Dave Riggert – Page 445 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Morales hits 2-run walk-off homer, KC beats Atlanta in 13 innings

Posted on May 15, 2016May 15, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kendrys Morales has been struggling, especially against right-handers, but he came through huge Sunday.

Morales hit a game-ending, two-run homer with two out in the 13th inning and the Kansas City Royals overcame a rare blown save by Wade Davis to beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2.

Alcides Escobar, who had four hits to match his career high, singled before Morales’ blast off right-hander Jason Grilli, who was brought in to induce the switch-hitting Morales to bat lefty. Morales was batting .143 with 21 strikeouts in 105 at-bats against righties, but came through with his fifth home run on a full-count pitch.

“I’m real happy with the outcome,” Morales said with catching coach Pedro Grifol acting as his interpreter. “We only needed one run, but thankfully we got two.”

Morales hit one to the right-center wall in the sixth that Jeff Francoeur caught.

“I thought the first one was gone and it didn’t go,” Morales said. “I thought I hit this one pretty good and I’m glad it got out.”

The Royals took two of three from the last-place Braves after losing their five previous series. The Braves lost for the 18th time in 23 games and have won only one series this season.

“We’ve played well, other than this inning where they walked us off,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We pitched well, we hit, we battled. We did a lot of good stuff and it’s just a shame you walk out of here feeling pretty darn good, but your record, you lost two out of three.”

The Royals used nine pitchers, tying a club record for one game, with Chien-Ming Wang (2-0) picking up the victory. Left-hander Eric O’Flaherty (0-3), the sixth of seven Braves pitchers, took the loss.

The Braves rallied to tie it with two runs in the ninth off Davis, who blew his first save since July 12 against Toronto, and was 8 for 8 in save situations this year.

Mallex Smith and Erick Aybar had run-producing singles off Davis. Ender Inciarte led off the inning with a single and then Davis walked Chase d’Arnaud.

Royals rookie left-hander Scott Alexander allowed one single and struck out four in three scoreless innings after Davis’ inning.

“It was kind of a tough inning, but thankfully the offense and Scotty picked us up,” Davis said. “Everybody stepped up, but obviously I didn’t do my job.”

Eric Hosmer, who is hitting .388 against right-handers, singled home Escobar in the Royals’ first. Escobar led off the inning with a double.

Jarrod Dyson opened the eighth with a double and scored on Escobar’s single to finish the afternoon for Braves starter Matt Wisler after 116 pitches. Wisler allowed two runs on eight hits, walked none and struck out seven.

“We could have cashed in in the ninth today, but they came back and battled,” Wisler said. “Took me off the hook for it. We’re not going to quit and hopefully we can start turning these into Ws.”

Hosmer, who had doubled, was thrown out at the plate to end the Royals’ sixth when he attempted to score on Salvador Perez’s single to left.

Left-hander Danny Duffy, who replaced the injured Kris Medlen in the rotation and was making his first start, threw three innings, allowing one hit, struck out five and walked two before reaching his pitch limit. Duffy, who made 24 starts last season, began the season with 16 relief appearances.

DIFFERENT LINEUP

Royals LF Alex Gordon hit second for the first time. He batted fifth 11 times and sixth 25 times in the first 36 games. Dyson made his second start in center as Lorenzo Cain, who had a nine-game hitting streak, got the day off.

DOWN UNDER FLAVOR

Peter Moylan, who faced four batters, became the fourth Australian-born player to appear for the Royals. The others were Justin Huber (2005-07), Graeme Lloyd (2003) and Liam Hendriks (2014).

GOOD STARTS

The Braves’ rotation has a 2.85 ERA in the past 14 games, allowing 28 earned runs in 88 1/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas (fractured left thumb) took flip swings in the indoor cage, his first step beyond dry swings since going on the disabled list May 5.

UP NEXT

Royals: Conclude this six-game homestand with three games against the Red Sox. RHP Yordano Ventura (3-2, 4.62) and Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (6-3, 3.11) are the Monday probables.

Braves: RHP Williams Perez (1-0, 3.54) will start Monday as the Braves open a four-game series at Pittsburgh. LHP Jonathon Niese (3-2, 5.63) will be the Pirates’ starter.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western comes up short against UCM in MIAA Tournament championship

Posted on May 15, 2016

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team advanced to the championship game of the MIAA Tournament, where the team had an incredible rally attempt stopped short in the bottom of the ninth.

