Dave Riggert – Page 584 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Escobar’s RBI single in 10th lifts Royals past Houston

Posted on July 25, 2015July 25, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alcides Escobar singled home Paulo Orlando with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.

Orlando singled off Will Harris (4-3) with one out and stole second before Escobar’s game-winning looper to shallow right gave the Royals the win and snapped the Astros’ five-game winning streak.

Kelvin Herrera (2-2) pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the victory.

Eric Hosmer tripled high off the left-field fence with two out in the ninth, but was stranded when Harris retired Alex Rios on a grounder.

The Astros grabbed a 1-0 lead in the sixth when Jose Altuve singled and stopped at third on Marwin Gonzalez’s double into the left-field corner. Rookie Carlos Correa hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Altuve.

Houston right-hander Scott Feldman took a one-hitter into the seventh inning before the Royals tied it. Escobar’s led off with an infield single and moved to third on Kendrys Morales’ ground-rule double to center.

After Hosmer was walked intentionally to load the bases, Salvador Perez’s sacrifice fly scored Escobar, snapping the Royals’ 15-inning scoreless drought.

Feldman, who was making his second start since having right knee surgery in late May, left after 7 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and one run, while walking one intentionally and striking out two.

Pat Neshek replaced Feldman and stranded Orlando at second base to end the eighth. He has permitted just one of 15 inherited runners to score this season.

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy was pulled after six innings and 101 pitches, allowing one run and three hits, while walking one and striking out three.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: INF Jed Lowrie (right thumb ligament tear) went 2 for 3 with a double and a RBI, while starting at third base Friday in a rehab game with Double-A Corpus Christi. He got the hits swinging right-handed. “That’s the side of the plate we were most concerned about him adjusting to after the injury,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

UP NEXT

Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel, who leads the American League with a 2.12 ERA, goes for his 13th victory.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura, who got a reprieve Wednesday, will start Sunday. Ventura was optioned Tuesday to Triple-A after a succession of poor outings, but was recalled the next day with LHP Jason Vargas going down with a season-ending elbow injury.

— Associated Press —

Martinez outduels former teammate Miller as Cardinals beat Braves 1-0

Posted on July 25, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez contended Shelby Miller had a better night than Carlos Martinez and the numbers almost backed up that case.

“He outpitched Martinez,” Gonzalez said. “He really did.”

The Cardinals made the most of two hits and beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win. They lead the majors with a 63-34 record.

Pinch-hitter Stephen Piscotty got his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and Martinez worked eight innings of six-hit ball against his former team.

Manager Mike Matheny said Martinez had perhaps the best sinker “we’ve ever seen from him,” and it led to three of St. Louis’ four double plays. Through an interpreter, Martinez said his sinker was “nasty.”

“Tonight was big, a fun night to compete against (Miller),” Martinez said. “The defense was outstanding.”

Martinez (11-4) made his first post-All-Star break start and had six strikeouts and one walk, which was intentional. He worked the last four innings and took the loss in an 18-inning setback to the Mets on Sunday.

Randy Choate got the last two outs for his first save. Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal has gotten two games off after working three straight.

Miller (5-7) got a standing ovation from a sellout crowd before his first at-bat and allowed a run and two hits in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander is 0-6 in his last 12 games, the longest winless slump by a Braves starter since Kenshin Kawakami went 14 games between victories in 2010.

“It was everything you expected it to be, it was a lot of fun,” Miller said.

Miller shrugged off the winless slump, saying “That’s not a big deal. I’m going to come back every five days and try to do my job.”

The Braves have not scored a run in nine of his starts this season.

“How much more can he do other than drive in a couple of runs himself?” Gonzalez said.

Kolten Wong had a leadoff double in the first and St. Louis didn’t get another hit until Yadier Molina opened the eighth with a single.

Randal Grichuk then walked, and Pete Kozma pinch-ran for Molina and advanced on a fly out. Kozma beat the throw home from Nick Markakis on Piscotty’s flyball to medium right field.

