We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Author: Dave Riggert

K-State’s Bill Snyder named to 2017 Bobby Dodd Trophy watch list

Posted on

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder is one of 19 FBS coaches to be named to the watch list for the 2017 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Trophy, the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl announced Wednesday.

Snyder, a 2015 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, is one of only two Big 12 coaches on this year’s list, joining Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy. Snyder has won the Dodd Trophy on two occasions as he led the Wildcats to a 11-0 regular season in 1998 and a Big 12 Championship in 2012.

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s philosophy.

The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, projected success for the 2017 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Entering his 26th season at the helm of the Wildcats, Snyder became just the sixth FBS coach ever to notch 200 career wins and only coach at one school as he enters the 2017 season with a 202-105-1 record, including a 118-80-1 mark in Big 8/12 contests. He has totaled at least eight wins in 15 seasons, including nine years with 10 or more victories.

After being predicted to finish eighth in the Big 12 in 2016, Snyder led the Wildcats to a 9-4 campaign – including a 6-3 mark in league action to finish fourth – which ended with a victory over Texas A&M in the 2016 Texas Bowl. The Wildcats bring back 14 starters – eight on offense and six on defense – as they landed third on this year’s Big 12 Preseason Poll.

Snyder has an impeccable reputation of developing players both on the field, in the classroom and in the community. In his 25 previous seasons, 84-percent of his players have obtained their undergraduate degrees, while the Wildcats lead the conference with 83 Academic All-Big 12 selections over the last three seasons, 20 more than the team in second place.

A valuable member of the community, Snyder has also led the charge for his players to be active in the Manhattan area as they are involved in multiple community-service activities including: Senior Kats (visiting retirement homes); Junior Kats (visiting middle schools); Cats in the Classroom (visiting elementary schools); Special Olympics and Adopt-a-Family. K-State Football has also partnered with units from nearby Fort Riley and are currently active with the 1-16 Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, known as the Iron Rangers.

K-State embarks on the 2017 campaign and opens a seven-game home schedule on Saturday, September 2, against Central Arkansas.

— K-State Athletics —

Mustangs lose on the road at Chillicothe 9-1

Posted on

The St. Joseph Mustangs had their three-game winning streak snapped Tuesday as they lost at Chillicothe 9-1.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team falls to 30-12 this season and 24-11 in the MINK League. Sedalia also lost Tuesday so the Mustangs’ lead in the North Division remains at two and half.

Chillicothe used a seven-run second inning Tuesday night and they cruised to their first win against St. Joseph this season. Mustangs’ starter Matt Diaz lasted just 1.1 innings as he allowed seven runs on five hits. Diaz also walked five as he falls to 1-3 this season.

The Mustangs had just four hits and the only run came on a bases loaded walk in the third inning.

Brody Santilli, Derek Hussey, Jacob Richardson and Erasmo Gonzalez had one single each for St. Joseph.

The Mustangs play a make-up game against Joplin Wednesday inside Phil Welch Stadium. The game was originally schedule to be played at Joplin, so St. Joe will be the visiting team. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m.

Kansas City gets pounded by Detroit again

Posted on

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Detroit Tigers got along just fine without J.D. Martinez in their lineup.

For one night, at least.

After trading their star outfielder to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Tigers pounded out 16 hits in a 9-3 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Nicholas Castellanos homered twice and drove in five, Victor Martinez had a pair of RBI and just about everyone else did something constructive.

“I don’t know that you can replace J.D.,” said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, whose club won its fourth straight. “We’ll do our best. Tonight was a good night for us.”

The Tigers were presumed to be in sell-mode after a rough first half, and that assumption became fact when general manager Al Avila traded Martinez for a trio of infield prospects. It took one of the Tigers’ most consistent bats out of the lineup and could signal more trades are in the works.

Nobody in the Detroit clubhouse is worried about the future, though.

“Everybody in here is a professional. You have to do what you have to do,” said Castellanos, who also tripled to finish a double shy of the cycle. “We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder now.”

The Tigers’ big offensive night gave fill-in starter Matt Boyd (3-5) plenty of support.

Boyd allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings, striking out three and walking one. It was his first big league win since April 16, a skid that included four losses and four no-decisions.

