Dave Riggert – Page 611 – St. Joseph Post Archive

St. Louis avoids sweep with 2-1 win over Detroit

Posted on May 17, 2015May 17, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kolten Wong hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning and Lance Lynn got his fifth career RBI to back his dominant pitching as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Sunday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Miguel Cabrera’s RBI double in the first was the only damage against Lynn (3-3), who gave a weary bullpen a break before walking the last two batters he faced — Ian Kinsler and Cabrera — on eight straight balls at the end of his 7 1/3 innings.

Seth Maness’ only pitch resulted in a double-play ball by J.D. Martinez to end the eighth and Trevor Rosenthal finished for his 13th save in 14 chances.

Matt Carpenter added two hits and Peter Bourgos tripled and scored on Lynn’s single in the third. The Cardinals improved to a major league-best 25-12 despite having two players thrown at the plate — the last on a relay from left fielder Yoenis Cespedes that caught Jhonny Peralta and left them with nothing to show for three hits in the seventh.

St. Louis had three late-inning gaffes on the bases in Saturday’s 4-3, 10-inning loss.

Cabrera has four homers and nine RBIs the last four games, including his 400th homer on Sunday.

Alfredo Simon (4-2) gave up two runs in six innings for the Tigers, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Wong had been 1 for 8 in the series before hammering Simon’s fastball an estimated 434 feet to right with one out in the sixth.

Lynn entered the game a career .071 hitter and has three hits this year, all singles. He sliced a pitch down the right-field line to tie it at 1 in the third.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Justin Verlander (elbow) is scheduled for a 45-pitch bullpen session Monday, which could lead to a simulated game. … Victor Martinez fouled out pinch hitting in the seventh in his first appearance of the series. Manager Brad Ausmus said Martinez (knee) had been unavailable the previous three days.

Cardinals: GM John Mozeliak said it’s too soon to consider a demotion to the bullpen for 23-year-old Carlos Martinez, 3-2 with a 4.73 ERA and struggling to go deep, especially with lefty Marco Gonzalez scuffling in the minors.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Kyle Lobstein (3-3, 4.33) faces the Brewers and Mike Fiers (1-4, 5.00) to start a seven-game homestand. Lobstein was knocked out in the third his last time out, surrendering six runs against the Twins.

Cardinals: John Lackey (2-2, 3.22) is the scheduled starter to open a seven-game trip against the Mets’ Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.31). Lackey is 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA in three road starts.

NUMBERS GAME

Cabrera is the third youngest player to hit 400 homers at 32 years, 28 days. He trails only Alex Rodriguez (29 years, 316 days) and Albert Pujols (30 years, 222 days). … Matt Adams is in a 2-for-33 slump.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou rallies past Kansas to advance to regional championship

Posted on May 16, 2015May 16, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Senior 1B Kelsea Roth hit a two-run double in the fifth to send the No. 12/13 Mizzou Softball to the NCAA Columbia Regional championship game after a 5-3 win over Kansas in the third game of the regional on Saturday. The Tigers (41-14), a perfect 2-0 in the Regional, play again Sunday, May 17, at Noon against a team to be determined.

Sophomore P Tori Finucane was credited with the win to up her 2015 record to an outstanding 21-8.

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore RF Emily Crane got the Tigers rolling with a single to the third base side, her fifth hit in the regional. Junior 2B Sami Fagan walked, setting the stage for freshman DP Amanda Sanchez. The newcomer ripped a single up the middle to score Crane from second and knot the score at 3-3.

Sanchez has now tied Mizzou’s freshman RBI record with her total of 55 matching Micaela Minner’s mark from her 2005 season.

Following Sanchez, Roth laced a double down the third base line, scoring both Fagan and pinch runner Kayla Kingsley for a 5-3 Tiger advantage.

The game was closed shut by the glove of senior SS Corrin Genovese in the top of the seventh, who ranged to her right for a grounder deep in the hole. Genovese snared it with her mitt and relayed the ball to Fagan at second base to finish off the win.

The Jayhawks plated two runs in the top of the first to take a quick 2-0 advantage on the Tigers. After SS Chaley Brickey led off the game with a single, 3B Chanin Naudin launched a two-run home run to left, her ninth bomb of the year.

Fagan answered right back with a two-run homer of her own in the bottom of the first to even the score at 2-2. Fagan’s tater, the junior’s 12th of the year, knocked in RF Emily Crane, who singled one batter earlier. Fagan is now one RBI shy of tying Mary Babb’s single-season program record of 63.