“It was just a cool moment and I’m just really glad it came through,” Piscotty said.

Miller retired 12 straight ending the seventh. The former first-round draft pick of the Cardinals spent his first three seasons with St. Louis before getting dealt to Atlanta in the offseason for outfielder Jason Heyward.

The trade came after the death of promising Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras. Martinez inherited Miller’s spot in the rotation, dedicating the season to Taveras.

The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the second before Martinez struck out Miller.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Freddie Freeman, activated from the 15-day DL from a wrist injury, flied out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and finished the game at first base. He had been scheduled to play a second rehab game in Double-A Orlando but that was rained out, so he flew to St. Louis and arrived in the second inning.

“Hand doesn’t hurt at all,” Freeman said. “I was on the phone all morning pleading my case. Happy they obliged.”

Cardinals: One sterling rehab start, five innings of no-hit ball, was enough for LHP Jaime Garcia to show he’s ready to rejoin the rotation early next week. He’s been out with a strained left groin since July 4 and will start either Tuesday or Wednesday against Cincinnati.

UP NEXT

Braves: Just like Miller, rookie Matt Wisler (4-1, 3.60) will be facing the Cardinals for the first time. Michael Wacha (11-3, 3.20) has 93 strikeouts and needs one more to set a career best.

NOTABLE

The Cardinals won with just two hits for the first time since Sept. 4, 2004, against the Dodgers in a 5-1 win. They won 1-0 on a sacrifice fly for the first time since July 21, 2004, by Edgar Renteria against the Brewers. … The Braves have been shut out nine times.

— Associated Press —

Mustangs defeat Nevada to win 2015 MINK League Championship

Posted on July 25, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs captured their fourth MINK League championship in five seasons as they defeated Nevada 10-7 Friday in the league title game inside Phil Welch Stadium.

St. Joe’s summer college advances to the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita, Kansas for the fifth time in their seven years of existance.

The Mustangs gave up an unearned run in the first inning, but bounced back with three runs in the third and four more in the fourth inning to take a 7-1 lead.

It didn’t last long as the Griffons rallied quickly with two runs in the fifth inning and they tied the game with four in the sixth.

St. Joseph took the lead for good in the seventh inning as they scored an unearned run to take the lead and Jerry Houston and Jackson Schnurbusch had consecutive RBI doubles to extend the lead to 10-7.

Austin Aspegren earned the win in relief for the Mustangs as he threw 1.1 scoreless innings. Dixon Marble started the game and allowed six earned runs and 11 hits in 5.1 innings of work.

Houston, Schnurbusch and Ramsay Scott all had two hits each to lead St. Joe’s 11-hit attack, while Scott and Orencio Fisher each had two RBI.

The Mustangs are now 35-15 this season and will begin play in Wichita next Friday or Saturday as the schedule will be released early next week for the championship bracket of the NBC World Series.

Kansas City gets shutout by Kazmir, Astros in series opener

Posted on July 25, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Scott Kazmir made a strong first impression on his new teammates.

Kazmir pitched seven strong innings in his Houston debut, leading the Astros to a 4-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Kazmir, 31, limited the Royals to three singles, and only one runner — Mike Moustakas in the fourth — got past first base. Kazmir (6-5), who lowered his ERA to 2.24, retired the final nine batters he faced.

“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way,” Kazmir said. “When you have a defense like I had behind me, especially what you see the first couple of innings, you have a lot of confidence out there. I just pitched to contact.”

Kazmir was acquired by the Astros from Oakland on Thursday for two minor leaguers. He hasn’t lost a July start since July 10, 2010, going 7-0 in his past 14 starts.

Kazmir met his catcher, Jason Castro, for the first time just before batting practice.