After eliminating Emporia State with a mostly dominant 7-3 victory early Sunday afternoon, the Griffons battled back time and time again in a 16-14 loss to top seeded Central Missouri . Down 16-10 going to the bottom of the ninth, Missouri Western scored four and had the tying run at the plate in Jeremy Alvarado who fouled out to the first baseman to end the game and give UCM the regular season and postseason MIAA titles.

Missouri Western out-hit the Mules 22-18 but left 11 runners stranded in the game. Conner Schwienebart was the only Griffon pitcher to last more than 1.1 innings, going the final 6.2 to help stop the bleeding some. After earning the save in the Griffons first win of the day, Schwienebart was the fifth pitcher to enter the UCM game for the Griffons. He gave up 10 hits, three hits and struck out six.

The fourth seeded Griffons won three games on the weekend and will learn their poststeason fate Sunday night at 9 p.m. during the NCAA Division II Baseball selection show. Missouri Western was ranked sixth in the latest Central Region poll with the top eight teams advancing to the regional.

— MWSU Athletics —

Molina’s pinch-hit double lifts Cardinals over Dodgers 5-2

Posted on May 15, 2016May 15, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Carpenter homered for the fifth time in eight games, Yadier Molina had a tiebreaking two-run double in the top of the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Sunday night to avoid being swept in the three-game series.

Molina pinch hit for starting pitcher Mike Leake and put the Cardinals up 3-1 when he lined reliever Joe Blanton’s pitch into the left field corner with two outs. Stephen Piscotty followed with an RBI single off Blanton two batters later.

Leake (2-3) pitched six innings to win his second straight start, and Trevor Rosenthal got his seventh save.

Corey Seager homered twice for the Dodgers, the first multihomer game of his career.

J.P. Howell (1-1) took the loss after allowing a one-out single to Jeremy Hazelbaker, who scored on Molina’s double.

Carpenter opened the scoring with a two-out solo home run to right in the top of the third, but Seager responded in the bottom of the inning with a two-out solo homer of his own down the left field line.

It stayed tied until Blanton intentionally walked Brandon Moss with Molina on deck in the seventh. Molina made the Dodgers pay for that decision, turning on a 1-0 slider to bring Hazelbaker and Moss home.

After Carpenter was intentionally walked, Piscotty added to the lead with an RBI single to left to make it 4-1 and extend his hitting streak to eight games.

The Cardinals added another run off Blanton in the eighth when Randal Grichuk led off with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and trotted home on Aledmys Diaz’s sacrifice fly.

Seager launched his second solo homer of the night off Kevin Siegrist in the eighth.

Molina’s big hit gave Leake the win after he went six innings and gave up four hits and one run for his second-straight quality start.

Alex Wood surrendered only three hits and one run in six innings but took a no-decision and remains winless in his last six starts for the Dodgers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: SS Jhonny Peralta (torn thumb ligament) continued swinging a bat and is expected to participate in his first full batting practice this week.

Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder surgery) pitched two scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. He allowed one hit and struck out two in his first appearance since Sept. 12, 2014.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (3-2, 2.58) opens a three-game home series against Colorado on Tuesday. He’s thrown seven innings without allowing an earned run each of his last two starts.

Dodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (3-2, 2.30) starts the first of four games against the crosstown rival Angels on Monday. The Japanese rookie is 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA in his last three starts after beginning his MLB career 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA.

— Associated Press —

Tigers drop series finale against Georgia

Posted on May 15, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball got a solo homer from senior 1B Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) who continued his stellar season, but Mizzou fell, 5-2, in the rubber game against Georgia Sunday (May 15) at Taylor Stadium. Georgia starter Heath Holder was tremendous, earning his fourth win of the season after going 7.0 innings, allowing just four hits with nine strikeouts. He was also able to pitch around five walks. Mizzou starter Michael Plassmeyer (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up the loss after going 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while walking none and striking out five.

Georgia got on the board in the top of the fourth on a no-doubt homer by catcher Micahel Curry, his third of the series and 11th of the season. UGA then tacked on another run in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Skyler Weber, scoring Mitchell Webb, who had struck out to lead off the frame but reached on a wild pitch. That chased Plassmeyer from the game.

Mizzou reliever Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) appeared to be cruising, but he ran into trouble in the seventh as he walked the bases loaded. RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) relieved Tribby and allowed two hits to clear the bases and give UGA a 5-0 lead through 6.5.

