on Sunday night.
Cardinals: Michael Wacha has allowed two or fewer runs in four of his last five starts, and he’ll get the start for St. Louis against the Cubs on Sunday night. The right-hander is 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA this season.
— Associated Press —
Griffons drop series opener to Nebraska-Kearney 12-3
ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Baseball (26-22, 18-16) dropped the first game of a three-game series against Nebraska Kearney (28-20, 21-13), but clinched its spot in the MIAA Championships with Lindenwood’s loss to Emporia State.
Nebraska Kearney touched the Griffons for 12 runs while Missouri Western scratched three across. The Griffons led 2-1 after one inning on a Casey Danley solo home run and a two-out RBI double by Dusty Stroup in the first. UNK answered with two runs each in the second, third and fourth before a four-run fifth really opened the game up.
Despite the loss, Lindenwood’s 7-2 loss in the first game of a three-game series with Emporia State clinched the Griffons’ spot in the MIAA’s postseason tournament.
Michael Miller went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Danley also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a runs scored. Nate Hunter (8-3) took the loss.
UP NEXT
Game two of the Griffons’ final series of the regular season will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday. It will be senior day with 10 Griffon seniors recognized prior to Saturday’s game.
— MWSU Athletics —
Northwest Missouri State gets blown out at Central Oklahoma 17-0
|
The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fell to Central Oklahoma 17-0 in game one of their series on Friday in Edmond, Oklahoma.
The Bearcats fall to 29-19 overall and 24-10 in conference while the Bronchos improve to 32-16 overall and 24-10 in conference play. Key Northwest Statistics Up Next — Northwest Athletics —
|