“He’s going to be huge for us,” Castro said. “Obviously, the reason we went out and got him is exactly what he did tonight, to give us solid innings. We can’t expect him to throw a shutout every time, but that would be nice. That’s exactly what we were hoping to get out of him; to have another arm like that in our rotation is going to be huge.”

Preston Tucker had three of the Astros’ hits, including his fourth home run in five games — a solo shot in the third inning. Colby Rasmus singled home Carlos Correa later in the inning to make it 2-0.

“I hadn’t got a chance to see him pitch this year,” Tucker said of Kazmir. “I knew he was good. I didn’t know what to expect. That was awesome. That’s just what we needed.”

Correa, a 20-year-old rookie who extended his hitting streak to nine games, and Jose Altuve each singled home a run in the fourth inning.

Left-hander Tony Sipp walked Moustakas and gave up a single to Eric Hosmer in the ninth, which prompted manager A.J. Hinch to summon closer Luke Gregerson for the final two outs. Gregerson logged his 21st save in 24 opportunities, getting Kendrys Morales to ground into a game-ending double play.

Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (7-6) gave up four runs and 11 hits, matching his season high, and two walks in seven innings. It was the eighth time this season and third straight start Guthrie allowed at least eight hits.

Kazmir was too much for the Royals to overcome.

“He really handled us with fastballs and changeups,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “But changing speeds … his fastball was 93-95. His changeup was 74 to 80. A lot of variation there. Really commanded the ball well, kept the ball down. Busted us in when we started looking away and off-speeded us down and away when we were looking in.”

The Astros won their fifth straight and are 6-1 since the All-Star break. The Royals are 0-4 against the Astros this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: INF Jed Lowrie (ligament tear in right thumb) has begun a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi.

Royals: LF Alex Gordon (left groin strain) has started a throwing program, but manager Ned Yost said Gordon is a ways off before returning.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Scott Feldman will be making his second start since May 26 and going on the disabled list after knee surgery.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy lost to the Astros on June 30, allowing four runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.

— Associated Press —

Grichuk, Cooney lead Cardinals over Braves 4-2

Posted on July 25, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — On a 90-degree night, the shower St. Louis rookie left-hander Tim Cooney received in the locker room after recording his first major league win was almost as enjoyable as his performance on the hill.

“It was ice cold, just what I needed,” Cooney after throwing seven solid innings, leading the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer, his second in as many nights, and Mark Reynolds and Jhonny Peralta added run-scoring hits to help the Cardinals improve to 6-1 since the All-Star break. They are an MLB-best 35-12 at home.

Meanwhile, the Braves have lost their last six road games.

Cooney (1-0) gave up five hits and two earned runs in an efficient 74-pitch stint. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. He faced four batters over the minimum.

“I think my command has been getting a little bit better each start,” Cooney said. “This was the best for my fastball command. When you are able to locate the ball, good things are going to happen.”

Cooney said the importance of the moment did not sink in until he looked up at the scoreboard right after the final out.

“When it ended and I saw my name in win column, it was pretty cool,” he said.

Cooney had a successive scoreless string stopped at 12 innings when the Braves scored twice in the sixth.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny has been impressed with Cooney’s composure in all six of his starts. The last five were no-decisions.

“He was very unpredictable with what he was going to throw tonight,” Matheny said. “He made the pitches in tough counts. He had a feel for everything.”

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina did a solid job of guiding the rookie through the little trouble he encountered.

“It’s always good to see someone get their first win, or first homer, or RBI,” Molina said. “I’m happy for him.”

Grichuk’s homer came in the second inning. He also hit a two-run homer in the second on Thursday in a 4-3 win over Kansas City. His 11th of the season came off rookie Manny Banuelos (1-2), who gave up six hits and four earned runs in five-plus innings. He had allowed one earned run or less in all three of his previous starts.

“I just went up there trying to be aggressive in the strike zone,” Grichuk said. “I got some pitches I thought I could handle and I swung at them.”