A solo home run from Kansas DP Danielle Chavez gave the Jayhawks a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. Mizzou escaped further damage when Kansas CF Briana Evans grounded to third with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Both Crane and Sanchez tallied two hits each in the win. Crane is now hitting .714 (5-7) in the Regional and .486 (18-37) overall in career NCAA Tournament games.

— MU Sports Information —

Duffy drops third straight as Yankees beat KC 5-1

Posted on May 16, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — CC Sabathia was told by Yankees manager Joe Girardi that he was done Saturday night after limiting the hot-hitting Royals to one run through seven efficient innings.

“I guess I’m an old man now,” Sabathia said. “He needed to take me out and give me a rest.”

Old man? More like the Sabathia of old.

Backed by homers from Chase Headley and Alex Rodriguez, the former Cy Young winner who had struggled throughout April helped New York to a 5-1 victory over Kansas City, ending the Yankees’ four-game losing streak and evening their three-game series.

“CC has not been a strong pitcher in April for much of his career,” said Girardi, who never thought twice about pulling the big lefty after just 87 pitches. “But look at what he’s done his last few starts. Hopefully he keeps rolling.”

With rain approaching the entire evening, Sabathia (2-5) made quick work of the Royals, who had pounded out 12 runs on 17 hits the previous night. He allowed their lone run on six hits without a walk to win his second straight start.

Headley hit a tiebreaking three-run homer, and Rodriguez added his 10th of the season in the ninth to help the Yankees shake out of their offensive slumber.

Danny Duffy (2-3) lost his third straight start for Kansas City, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. It was a modest improvement over the left-hander’s previous two starts, when he’d been hammered for 10 runs in 4 2/3 innings by the Indians and Rangers.

“I know my teammates believe in me. I believe in me. The coaching staff believes in me,” Duffy said. “I know I’m better than these results.”

Both teams squandered opportunities for big innings in the third.

Duffy walked three of the first four Yankees he faced in the frame, and Carlos Beltran’s sacrifice fly made it 1-0. Headley followed with a flyout to end the inning.

The Royals countered with three straight singles off Sabathia to begin their half, including a chopper that Sabathia fielded cleanly but was slow in throwing to first base. Mike Moustakas hit his own sacrifice fly before Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer struck out to end the inning.

Duffy fell into a nice rhythm after his escape, but gave up consecutive two-out singles in the fifth. After going ahead 0-2 on Headley, the Yankees’ third baseman battled back to force a full count, then sent the next pitch sailing into the bullpen in left field.

“We’ve been grinding to score runs,” Headley said. “I was able to get something I could hit.”

Duffy was replaced the next inning by veteran Joe Blanton, who made his first appearance in a big league game since Sept. 3, 2013. Blanton allowed one run the final four frames.

Rain started to fall heavily in the bottom half of the fifth, when Sabathia stranded runners on first and second, before blowing out of the area after about 10 minutes.

Lightning started to flash across the sky in the seventh, but crew chief Bill Welke allowed the game to continue. Yankees relievers Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller breezed through the last two innings to help finish the game before the storms arrived.

“That’s a good team, to be able to come in here and get a win, especially after what they did to us last night,” Sabathia said. “It feels good.”

Missouri loses to Kentucky in regular season finale

Posted on May 16, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou baseball dropped its regular season finale, 8-2, to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon (May 16) at Taylor Stadium. Mizzou finishes the regular season at 29-26 and 15-15 in SEC play while Kentucky improves to 30-24 and 14-15 in SEC play. UK starter Kyle Cody was fantastic, scattering just three Tiger hits over 7.0 shutout innings, striking out eight against just two walks, earning his fourth win of the season.

Mizzou starter Peter Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.) surrendered four earned runs over 1.2 innings as he was charged with his fifth loss of the season. It was just the second time this season that Fairbanks has allowed more than three earned runs in a start and his shortest outing of the season.

Senior Andrew Schwaab (St. Charles, Mo.) was the highlight for Mizzou on Saturday, allowing just one hit over 4.1 shutout innings, striking out two against one walk to keep the Tigers within striking distance.