He outperformed Travis Wood (1-3), who allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Most of the damage against Wood came in the second, when the Tigers strung together four straight hits to begin the inning. Victor Martinez’s two-run double started the scoring, and by the time Castellanos added a two-run triple, the Tigers had turned a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 advantage.

Castellanos added his 13th homer of the season with one out in the fifth inning.

“They just put a rally together, some balls hit hard, some balls found holes and I wasn’t able to stop the bleeding,” Wood said. “That can’t happen especially after the team goes out and battles and put up three. We need a shutdown inning right there.”

Boyd had trouble of his own in the first, when he coughed up three runs on four singles and a hit batter. But the left-hander settled down to retire Kansas City in order in the second, then dodged what little trouble he faced before turning the game over to his bullpen.

It was the seventh loss in eight games for the Royals, going back to a three-game skid entering the All-Star break, and a particularly disheartening one given their three-run first inning.

“We’ve definitely got to get our pitching reeled back in here a little bit,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “A good start by our starting pitcher and some clutch hits will help you gain momentum and get your momentum going back in a positive fashion. That’s what we need to do.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Castellanos had his second career multihomer game. He has four homers in four days. … The Tigers improved to 6-2 against Kansas City this season. They were 7-12 against the Royals last season. … Wood is winless in his last seven starts, going 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA. … OF Whit Merrifield had a double in the ninth for his eighth straight home game with an extra-base hit, matching the Royals record held by Mike Macfarlane, Hal McRae and Amos Otis. … Royals 2B Ramon Torres singled to snap a 0-for-15 skid.

JMART SAYS FAREWELL

Martinez said he wasn’t surprised he was traded, considering he is due to hit free agency after the season. But that still made it difficult to leave a club that gave him a chance when things went downhill in Houston. “It doesn’t hit you until they tell you,” Martinez said. “It’s definitely tough. I love this organization. I love the fans. I love everything in Detroit. That’s home for me.”

TIGERS’ TRADE RETURN

INF Dawel Lugo was the top prospect in the Tigers’ trade, and GM Al Avila said he will likely begin next season at Triple-A. The Tigers also got INF Sergio Alcantara and INF Jose King as they restocked their farm system with position players. “What we got now, we’re very happy with,” Avila said.

ROSTER MOVES

The Tigers recalled OF Jim Adduci from Triple-A Toledo to take Martinez’s roster spot. They also optioned LHP Blaine Hardy to the Mud Hens to create room for Boyd on the roster.

UP NEXT

Tigers RHP Justin Verlander (5-7, 4.66 ERA) tries to snap a three-game skid as the four-game series continues Wednesday night. The Royals will send RHP Jason Hammel (4-8, 5.02) to the mound.

— Associated Press —

Wacha tosses 3-hitter, Cardinals top Mets 5-0

Posted on

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Wacha busted it out of the batter’s box on a hot night and was thinking about an RBI as he raced down toward first base trying to beat out a double play during a big second inning.

Not only did he do that, he also threw a three-hitter for his first career shutout, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday night.

“Yeah, I am not fast by any means, but I was just trying to get down there and beat it out,” said Wacha (7-3), who previously pitched 11 days ago.

Despite a slow start that has them one game under .500, the Cardinals were able to move within 3 1/2 games behind the National League Central Division-leading Milwaukee Brewers thanks to Wacha, who won his fourth consecutive start, and Matt Carpenter, who had four hits.

“Oh, it was awesome. He came out from the first pitch and you could tell he had good stuff,” said Carpenter, who picked up his 10th-career four-hit game and first since May 31, 2016, at Milwaukee.

Wacha struck out eight and walked one in his 99th start, allowing only three runners to reach second base.

The 26-year-old right-hander, who was ineffective last season, had not won four straight starts since the 2013 playoffs when he helped lead St. Louis to the World Series.

There were rumors off a possible move to the bullpen for Wacha prior to this season, but St. Louis manager Mike Matheny always thought otherwise.