Kevin Siegrist retired the Braves in the ninth for his fifth save in eight opportunities. He struck out Jonny Gomes with two on to end the game. St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal was given the night off after appearing in the previous three games.

Peralta brought in Matt Carpenter with a run-scoring single in the third for a 3-0 lead. Reynolds drove in Grichuk in the fourth.

The Braves parlayed a double by Cameron Maybin and a single by Andrelton Simmons into two runs.

Atlanta was able to stay close, but could not come up with a big hit down the stretch.

“I thought our bullpen did a terrific job coming in, keeping it right there,” manager Fredi Gonzalez. “With Jonny Gomes at the plate, who historically wears out left-handed pitching, you feel pretty good in that situation.”

Banuelos struggled to the worst outing of his short career.

“It was a tough game,” Banuelos said. “I (made) a couple of mistakes in tough situations.”

The Braves, who were opening a 10-game road trip, have lost nine of their last 12 overall.

TRAINER’S ROOM:

Braves: 1B Freddie Freeman began a rehabilitation assignment with the Rookie League Gulf Coast team in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Friday. Freeman, who has missed 29 games, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 23 with a bruised right wrist.

Cardinals: Rookie OF/INF Stephen Piscotty did not start on Friday after being a late scratch on Thursday due to a stiff neck. He reached on an error as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

UP NEXT:

Former Cardinals RHP Shelby Miller (5-6, 2.33) will face RHP Carlos Martinez (10-4, 2.51) in the second game of the three-game series on Saturday. Miller was acquired from the Cardinals on Nov. 17, 2014, along with RHP Tyrell Jenkins in exchange for OF Jason Heyward and RHP Jordan Walden. Martinez had recorded 10 successive quality starts.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs CB Sean Smith suspended three game for DUI arrest

Posted on July 24, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith will miss the first three games of the regular season, including matchups against the Broncos’ Peyton Manning and Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, after he was suspended Friday for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Smith, who was arrested last year on a drunken driving charge, pleaded guilty earlier this year. The 28-year-old paid a fine and received two years of probation.

Smith will miss games against Houston, Denver and Green Bay before returning Week 4 against Cincinnati. That means the Chiefs will have to fill his spot with an unproven rookie or backup for matchups with a couple of the game’s prolific quarterbacks.

“We respect and support the league’s decision in this matter and will have no further comment on the situation,” the Chiefs said in a brief statement Friday.

The timing is far from ideal for Smith, too. He is entering a contract year after one of the best seasons of his career. He started all 16 games and was part of a stingy defense that did not allow a 300-yard passer, and finished second to NFC champion Seattle in scoring.

Under the NFL substance abuse policy, first-time offenders generally receive two-game suspensions. But there can be additional discipline depending on the circumstances, and Smith was pulled over by police last year after his car struck and broke a light pole.

When asked during workouts last month whether Smith expected to be suspended, he replied: “I don’t know. I have no control over that. I just wake up, come to work and do my job.”

Rookies report to training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Tuesday, with the full squad due to report July 31. The Chiefs play their preseason opener Aug. 15 at St. Louis, though it remains to be seen how much Smith plays in their four exhibition games. The Chiefs may use those reps to get his replacement ready for the opener.

The Chiefs were already headed to training camp next week trying to settle the cornerback position opposite Smith, where Phillip Gaines appeared to make the biggest move in the offseason.

Jamell Fleming and Marcus Cooper have some experience, and Ron Parker could fill the spot, though he is more suited for safety. That leaves a pair of rookies, first-round pick Marcus Peters and third-round choice Steven Nelson, in the mix for the starting job.

Peters ultimately could land the spot, but starting a rookie in Week 1 is hardly ideal.

“No pressure at all,” Peters said during minicamp. “I’m going to come out here and compete the best that I can, and take these three days as a learning (process), being around the vets, and get some more information about the playbook. Once it’s time for training camp, it’s on.”