Kentucky plated a run in the first inning on a no-out double by three-hole hitter JaVon Shelby. Fairbanks was able to pitch out of a second-and-third, nobody-out situation in the first to limit the damage to just one run, eventually stranding the bases loaded with after a two-out walk. But Kentucky knocked Fairbanks out of the game in the second, scoring three runs in the frame. Schwaab then came on in relief.

Cody ran into trouble in the fifth after a stellar first four innings. He loaded the bases with one out and worked a 3-2 count to Jake Ivory (St. Charles, Mo.). But Ivory bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. That was Mizzou’s only real threat in the game off of Cody.

Junior Zach Strecker relieved Cody in the eighth inning, and promptly got the first two outs before an infield hit by Brett Peel (St. Charles, Mo.). Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) then singled up the middle to put runners on the corners with two down. Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) then poked a single through the right side to put Mizzou on the board, his team-leading 16th two-out RBI.

Lefty Logan Salow was then brought out of the bullpen to face Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.) who lined a full-count single back up the middle to cut the lead top 4-2. UK made another pitching change, bringing in Bo Wilson to face Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) and he got the freshman to strike out, stranding the tying runs on base.

UK got the two runs Mizzou scored in the eighth back in the ninth on a two-run homer by Evan White off of Tiger reliever Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.). Shelby then hit another two-run homer in the ninth to make the score 8-2. John Miles (Columbia, Mo.) stopped the bleeding, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth, but Mizzou couldn’t scratch anything across.

Mizzou will open the SEC Tournament next Tuesday in Hoover, Ala. It is Mizzou’s first SEC Tournament appearance since 2013.

— MU Sports Information —

Cardinals fall to Detroit in 10 innings

Posted on May 16, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miguel Cabrera’s bat gave the Detroit Tigers a smashing start. His under-rated defense helped save them late.

Cabrera hit his 400th career home run and turned a nifty double play with a catch near the first base stands followed by an on-target throw in a 4-3, 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

“He’s definitely the best hitter in baseball and he’s hands down the smartest player in baseball as well,” starter David Price said. “He’s pretty special.”

Cabrera’s milestone shot gave him the most homers by a Venezuelan-born player, passing Andres Galarraga. The solo shot came in the first inning just before a rain delay of 1 hour, 20 minutes.

“That means a lot to me,” Cabrera said about the milestone. “But I just want to win and play games.”

Nearly five hours later, Jose Iglesias had an RBI single for the go-ahead hit.

Cabrera has hit four homers in three games, 10 overall and 262 with Detroit, tying him with Willie Horton for fourth on the franchise list. Cabrera said he wasn’t sure if he got the 400th home run ball back.

Adrian Beltre of Texas hit his 400th homer Friday. Cabrera tied Beltre for 52nd place on the career list, with Duke Snider next at 407.

The Cardinals had a man on second with none out in the eighth when Cabrera caught a foul popup near the stands. He wheeled and threw out pinch runner Pete Kozma, who was trying to tag up and advance to third.

“It was a crazy play,” Cabrera said. “We know the Cardinals play aggressive and we’ve got to be ready for anything.”

“Now,” Kozma said, “I know he can make it.”

Price threw only a couple of pitches before the rain delay. He surrendered three homers, matching the total he’d allowed his first seven starts, but all were with the bases empty on changeups.

“It was some good swings on some pitches down the middle of the plate, and that’s what good hitters do,” Price said. “It’s a tough game.”

Matt Carpenter, Peter Bourjos and Jhonny Peralta connected, but the Cardinals made three costly base-running goofs in the final three innings.

Blaine Hardy (1-0) struck out two with a walk in the ninth and Joakim Soria finished for his 12th save in 12 chances. Detroit, which pasted St. Louis 10-4 in the opener, will go for a three-game interleague sweep on Sunday.

Iglesias, the eighth-place hitter, flied out with the bases loaded to end the third and popped out with two on to finish the fifth. He came through with two outs in the 10th against Matt Belisle (1-1).

J.D. Martinez drew a leadoff walk and Yoenis Cespedes followed with a single. Two outs later, Iglesias singled.

The Cardinals blew a chance to take the lead in the seventh. Jason Heyward stayed near second base, waiting to tag up, and could only reach third when Randal Grichuk’s flyball hit the wall for a double.

Heyward said “apparently on second base, it was the worst seat in the house for that one.”

“I looked at the ball, checked the outfielder and I was thinking to myself `This is so high I think it’s either going to be gone or caught at the wall,” Heyward added. “Obviously, the ball didn’t get caught.”