Lavy then hit his eighth homer of the season, which leads the team, to start the bottom of the seventh. Mizzou then put two more men on after a Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) walk and a Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) single. But a pair of strikeouts stranded a pair as UGA took a 5-1 lead into the eighth inning.

Mizzou loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning and brought up Lavy, who hit a grand slam yesterday in the eighth inning, but he struck out. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) then hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 5-2 but Bond struck out to strand a pair.

The Tigers got a pair of two-out hits in the ninth, but couldn’t get the timely hit to extend the game.

Mizzou will close its home schedule on Tuesday as it welcomes former Big 12 rival Oklahoma for a 4 p.m. first pitch at Taylor Stadium.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffons hold off Emporia State to advance to final day of MIAA Tournament

Posted on May 14, 2016

St. Charles, Mo. – Fourth seeded Missouri Western forced a second game with second seeded Emporia State winning 6-5 in the MIAA Baseball Tournament.

Emporia State struck first in the top of the third inning as Dalton Wheat doubled down the right field line to score Taylor Steen. Derek Francis followed that up with a single that scored Wheat later in the inning.

Missouri Western would answer in the bottom of the third as Nick Gawley hit a solo shot over the left field fence. The Griffons would then tie it up as Brandon Downs homered to nearly the same spot in the bottom of the sixth inning. They kept the scoring going as later in the inning Ozzie Rodriguez drove in a run with a single and Fisher brought one home on a fielder’s choice to make it a 4-2 lead.

They tacked on two more in the inning using a David Glaude single and a Kody Matthews fielders choice to drive in runs and make it a 6-2 lead heading into the seventh inning.

Emporia State would make it interesting in the top of the ninth as Dalton Wheat drove in a run with a single. Derek Francis was then hit a pitch to drive home a run and Koehler added another on a fielders choice.

For the Griffons Gawley finished two for four with a run scored and a run driven in. For Emporia State Wheat finished three for five with two runs scored and two runs driven in.

On the mound Preston Bailey pitched the final five innings striking out six to pick up the win while Conner Schwienbart recorded the final two outs to earn the save.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. with a berth in the MIAA Championship Game on the line from the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.

— MIAA Press Release —

Royals get blanked by Atlanta 5-0

Posted on May 14, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Foltynewicz pitched the best game of his young career and it came against the defending World Series champions.

Foltynewicz pitched a career-high eight scoreless innings, Kelly Johnson and A.J. Pierzynski each drove in two runs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Saturday night.

“This guy did a lot of special stuff,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of his 24-year-old starting right-hander. “Not only was his line terrific, eight innings of shutout baseball, but we made a couple of mistakes, didn’t turn a (double play) ball, and he covered it up. For a young player to be able to do that, it was nice to see.

“He pitched in, he pitched up, his breaking ball was, it might be one of the best breaking balls he’s had. He had it throughout the game and he maintained it throughout the game.”

Foltynewicz (1-1) got his first victory since Aug. 8, holding the Royals to seven hits, while striking out four and walking none.

“I attacked and let the defense do the work,” Foltynewicz said. ” The defense played their butt off.”

He has allowed two runs and 12 hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts in 15 innings in his past two starts.

“He was that good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The Braves (9-26) avoided matching the worst 35-game start in franchise history — 8-27, set by the 1911 Boston Braves.

Dillon Gee (0-1), making his first start for the Royals in place of the injured Chris Young, held the Braves scoreless on three hits over the first five innings, but retired only one of the six batters he faced in the sixth. He was charged with three runs and six hits, while striking out five and walking three in 5 1/3 innings.

“I just stopped locating the ball that last inning,” Gee said. “I left some pitches and they hit them, put good swings on them.”

The Royals, losers of 13 of 18, have not won consecutive games since April 21-22.

Foltynewicz came up with two big strikeouts in the first two innings to strand runners at third base. Kendrys Morales went down swinging in the first to leave Lorenzo Cain at third. Christian Colon struck out to end the second inning with Salvador Perez, who had doubled, at third base.

“We missed a couple of opportunities early,” Yost said.

Johnson’s opposite-field single with the bases loaded in the sixth scored Nick Markakis, who had walked, and Ender Inciarte, who doubled home Mallex Smith with the first run. Smith, who had three hits, led off the inning with a double.

Pierzynski’s two-out double in the eighth off Chien-Ming Wang drove in Johnson and Jeff Francoeur.