— Associated Press —

Royals’ rally comes up short at St. Louis

Posted on July 24, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — John Lackey wore a Cardinals 1985 World Series T-shirt as a 6-year-old growing up in Abilene, Texas, courtesy of an aunt then living in St. Louis.

The 36-year-old right-hander was a Rangers fan back then, but had no trouble adding the Cardinals to his short list of favorites. No doubt, he enjoyed beating the Kansas City Royals wearing a throwback uniform the teams wore in the I-70 Series.

“I have a picture of me in a World Series ’85 T-shirt,” Lackey said after the Cardinals won 4-3 Thursday night. “I’m kind of an old-school guy.

“I like the old uniforms — they’re sweet. They’re a little bit hotter than the ones we have now, that’s about the only thing.”

Lackey threw seven strong innings after a shaky beginning and Trevor Rosenthal escaped his own jam in the ninth as the Cardinals won in the makeup of a rainout last month. Randal Grichuk and Matt Carpenter hit two-run homers.

“You try to stay out of those situations,” Rosenthal said after pitching for the third straight day. “When we don’t think too far ahead, I think that’s when we all have our best stuff.”

As in the originally scheduled game, St. Louis and Kansas City led their league in wins and Lackey (9-5) and Chris Young (8-6) were the scheduled starters.

Rosenthal took over to begin the ninth with a 4-2 lead. Alex Rios led off with a single and Omar Infante followed with a triple.

The Royals went on to put runners on second and third with no outs and twice baserunners were allowed to take second without a throw before Rosenthal held on for his 30th save in 32 chances. Mike Moustakas grounded out to end it.

“That’s a controversial philosophy,” manager Mike Matheny said. “Mine was I wanted to win it with my closer right now.”

Royals manager Ned Yost couldn’t deny his surprise.

“Anytime you’re going to let the winning run waltz to second base …” Yost said. “They’ve got a lot of confidence in their closer. It shows you how good he is.”

The paid attendance of 46,003 was the 24th sellout for St. Louis, which took the season series 4-2, but there were several thousand no-shows for the opener of an elongated 11-game homestand.

Salvador Perez and Alex Rios had consecutive RBI singles in the first for the Royals, but they managed just two more hits in Lackey’s final six innings. The 36-year-old right-hander is 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA in his last eight starts, working seven or more innings in all but one of them.

“That’s my whole career,” Lackey said. “I get deep in games, that’s why I’m still doing it.”

Carpenter’s 10th homer, and just his second in two months, put the Cardinals ahead 4-2 in the third. Grichuk, who also singled and flied out to the wall in right, has a team-leading 13 RBI this month.

The Cardinals are 61-34 overall and 34-12 at Busch Stadium, both major league bests.

Young gave up four runs in three innings, his shortest outing since he allowed five runs while getting just two outs for Seattle last Sept. 1 at Oakland.

“It just wasn’t good enough. Made some bad pitches and they both got hit out of the park,” Young said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Young has been hindered by back tightness and is 1/3 in his last five starts.

Cardinals: Jaime Garcia threw five hitless innings in his first rehab start for Class A Peoria, the only blemish on his line a hit batter. … Rookie 1B Stephen Piscotty was a pregame lineup scratch with neck stiffness.

UP NEXT

Royals: Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 5.36) faces the Astros to open a three-game series at home. He’s 20-12 with a 3.68 ERA post-break the last four seasons.

Cardinals: Rookie Tim Cooney (0-0, 3.33) faces the Braves, making his sixth career start in search of a first decision. The lefty threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings his last time out, an 18-inning loss to the Mets on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou’s Mauk, Nebraska’s Armstrong named to Manning Award watch list

Posted on July 23, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou redshirt junior quarterback Maty Mauk (Kenton, Ohio) has been named to the Manning Award Watch List, as announced by the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday (July 23). The annual award honors the nation’s top quarterback and is named in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only college football quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting; therefore, it is presented annually following the completion of the bowl season. The winner is selected by a panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings.