“You can’t forget, it was ’13 and this kid came on the scene and then pitched on the big stage and threw some of the better games that we had seen,” Matheny said. “And that stuff, when he’s healthy, that stuff is right. You know days like this I know reaffirm for him the kind of pitcher that he should be. We see it. Just want to continue to watch it.”

Wacha and the Cardinals capitalized on a shoddy Mets defense that let down starter Rafael Montero (1-6) with three errors. Montero allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings. New York has lost three straight and eight of 11.

“We’ve talked about it. In this league you can’t give away outs,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Big league teams, you can’t give them extra outs. They capitalized on them, and with Wacha pitching like he did tonight, a pretty dominant performance, you let him have some extra runs, they’re going to beat you.”

The first of Carpenter’s four hits was a first-inning double into the right field corner. He advanced to third on third baseman T.J. Rivera’s throwing error and scored on Jedd Gyorko’s sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals took advantage of two more miscues during a three-run second inning. Wacha grounded into what could have been a double play, but shortstop Jose Reyes had trouble getting the ball to first. Carpenter doubled over left fielder Yoenis Cespedes’ head to make it 2-0. St. Louis added another run when Rivera couldn’t field Tommy Pham’s grounder, allowing Wacha to score

“He was locating the fastball well, throwing 93 to 97, 98 and his breaking ball was good,” said Mets catcher Rene Rivera. “He got one of the best catchers in baseball behind the plate with Yadi (Molina) mixing up pitches.”

COMEDY OF ERRORS

The Mets’ three errors tied a season high. Rivera’s first of two errors came in the first inning when his throw pulled Lucas Duda off the bag at first, allowing Carpenter to advance to third and later score on a sacrifice fly. With runners on the corners and one out in the seventh, Duda was charged with an error after he failed to catch Molina’s pop up in foul territory. Molina then singled to center to drive in a run.

POLITICALLY CORRECT

Sitting in the third row near the Mets dugout, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie caught a foul ball in the top of the third inning. The embattled politician, who posed for pictures with fans throughout the game, was booed after fans realized he was the one who’d snared the ball with his bare left hand. He gave the souvenir to a kid seated a few rows behind him.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Each of Carpenter’s first three hits came on the first pitch. He didn’t have too much luck when he singled to right field on the second pitch in his fifth and final at-bat in the eighth inning. “The third at-bat it was mainly the guys in the dugout (saying), `You won’t do that again’,” Carpenter recalled. “So I did it and then had to go back to being myself after that. Had to wait. Out of my comfort zone.”

UP NEXT

Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom (10-3, 3.48) starts Wednesday night against Cardinals RHP Mike Leake (7-6, 3.14 ERA). DeGrom has won a career-best six straight starts with a 1.53 ERA dating to June 12. He’s struck out 47 and walked nine during that stretch.

— Associated Press —

Royals get routed by Tigers 10-2 in series opener

Posted on

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nicholas Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook went deep, Jordan Zimmermann smothered the Royals with strikes and the Detroit Tigers proceeded to trounce Kansas City 10-2 to open a four-game series Monday night.

Ian Kinsler added three extra-base hits for the Tigers, who knocked American League wins leader Jason Vargas (12-4) from the game after 2 2/3 innings in his first start since the All-Star break.

Zimmermann (6-7) allowed one run and seven hits without a walk in 6 2/3 innings, throwing 79 of 97 pitches for strikes. His dominance was partly a result of first-pitch strikes to 24 of the 28 batters he faced, which helped the right-hander win for the first time since June 3.

Seemingly the only pitch Zimmermann threw that wasn’t a strike hit Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar on the left wrist in the seventh inning. Escobar was forced to leave the game.

Eric Hosmer homered in the eighth for Kansas City. Whit Merrifield also drove in a run.

Things went awry for Vargas from the first pitch, which Kinsler swatted to the fence for a double. Vargas proceeded to match a season high with four walks, Kinsler added a pair of triples off him, and the homers by Castellanos and Mahtook combined to go nearly 900 feet.

The dismal performance came after Vargas was battered for six runs — including three homers — on eight hits and a walk in five innings at Seattle in his final start before the All-Star break.

Vargas did toss a shutout inning during last week’s Midsummer Classic.