Smith led off the ninth with the Braves’ first triple of the season. They were the only the team in the majors without a three-base hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen said an MRI Friday revealed a Grade One right rotator cuff strain. “I saw the MRI myself. I’m an expert now with MRIs,” Medlen said. “There was some fluid in there, some inflammation, a little tight. It’s a best-case scenario. It wasn’t like a progressive type thing. For the most part it was pretty mild compared to what it could have been.”

BRAVES STARTERS

Over the past 13 games, Braves starting pitchers have logged a 2.89 ERA, allowing 26 earned runs in 81 innings.

LAVARNWAY RELEASED

The Braves released C Ryan Lavarnway, who was hitting .276 with Triple-A Gwinnett. Lavarnway hit .227 in 27 games last year with Atlanta and also appeared in 10 games with Baltimore. Lavarnway, who was drafted in 2008 out of Yale by the Red Sox, also appeared in 97 games from 2011-14 with Boston.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Matt Wisler, who held the Mets to one hit in eight scoreless innings in a May 3 victory, will start the series finale.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy will make his first start after throwing 18 innings in 16 relief appearances. He will be on a 50-pitch limit.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou baseball splits doubleheader with Georgia

Posted on May 14, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball split a doubleheader with Georgia on Saturday afternoon (May 14) at Taylor Stadium. After Mizzou dropped game one, 7-4, Mizzou got a complete game shutout from senior RHP Reggie McClain (Duluth, Ga.) and a grand slam from senior 1B Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) in a 5-0 win to even the series on senior day. The rubber game of the three-game series will be Sunday at 1 p.m.

McClain pitched a gem in game two, allowing just three hits and a walk while matching a career-high with 12 strikeouts. It was his first complete game shutout against an SEC team and it came against the school with which he began his collegiate career. It was the second complete game shutout of his career and it was the first at Mizzou since Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) did so against Auburn on April 8, 2016. McClain clung to a 1-0 lead after a sixth inning homer from Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.), but Lavy gave him the insurance he needed in the eighth inning, launching a fastball over the fence for Mizzou’s first grand slam since March 30, 2010, by Eric Garcia against Purdue.

Mizzou dropped game one, 7-4, despite leading 4-3 after five innings. Georgia scored four runs over the seventh, eighth and ninth innings as they came back for the win. Mizzou sophomore Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits as he falls to 3-5 on the year. UGA reliever Kevin Smith earned the win as he went to 5-1 on the year.

The first inning was eventful in game one of the doubleheader. Mizzou Houck was plagued by an error and a video review that took away an out on diving play in center by Ring. In all, Georgia plated three runs in the opening half inning (two unearned) and Houck threw 40 pitches. Mizzou nearly answered in the bottom of the frame as UGA starter Robert Tyler walked the first two men. Junior SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) then roped a ball into left field that looked to be extra bases and runs, but Keegan McGovern made a sensational catch on the run to rob Howard of a hit and RBIs. Tyler then got out of the inning to keep UGA on top, 3-0.

Mizzou got on the board in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run homer by DH Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.), his sixth of the season, second-most on the team. It came following a one-out walk by Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.).

Mizzou tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning as back-to-back singles by Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) put runners on the corners with no outs. After a Sharp strikeout, Benes lifted a ball to left center for a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3.

Lavy continued his All-SEC caliber season with a go-ahead, two-out RBI single through the right side in the fifth inning. It came after Ring bunted for a hit and stole his SEC-leading 24th stolen base. But the lead didn’t last as UGA catcher Michael Curry launched a solo homer in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4.

Georgia then plated two in the top of the eighth inning. The first was on a fielder’s choice as a grounder was hit to Lavy. He charged the ball, fired home, but Georgia’s Spencer Kieboom slid around the tag to give UGA a 5-4 lead. They tacked on another run on an error by Howard as he attempted to make a turn on a double play. That gave Georgia a 6-4 lead.

Howard doubled to right center to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, but the next three batters were retired to leave Howard stranded in scoring position. Mizzou then went quietly in the ninth as UGA added a run in the top half of the inning to erase any chance of a comeback for Mizzou.

In game two, McClain was outstanding through the first three innings with five strikeouts and four groundouts through the first three frames. Both starting pitchers were outstanding, allowing just two hits and a walk through five innings. After McClain turned in a shutout sixth, Mizzou finally got to UGA starter Connor Jones in the bottom of the inning as Ring launched his second home of the year, over the wall in right field, to put Mizzou in top, 1-0.