With the Cardinals down a run, Matt Holliday was out trying to stretch a single to two bases leading off the 10th.

Carpenter’s seventh homer tied it in the bottom of the first, on just the second at-bat after play resumed following the delay. Bourjos had been 1 for 11 against Price before putting the Cardinals ahead in the second with his first homer.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Alfredo Simon (4-1, 3.05) was 2-0 in three starts against St. Louis last year while with Cincinnati.

Cardinals: Lance Lynn (2-3, 3.27) is 28-13 with a 2.83 ERA at home.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Pitcher Shane Greene underwent an MRI exam and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said “concern is way down.” On Saturday, he was removed due to numbness in his pitching hand. Cespedes bent his glove thumb attempting a diving catch in the 10th.

Cardinals: Pitcher Jaime Garcia (shoulder) was back in St. Louis a day after throwing six innings in his second rehab start and could be close to rejoining the rotation.

— Associated Press —

Royals dominate Yankees in series opener 12-1

Posted on May 15, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lorenzo Cain had a career-high five RBIs, Kendrys Morales drove in three more runs and the Kansas City Royals routed the New York Yankees 12-1 on Friday night.

The Royals scored six times in the sixth inning while knocking Yankees starter Michael Pineda from the game, then cruised the rest of the way to open a three-game set between division leaders by dealing New York its season-high fourth consecutive loss.

Chris Young (3-0) allowed just four hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, making another strong case for a permanent spot in the starting rotation. The 6-foot-10 veteran made his third spot start in place of Jason Vargas, who is on the disabled list with a hip flexor injury.

Pineda (5-1), coming off a masterful 16-strikeout performance against Baltimore, only struck out one while matching a career worst with 10 hits allowed. Pineda was responsible for five runs in 5 1/3 innings, matching a season high set in a win over the Orioles last month.

Pineda hung tough through the first five innings, the only damage an RBI single by Cain in the first inning and a sacrifice fly by the Royals outfielder in the fourth.

Brian McCann had a sacrifice fly for New York in the top of the fourth inning.

Everything unraveled for the AL East-leading Yankees in the fifth, though. The Royals sent 11 batters to the plate, pounded out six hits and churned through Pineda and two relievers.

Omar Infante and Paulo Orlando drove in runs to start the onslaught, and Cain added a two-run single off Justin Wilson later in the inning. By the time Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was probably getting fatigued walking to the mound.

Jose Ramirez, just recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, finally got the Yankees out of the inning. But by then, the AL Central-leading Royals had pushed their lead to 8-1.

The only drama left was whether Mike Moustakas would hit for the cycle.

The Kansas City third baseman tripled, doubled and singled his first three times at bat. He grounded out in the sixth, but brought a crowd of 34,584 to its feet when he sent a fly ball down the left-field line in the seventh that bounced just a few feet from the top of the wall.

He wound up with an RBI double, giving him four hits for the fourth time in his career.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Chase Whitley (elbow sprain) went on the DL. He will be evaluated again by team physician Christopher Ahmad on Monday before deciding whether to have Tommy John surgery. … RHP Masahiro Tanaka (wrist tendinitis) threw 35 pitches in the bullpen before the game. The Yankees still have not set a date for a rehab assignment.

Royals: RF Alex Rios (fractured hang) continues to hit off a tee, though it’s unclear when he will return. … Vargas played catch before the game. He expects to throw a bullpen session soon.

UP NEXT

Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia (1-5) is coming off his first win of the season at Tampa Bay.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (2-2) tries to bounce back from two straight lousy starts.

— Associated Press —

Missouri opens NCAA softball tournament with win over Indiana State

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 12/13 Mizzou softball team used a five-run fifth inning to carry the team to a 7-0 win over Indiana State Friday in the second game of the NCAA Softball Columbia Regional. The Tigers (40-14) advanced to the winner’s bracket and will face Kansas on Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m. CT. The Sycamores (26-30) will take on Louisville in the loser’s bracket at 12:30 p.m.

RF Emily Crane recorded three of Mizzou’s 10 hits in the contest, upping her career NCAA Tournament average to .471 (16-34) in 11 Tournament games. CF Taylor Gadbois and 1B Kelsea Roth also added multi-hit performances with two singles apiece.

In the circle, P Tori Finucane allowed just two hits, struck out four batters and walked just one over 5.0 innings to earn her 20th win of the 2015 campaign. Over her last 11.0 innings, she has allowed only three hits and no runs in outings against Mississippi State and Indiana State.