It was Zimmermann who looked like an All-Star on Monday night, though — not someone who had allowed at least four runs each of his last three starts, and was 0-4 with a 6.99 ERA on the road.

Zimmermann breezed through a perfect first, bounced back from back-to-back singles to escape trouble in the second, then began pounding the strike zone. By the time he hit the 50-pitch mark, Zimmermann threw 44 of them for strikes, and he wound up with only four two-ball counts in the game.

TRADE TALK

Rumors have suggested that Detroit could trade slugger J.D. Martinez and closer Justin Wilson before the July 31 deadline, though both said they weren’t focused on where they might end up. “Once you’re traded once, it’s not a big deal,” said Wilson, who has been traded from the Pirates and Yankees during his six-year career. “Like I’ve said from the get-go, this is a business, and if I get traded, I get traded.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Royals reinstated RHP Neftali Feliz from the paternity list and recalled OF Billy Burns from Triple-A Omaha. OF Jorge Soler and RHP Miguel Almonte were optioned to the Storm Chasers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) is making a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday night. … Martinez was removed in the seventh as a precautionary measure with lower back tightness.

Royals INF Cheslor Cuthbert (left wrist sprain) went to Omaha to begin a rehab assignment. Cuthbert was hitting .196 in 33 games when he went on the DL retroactive to June 26.

UP NEXT

The Tigers are recalling LHP Matt Boyd from Toledo to start Tuesday night, while the Royals will send LHP Travis Wood for his second start of the season. Boyd’s last start with Detroit came May 31 in Kansas City, when he allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.

— Associated Press —-

Cardinals use six-run sixth to win at New York

Posted on

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul DeJong homered against the New York Mets for the fourth straight game and Adam Wainwright hit an RBI double while winning his fourth consecutive start, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 victory Monday night.

With runners at the corners in the bottom of the ninth inning, slugger Yoenis Cespedes grounded into a game-ending double play on a 3-0 pitch from Brett Cecil.

Tommy Pham capped a six-run sixth with a three-run homer on Hansel Robles’ second pitch since returning from the minors. Four relievers combined on 3 1/3 spotless innings for St. Louis, which took the opener of a four-game series between losing teams that expected much better this season.

Michael Conforto and Lucas Duda homered off Wainwright (11-5), who beat scuffling starter Zack Wheeler (3-7) for the second time in 10 days.

Wainwright allowed two earned runs and was removed in the sixth. Moments earlier, Jose Reyes dashed all the way around to score on his own double when rookie right fielder Magneuris Sierra made two errors on the play — booting the ball in the alley before overthrowing third base.

Reyes slid headfirst across the plate and remained on his belly for a few seconds, catching his breath. But the Mets managed only two more hits, and Cecil got three outs for his first save since June 19, 2015, with Toronto.

The left-hander had just squandered a one-run lead in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 loss at Pittsburgh.

Conforto snapped a scoreless tie with a leadoff homer in the fifth, but Wheeler quickly ran out of gas in losing his fifth straight decision. The right-hander escaped the fifth unscathed after issuing three two-out walks in a row, but couldn’t do the same in the sixth.

Slow-footed Yadier Molina reached on a rare infield single with a slow roller toward shortstop. DeJong then connected on a full-count fastball from Wheeler to put the Cardinals ahead.

The rookie shortstop was 9 for 12 with seven extra-base hits and a homer in each game as the Cardinals took two of three from the Mets in St. Louis from July 7-9. He went 2 for 2 with a homer and a double off Wheeler in the middle game of the series.

Kolten Wong singled and, one out later, Wainwright doubled to right-center to make it 3-1, giving him 10 RBI for the second straight season. Matt Carpenter walked against Josh Edgin before Pham homered into the second deck in left-center off Robles, demoted to Triple-A on May 23 after serving up a string of home runs.

New York (41-49) has dropped seven of 10.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Randal Grichuk (lower back strain) could return Thursday, the first day he’s eligible to come off the 10-day disabled list. … LHP Zach Duke is making a speedy recovery from Tommy John surgery last October and could be ready to rejoin the Cardinals’ bullpen fairly soon, manager Mike Matheny indicated. Duke is rehabbing at Triple-A Memphis.