Mauk is one of 30 quarterbacks nationally to make the list and one of four SEC signal callers, joining Arkansas’ Brandon Allen, Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott.

Mauk, who was a Manning Award Star of the Week on Sept. 8 last season, is 14-4 in 18 career games as a starter and helped guide Mizzou to a second consecutive SEC Eastern Division Championship in 2014. Mauk threw for 25 touchdowns last season and rushed for two more, accounting for 2,648 total passing yards and 3,021 yards of total offense. Mauk’s 2,648 passing yards a season ago are the third-most of any returning SEC quarterback.

Inclusion on the Watch List is not necessary for the quarterbacks to be selected for the honor. Midseason additions to the Watch List will be announced on Wednesday, October 14. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Wednesday, November 25. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 13.

This year’s Watch List includes players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The ACC leads the way with five selections, followed by the SEC, the Pac-12 and the American with four each. There are 15 seniors on the list while the junior class is represented by 10 quarterbacks and the sophomore class has four.

University of Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong earned his second watch list recognition Thursday afternoon, as he was named to the Manning Award Watch List.

The 6-1, 220-pound Armstrong has engineered the Nebraska offense each of the past two seasons, compiling a 16-5 record as the Huskers’ starting quarterback. In 2014, Armstrong compiled 3,400 yards of total offense, the third-best single-season total in Nebraska history. Armstrong passed for 2,695 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 705 yards. The Cibolo, Texas, native set Nebraska sophomore records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offense in 2014.

Armstrong is one of three Big Ten quarterbacks on the watch list. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Wednesday, November 25. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 13.

— MU & NU Media Relations —

Volquez leads KC to win over Pirates in series finale

Posted on July 22, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Edinson Volquez wanted to go nine innings, but had to settle for a victory against his old team and a standing ovation.

He did pitch effectively into the eighth and Mike Moustakas hit a three-run homer to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Volquez (9-5), who won 13 games last season for the Pirates, picked up his first victory since June 26. He allowed one run on eight hits, while walking one and striking out eight.

“I wanted a complete game,” Volquez said. “I get two easy outs in the eighth and then give up singles to (Andrew) McCutchen and (Starling) Marte. I was hoping to stay in the game, but the skipper came out and I said, `oh man.’ Ned (Yost) said see all those people in the stands, they’re going to give you a standing ovation.’ I said, all right, I’ll take that.”

Moustakas homered with two out in the eighth with Alex Rios and Jarrod Dyson aboard. Moustakas drove the 3-0 offering from right-hander Charlie Morton into the Royals’ bullpen.

“His eyes lit up when he saw the go ahead and swing sign,” Yost said.

Morton said the pitch was right where he “wanted it.”

“He was obviously looking in,” Morton said. “It was right up on his hands. “He was cheating in, I guess.”

Dyson’s bunt single scored Omar Infante with the first run of the inning.

Morton (6-4) allowed five runs on seven hits, two of them home runs, walked one, hit two batters and struck out four. He is 1/3 in his past five starts, inflating his ERA from 1.62 to 4.59.

Eric Hosmer hit his ninth home run, matching his 2014 total, in the fourth for the other Kansas City run. Hosmer went 101 at-bats since his previous homer on June 19.

Neil Walker’s sacrifice fly in the third scored Jaff Decker for the only Pittsburgh run.

The Pirates went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position off Volquez. Opponents are hitting just .186 off Volquez with runners in scoring position.

“We pushed him four different innings with two runners on,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He’s shown up well this year on batting average against with runners in scoring position. We saw more of that tonight. One inning we lined out twice. We just had poor aim.”

The Pirates have lost five of six since the All-Star break. The Royals have won six of eight and top the American League with 57 victories.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli missed his second straight game with a right wrist contusion, but manager Clint Hurdle said he would likely return to the lineup Thursday.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas, who left after 26 pitches with elbow pain Tuesday, has a torn ligament that will require season-ending Tommy John surgery. RHP Yordano Ventura, who was optioned Tuesday to Triple-A Omaha, was recalled and will start Sunday against the Astros.