McClain was in complete control throughout the game and Lavy’s grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Mizzou the cushion it needed heading into the ninth. McClain responded by striking out the side to match his career-high with 12 strikeouts. He limited UGA to just three hits and a walk in the win, his fifth of the season.

— Mizzou Athletics —

St. Louis drops second straight game to Dodgers

Posted on May 14, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scott Kazmir pitched 8 2/3 innings, Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Saturday night.

Gonzalez hit a solo home run, his fourth of the season, to lead off the fourth inning. Seager, who had three hits, ripped a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Kazmir (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits, struck out seven and walked one. He was nearly flawless until Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run to pull the Cardinals within two runs in the ninth. Closer Kenley Jansen recorded the final out for his 13th save.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the fifth after Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez (4-3) loaded the bases with no outs. Martinez left after that.

— Associated Press —

Northwest’s baseball season ends with loss to Missouri Western

Posted on May 14, 2016

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team fell to Missouri Western, 12-3, on Saturday afternoon in the third round of the MIAA Tournament in St. Charles, Mo.

The Bearcats finish the year at 25-28 overall while the Griffons improve to 36-17.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored single runs in the first, second and third innings. The Bearcats had three runs on eight hits with five errors.

– The Griffons scored 12 runs on 12 hits with no errors. Missouri Western got two in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the eighth and four in the ninth.

– James Holler had a pair of sacrifice flies, driving in a pair of runs. He also drew a walk in the eighth.

– Jake Lewis was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. He hit his fourth home run of the year in the second inning.

– Jay Hrdlicka went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of singles.

– Ozzie Adams went 1-for-4 on the day. He finishes the year with 209 at bats, setting a Bearcat single season record previously held by Ryan Bledsoe (207) back in 2008.

– Nick Gotta went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. He finishes the year with 45 walks, tying him with Brandon Huske (2013) for the Northwest single season record.

– Garrett Fort went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

– Kevin Handzlik was 1-for-4 on the day.

– Brad Roberts got the start on the hill, going 4.1 innings. He recorded seven strikeouts and walked four batters.

– Nikko Pablo threw 3.1 innings of relief, allowing just two hits and two unearned runs. He struck out three and walked one.

– Jimmy McElwain got the final out of the eighth and the first out of the ninth. He allowed one hit, one run and struck out one.

Key Northwest Innings
– Gotta led off the first with a double that stayed fair down the right field line. He moved to thirdon a Fort groundout to second. Adams hit a sharp grounder to second but the Griffons tried to catch Gotta at the plate, allowing him to reach safely. Gotta was able to make it back to third safely. Holler hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Gotta, making it 1-0 Bearcats.

– After falling behind 2-1 in the second, Lewis needed one swing to tie things up. He took a 2-0 pitch to the oppositie field for his fourthhome run of the year to make it 2-2.

– Fort led off the third by hitting a high fly ball into short left field that fell between three Griffon players for a double. He moved to third on an Adams groundout to second. Holler turned on the first pitch he saw and drove it to deep left field for a sacrifice fly, making it 4-3 Missouri Western.

— Northwest Athletics —

Western gets run-ruled by Central Misssouri in MIAA Tournament second round

Posted on May 13, 2016May 13, 2016

St. Charles, Mo. – Top seeded Central Missouri racked up 13 hits as they defeated fourth seeded Missouri Western 10-0 in seven inning on the second day of the MIAA Baseball Tournament.

Central Missouri got things going in the bottom of the first as Bennett Oliver hit an RBI single driving in Matt Elliott, then Collin Nevil doubled to drive in Oliver. UCM grabbed two more in the bottom of the third inning as Cole Distler singled to drive in Jake Alexander and Dylan Farrell.

The Mules would strike again in the bottom of the fourth as Matt Elliott started the scoring with a two run doubles. Farrell then doubled to drive in one and Alexander came up after him and singled in a run.

UCM got their ninth run when Cole Distler reached on a fielding error that allowed Nevil to score. Blake Wilfong walked to force home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

For the Mules Matt Elliott was two for four with two runs scored and two runs driven in while Collin Nevile went three for four and Farrell was two for three with two runs scored. For the Griffons Andy Rieth, David Glaude, Kody Matthews and Ozzie Rodriguez all finished with hits.

On the mound Ethan Westphal went all seven innings allowing just four hits and striking out eight in the complete game victory.

Central Missouri will play in the 12:30 p.m. game tomorrow and Missouri Western will face Northwest Missouri at 4 p.m. tomorrow from Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.

— MIAA Press Release —