Mets: Cespedes returned to the lineup after sitting out Sunday with a sore left hip. … 2B Neil Walker (left hamstring) did some running and was set to take grounders on the field. Mets manager Terry Collins said he hopes Walker can begin playing rehab games by this weekend. The switch-hitter has been on the DL since June 15. … LHP Josh Smoker (strained shoulder) was scheduled to make another rehab appearance for Double-A Binghamton. … RHP Noah Syndergaard (torn lat muscle) and RHP Matt Harvey (shoulder) began their throwing programs by playing catch together at Citi Field, their first steps toward returning to the mound.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Michael Wacha (6-3, 4.10 ERA) starts the second game of the series Tuesday night against RHP Rafael Montero (1-5, 5.77). Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in his last three outings and hasn’t lost since May 30 against the Dodgers. It will be his first start since July 6.

— Associated Press —-

Mustangs win at Nevada for third straight victory

Posted on

The St. Joseph Mustangs won their third consecutive game Sunday as they traveled to Nevada and defeated the Griffons 6-1.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team improves to 30-11 and 24-10 in the MINK League. It’s the fourth straight season with at least 30 wins and the Mustangs have done that eight times in the 10 year history of the franchise.

St. Joseph scored one run in the third inning and two in the fifth to build a 3-0 lead. It stayed that way until the ninth inning when the Mustangs added insurance with a three-run top of the ninth. Nevada got its only run in the bottom of the ninth inning as they scored an unearned run off of Jake Purl.

Elle Rojas made his first start of the season for the Mustangs and he threw five scoreless innings. Rojas scattered four hits and he struck out five.

Colton Pogue and Joshua Lincoln had two hits each for St. Joe, while Matt Wollnik had two RBI. Jacob Richardson and Pat Dillon scored two runs a piece.

The Mustangs have Monday off before traveling to Chillicothe on Tuesday for a 7:05 first pitch.

Royals snap skid with walk-off win against Rangers

Posted on

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Texas right fielder Shin-Soo Choo lost Lorenzo Cain’s routine fly in the sun, and the ball glanced off his glove for an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted the Kansas City Royals over the Texas Rangers 4-3 Sunday.

Choo tried to shield his eyes, but even sunglasses didn’t help on Cain’s sliced flyball. The Royals snapped a five-game losing streak, and also ended a 12-game skid against the Rangers.

Kelvin Herrera (2-2) pitched a spotless ninth. Jason Grilli (2-5), acquired by Rangers from Toronto on July 2, took the loss.

Alcides Escobar led off the ninth with a single and Alex Gordon walked on four pitches. With one out, Grilli hit Whit Merrifield with a pitch to load the bases. After Jorge Bonifacio struck out, Cain delivered the game-winning hit, with some luck.

Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish, who is 0-4 in his past six starts, allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out one.

Darvish’s wild pitch in the first allowed Merrifield to score. Mike Moustakas’ two-out double in the third scored Eric Hosmer, who had walked.

Royals starter Ian Kennedy yielded solo home runs to Drew Robinson in the third and Mike Napoli in the seventh.

Kennedy left after 6 2/3 innings and the score tied at 2.

Kennedy, who is winless in his past 12 home starts, gave up two runs on five hits. After throwing 25 pitches in the first inning, he navigated his way into the seventh on 74 more pitches.

The Royals took a 3-2 lead in the seventh when Drew Butera, who had singled, scored an unearned run. Merrifield doubled and Butera came home when left fielder Nomar Mazara misplayed the ball.

Joakim Soria could not hold the lead in the eighth. Mazara’s two-out single scored Elvis Andrus, who had doubled.

DARVISH PASSES RYAN

Yu Darvish moved past Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and into fourth place on the Rangers’ career strikeout list. When Darvish fanned out Brandon Moss in the fourth inning it was his 940th strikeout in his 120th start. Ryan, baseball’s all-time strikeout king, fanned 939 in 129 starts with Texas.

NO GALLO

Rangers slugger Joey Gallo, who has seven strikeouts in seven at-bats against Kennedy, was not in the lineup.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Keone Kela (shoulder soreness) threw a bullpen Saturday with no problems. The Rangers are unsure whether Kela needs another mound session or activate him Monday in Baltimore.