UP NEXT:

Pirates: LHP Francisco Liriano, who was scratched from a Saturday start at Milwaukee with a stiff neck, will start Thursday against the Nationals.

Royals: RHP Chris Young will start Thursday at St. Louis, a makeup game from a June 14 rainout. Young threw six scoreless innings on May 20 to beat the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals rally past White Sox with three-run eighth inning

Posted on July 22, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a bases-loaded triple off David Robertson with two out in the eighth inning, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Randal Grichuk singled, Matt Holliday was hit by a pitch and Jason Heyward reached on catcher’s interference before Molina drove a 2-2 pitch into the corner in right for his third hit of the game.

It was the first triple for the All-Star catcher since May 22, 2011, and No. 4 for his career.

Miguel Socolovich (4-1) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win.

Kevin Siegrist struck out Adam LaRoche with runners on the corners for the final out in the eighth, and Trevor Rosenthal finished for his 29th save in 31 chances.

St. Louis (60-34) has won four of five heading into a season-long 11-game homestand beginning on Thursday night against Kansas City.

It was another heartbreaking loss for the last-place White Sox (42-50), who have dropped four straight and six of seven. Zach Duke (3-4) got two outs in the eighth before he was replaced by Robertson, and Tyler Flowers struck out three times in addition to his costly miscue behind the plate that put Heyward on in the eighth.

John Danks pitched 6 2/3 innings of five-hit ball for Chicago, extending his scoreless streak to 12 2/3 innings over his last two starts. The left-hander struck out five and walked none.

Danks and Lance Lynn were locked up in a scoreless duel before Chicago pushed across two runs in the sixth, helped by a miscue for Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta. With runners on first and second and no outs, Peralta juggled Tyler Saladino’s potential double-play grounder as he tried to get the ball out of his glove, leaving no chance for second baseman Kolten Wong to get the speedy rookie at first.

Jose Abreu and Melky Cabrera followed with consecutive RBI singles, lifting the White Sox to a 2-0 lead. Lynn then struck out Avisail Garcia and retired LaRoche on a fly ball to the warning track in center.

Lynn retired his first eight batters, but consecutive hits for Carlos Sanchez and Adam Eaton put runners on second and third with two out in the third. Saladino then looked at a called third strike, ending the inning.

The Cardinals had the same opportunity in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with two down, but Danks retired Wong on a fly ball to center for the final out.

SLUMPING

LaRoche went 0 for 4 and is batting .148 (8 for 54) with no homers and two RBI in July.

“It’s confusing, frustrating,” LaRoche said before the game. “I’ll go and figure it out for an at-bat or two, and then it’s gone, where in the past I’ve been able to figure it out and maybe hold onto it for a while.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Holliday was the designated hitter for the second straight day. The All-Star was activated from the disabled list on Friday after being sidelined by a strained right quadriceps, but he hasn’t been cleared to run full speed yet. “I think it’s getting closer and better every day,” manager Mike Matheny said. “A couple of days here as a DH have certainly been helpful. We’ll see when we get back home tomorrow. We’ll see what the doctors are saying.” … RHP Mitch Harris (right groin strain) pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (8-5, 2.90 ERA) gets the ball when St. Louis begins an 11-game homestand Thursday night against Kansas City in the makeup of a June 14 rainout. RHP Chris Young (8-5, 3.03 ERA) starts for the Royals in a matchup of the teams with the best record in each league.

White Sox: RHP Jeff Samardzija (6-5, 4.08 ERA) makes what could be his final start for Chicago when the White Sox open a four-game series at Cleveland on Thursday night. Samardzija is a possible trade target ahead of the July 31 non-waiver deadline. RHP Trevor Bauer (8-6, 4.03 ERA) pitches for the Indians.

— Associated Press —