Sports – Page 422 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Duffy, Royals end Sanchez’s 10-game win streak, beat Toronto

Posted on August 6, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Duffy didn’t pitch quite as well as he did in his previous start — that would’ve been hard to match. He did plenty, though, to stop Aaron Sanchez and the Blue Jays.

Duffy and the Kansas City Royals ended a 10-game winning streak by Sanchez, topping Toronto 4-2 Saturday night.

Duffy (8-1) struck out a team-record 16 and permitted just one hit over eight innings at Tampa Bay in his last start. He won his seventh straight decision, holding the Blue Jays to two runs and five hits over 6 2/3 innings.

“I think the last start was probably the best start of my career,” Duffy said. “On days like that, I had everything working. Today not so much. Today, I didn’t have what I had the last time out, but I had enough. It wasn’t as good as the last one, but it was good enough.”

Sanchez (11-2) hadn’t lost since April 22 against Oakland. He allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings.

Sanchez still leads the AL with a 2.85 ERA.

The Blue Jays opted earlier this week to go with a six-man rotation instead of putting the 24-year-old Sanchez in the bullpen to limit his innings.

“It’s not like I thought he was out there distracted or rattled or anything,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “They just beat him. Nobody’s invincible.”

Devon Travis led off the game with a home run for the second straight night. He also had an RBI single in the fifth after Kevin Pillar doubled.

“It was a minor frustration, leaving a changeup up after I’ve been so good with my changeup this entire season,” Duffy said of Travis’ leadoff homer. “It was frustrating, but you don’t let it affect the next hitter and I didn’t, just kind of moved on.”

Eric Hosmer hit a two-out, two-run single in a three-run fifth that made it 3-2.

“We had four hits that inning and three of them were infield hits,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Hos came through. It was a big two-out hit.”

Sanchez pitched only 102 innings last year, including 9 2/3 in the minors on a rehab assignment after a shoulder injury. The All-Star righty has thrown 145 1/3 innings this season.

Alcides Escobar’s infield single scored Kansas City’s first run.

Raul Mondesi had an RBI triple in the sixth for his first extra-base hit in his 11th game in the majors.

The Royals scored more than three runs in a game for the first time in 10 games.

Kelvin Herrera picked up his fourth save in six chances, working a perfect ninth.

LEADING OFF

Travis became the first Blue Jays player to hit a leadoff home run in back-to-back game since Jose Cruz Jr. on April 22-23, 2000, against the Yankees. Mookie Betts of the Red Sox was the last to accomplish that feat in the majors, doing it last month.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Mike Minor (recovery from labrum surgery) is slated to throw five or six innings, up to 80 pitches, in a Sunday rehab start for Triple-A Omaha. In his prior two rehab starts, he has allowed no earned runs and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman, who struck out a career-best 13 Astros on Monday, starts the series finale.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura is looking for his first victory since June 17. He is 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA in his past seven starts.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis falls to Atlanta Saturday 13-5

Posted on August 6, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia had three-run home runs and the Atlanta Braves got enough from Roberto Hernandez in his first start this season for a 13-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.

The 35-year-old Hernandez (1-0), who previously pitched under the name Fausto Carmona, was the 14th starting pitcher used by the Braves this season, one off the franchise record in 1975. He allowed three runs in five-plus innings in his first start since July 19, 2015 with the Astros.

Carlos Martinez (10-7) surrendered a season-worst seven runs, and his six earned runs matched his season worst. He entered with a 2.99 ERA and had won six of his previous seven decisions.

Ender Inciarte and Matt Kemp each had two-run homers during a six-run ninth. Inciarte had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, and Kemp’s 24th of the season off Jonathan Broxton was his first since a trade from San Diego.

Atlanta beat the Cardinals for the first time in five meetings this season. Atlanta is last in the majors with a 40-70 record and 70 homers but has won seven of its last 11.

Kolten Wong had a pinch-hit homer for St. Louis but grounded out with the bases loaded to end the sixth against Ian Krol.

Freeman reached safely all five trips, adding two singles and two walks. He’d been batting just .205 with runners in scoring position before his 19th homer put Atlanta up 4-1, and Garcia’s ninth of the season made it a 7-2 cushion in the fifth.

KEY REPLAYS

Atlanta took the lead in the first after challenging a neighborhood play at second base. The Cardinals lost a challenge in the eighth on Tommy Pham’s run-scoring groundout.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: C Yadier Molina left with a right hand contusion, although it was unclear how he was hurt. Matt Adams pinch hit for him in the eighth and got an RBI double. … LHP Tyler Lyons (right knee) will see a specialist early next week for a stress fracture.