UP NEXT

Rangers: RHP Andrew Cashner will start Monday at Baltimore in the opener of a four-game series. RHP Chris Tillman will be the Orioles starter.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas, who worked a scoreless inning in the All-Star game, will start against the Tigers. Vargas leads the AL with 12 victories and a 1.84 ERA at home.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis blows ninth inning lead at Pittsburgh

Posted on

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pirates closed their series against the St. Louis Cardinals the same way they began it: with a walkoff win.

Adam Frazier’s game-ending single capped a two-run rally in the ninth inning that lifted Pittsburgh to a 4-3 victory Sunday.

Francisco Cervelli reached on an infield single leading off the ninth against Brett Cecil (1-3), and Jordy Mercer’s one-out double scored pinch-runner Josh Harrison with the tying run. Jose Osuna grounded out, David Freese was intentionally walked and Frazier lined a single to center.

Frazier’s hit was the first walkoff hit of his career and it came just two days after Josh Bell got his first with a three-run homer in the ninth off Seung Hwan Oh.

“We hung around,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We gave up two leads, battled back and had a nice, strong ninth inning with some good at-bats. I’m proud of the men and I’m proud of the fight.”

Wade LeBlanc (4-2) pitched a hitless ninth. Pirates starter Trevor Williams gave up two runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Yadier Molina had put St. Louis ahead 3-2 with an eighth inning home run, the first allowed by Juan Nicasio this year.

“I think it’s been like that all year,” Frazier said. “We went through some adversity. It’s just fighting until the last out.”

Pirates starter Trevor Williams gave up two runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He singled in the third for his first major league hit after an 0-for-21 start at the plate.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez (7-8) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, and had an RBI single in the sixth.

Andrew McCutchen’s run-scoring single put Pittsburgh ahead in the fifth, and Matt Carpenter’s RBI double tied the score in the fifth.

Max Moroff hit his first big league home run for the Pirates, a line drive off the right-field foul pole in the fifth. Moroff had 18 homer runs this season with Triple-A Indianapolis but was 4 for 48 in the majors.

“I hit the ball on the barrel for the first time in a while,” he said.

Williams had started his MLB career 0 for 21 before his single to right in the third.

HOT START

Cardinals rookie Magneuris Sierra, brought back from Triple-A on Saturday, had four hits, stole a base and scored a run. Cardinals rookie Magneuris Sierra, brought back from Triple-A on Saturday, had four hits and scored a run. He has reached safely in nine straight games to start his big league career, the first Cardinals player to accomplish the feat.

Three of the hits never left the infield.

“I’m definitely aware that my speed can cause the other team some damage and help my team,” he said through a translator. “As soon as I make contact, I really take advantage of the opportunity to get on base.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (10-5, 5.20 ERA) is to start Monday at the New York Mets. He is 8-2 in his last 11 starts, winning his last three.

Pirates: RHP Chad Kuhl (3-6, 4.96 ERA) is slated to open at series at home against Milwaukee. He is 2-0 in five starts since a June 14 loss to Colorado.

— Associated Press —

Mustangs roll past Jefferson City again 9-3

Posted on

The St. Joseph Mustangs won their second consecutive game against Jefferson City as they defeated the Renegades 9-3 Saturday inside Phil Welch Stadium.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team improves to 29-11 and 23-10 in the MINK League. The Mustangs remain three games ahead of Sedlia in the North Division standings.

Jefferson City took the 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but St. Joseph answered right back with two in the bottom of the first and three more runs in the third. The Mustangs scored seven unanswered runs before the Renegades got a run back in the seventh inning.

Jake Van Vacter is now 3-3 as he earned the win on the mound. He allowed two runs on five hits and he struck out 12 batters.

Kaleb Reid led the Mustangs’ 12-hit attack as he finished 3-for-5 with three RBI. Colton Pogue and Josh Williams added two hits each, while Erasmo Gonzalez and Mike Foley scored two runs a piece.

The Mustangs are back on the road Sunday as they travel to Nevada for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch with the Griffons. The game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File