The Tigers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Hits from CF Taylor Gadbois and RF Emily Crane and a walk from 2B Sami Fagan loaded the bases with no outs. DP Amanda Sanchez hit into a double play but drove Gadbois home to earn the RBI.

A five-run fifth inning, highlighted by a three-run pinch hit home run from Jordan Zolman, opened a 6-0 Missouri advantage. Crane led off the inning with her third hit of the game and eventually advanced to third after a fielder’s choice from Sanchez and a walk from C Kirsten Mack. SS Corrin Genovese gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead when she drove in Crane and reached on a fielder’s choice. A single from 1B Kelsea Roth, her second hit of the contest, plated Sanchez for a 3-0 score. Zolman then broke the game open with her second career homer, driving in Genovese and Roth for the 6-0 Missouri lead.

Mizzou added its final run of the game in the sixth when Sanchez recorded her second RBI of the game with a single up the middle to score Gadbois from third.

The Tigers’ Cheyenne Baxter relieved Finucane in the circle in the sixth, not allowing a hit in two innings of relief.

— MU Sports Information —

Chiefs sign three draft picks, including first-rounder Marcus Peters

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs signed their three remaining draft picks on Friday, including first-round selection Marcus Peters, bringing all nine under contract before rookie minicamp.

Along with Peters, a cornerback taken No. 18 overall, the Chiefs signed third-round picks Chris Conley, a wide receiver out of Georgia, and Steven Nelson, a cornerback from Oregon State.

Peters was kicked off the Washington Huskies after run-ins with coaches last year.

The Chiefs also signed Charles Tuaau, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound defense tackle from Texas A&M-Commerce who was not chosen in this year’s draft.

Kansas City’s three-day rookie minicamp begins Saturday.

To clear roster space, the Chiefs waived tight end Brandon Barden and defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals drop first game to Detroit 10-4

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ended a season-long slump in night games with a two-run homer and two singles and the Detroit Tigers also got homers from Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Martinez in a 10-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Cabrera entered batting just .158 with no homers and one RBI at night — he’s hit .471 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in day games. Manager Brad Ausmus called those numbers an “anomaly” before the game.

Cabrera hit his 399th career homer and third in two games in the seventh inning off Mitch Harris, tying Andres Galarraga for most by a Venezuelan-born player, and Martinez followed with his eighth homer to make it 5-0.

Shane Greene (4-2) allowed five hits in five scoreless innings before being removed due to numbness in his pitching arm.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou baseball evens series against Kentucky with 6-3 win

Posted on May 15, 2015May 15, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou baseball evened its series with Kentucky on Friday night with a 6-3 win, highlighted by a sensational start from freshman righty Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.), who picked up his eighth win of the season. He was given the lead in the third inning as senior Jake Ivory (St. Charles, Mo.) – on his senior day – lifted a go-ahead, two-run homer over the wall in left to give Mizzou a lead it would not relinquish.

The Tigers also got a two-hit performance from Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.), who homered and tripled in the win. Mizzou goes to 29-24 on the season and 15-14 in SEC play while snapping a six-game skid. The win ensures the Tigers no less than a .500 record in SEC play.

Houck got into some trouble in the third inning, loading the bases with one out. He then induced a fielder’s choice off the bat of JaVon Shelby, plating a run for Kentucky, staking the Wildcats to a 1-0 lead after 2.5 innings. But Mizzou answered in its half of the third on Ivory’s Senior Day blast, a two-run shot off of UK starter Dustin Beggs over the wall in left. It was his fourth homer of the season.

Mizzou added to the lead on a two-out single by Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) who led off the frame with a double into the gap in left center. Kentucky got a run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI groundout by Storm Wilson. But Mizzou answered in its half of the sixth with a Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) homer. It was his fourth of the season. Ring did it again in the eighth with an RBI triple, extending his team-leading extra-base hit total to 22. That made the score 5-2 and Mizzou added another run on an RBI single by Howard, giving Mizzou a 6-2 lead heading into the ninth.

After tossing a shutout eighth inning, junior closer Breckin Williams (Oronogo, Mo.) allowed a one-out, RBI double in the ninth, but that was all that UK could get off the Tiger closer, who picked up his school record 12th save of the season.

Mizzou will close the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. against Kentucky.

— MU Sports Information —