UP NEXT

Braves: Mike Foltynewicz hasn’t made it through the sixth his last three outings, allowing 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright has a 1.99 ERA his last six starts and is 8-2 with a 2.95 ERA against Atlanta, which drafted him in the first round in 2000 and traded him to St. Louis in a deal for J.D. Drew in December 2003.

ROSTER FODDER

The Braves acquired two prospects, LHP Michael Mader and SS Anfernee Seymour, from the Marlins in exchange for LHP Hunter Cervenka. They filled the roster spot by purchasing the contract of Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Associated Press —

Herrera allows 9th inning HR as Kansas City drops opener to Toronto 4-3

Posted on August 5, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Devon Travis has multiple hits in nine of his past 17 games. This one was different.

Travis hit his second homer of the game in the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Friday night.

Travis led off the game with a home run, then ripped a 1-2 pitch from Kelvin Herrera (1-3) into the Royals’ bullpen for his first career multihomer game.

“He’s on a nice little roll right now,” Blue Jays manager Josh Gibbons said. “He can turn around anybody’s fastball, so, he hit two home runs and it’s tough to hit them in this park, you’ve got to earn them. Anyway, he clutched up late.”

Travis hit Herrera’s 97 mph fastball that was high and out of the zone.

“I don’t know how the guy hit that ball,” Herrera said. “I was shocked.”

Travis is not sure how he hit it that far either.

“I kind of blacked out,” Travis said. “I’m going to go look at the tape. I just tried to open my eyes as wide as I can against him. He’s hard enough to see, a hundred (mph fastball) as it is. I’m just thankful everything worked out.”

Left-hander Brett Cecil (1-6) pitched a spotless eighth for the victory.

Francisco Liriano made his first start with the Blue Jays after being acquired in a trade Monday with Pittsburgh and yielded three runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Liriano had allowed 11 runs, 14 hits — including four home runs — and eight walks in 8 1/3 innings while losing his final two starts with the Pirates.

Joaquin Benoit worked the ninth for his first save since Sept. 3 while with the San Diego Padres. Closer Roberto Osuna was unavailable after pitching the previous two days and in three of the past four.

Right-hander Dillon Gee held the Blue Jays to three runs and four hits over six innings. He gave up a leadoff homer to Travis, then worked his way into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the first.

“They’re a great lineup,” Gee said. “I was just trying to give us a chance to win. I was able to do that. I didn’t feel great tonight. It was a battle for sure.”

The Royals have scored three or fewer runs in nine consecutive games, a club record for offensive futility.

“It’s a broken record,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We just have to find a way to put some runs on the board.”

Gee walked Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion in the third and both scored. Michael Saunders’ double scored Donaldson, and Encarnacion came home on Troy Tulowitzki’s groundout, giving the Blue Jays a 3-1 advantage.

The Royals tied it in the fifth on Paulo Orlando’s leadoff home run and Lorenzo Cain’s run-producing triple with two outs.

PILLAR RESTS

Kevin Pillar, who has started 105 games in center field for the Blue Jays, was not in the lineup after striking out eight times in his last 25 at-bats. He was used in the ninth as a defensive replacement.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (rotator cuff inflammation) threw a bullpen session and could begin a minor league rehab assignment soon. … LHP Jason Vargas, who has not pitched since July 21, 2015 and needed reconstructive elbow surgery, will make his first rehab start Saturday in the Arizona League. He is scheduled to pitch two innings.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez has not lost since April 22 to Oakland and makes his first August start after going 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in July. He held the Royals to three hits and one run over eight innings in a victory July 4.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy struck out a franchise-record 16 Rays in his start Monday and lost his no-hit bid on Desmond Jennings’ double in the eighth.

— Associated Press —

Garcia shuts down Braves, has RBI single in Cards’ 1-0 win

Posted on August 5, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia turned back the clock to his childhood Friday night.

Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings and had an RBI single to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

“I think I did it a bunch of times in Little League,” Garcia said of the dual production. “I think the only thing that would have made it better would be to hit a home run for the only run.”

Garcia (8-8) became the first Cardinals pitcher with the lone RBI in a 1-0 win since Harvey Haddix did it against Pittsburgh on July 17, 1955. Garcia struck out 11 as he topped the 100-strikeout mark for the third time in his career.

Garcia entered the game with a .167 average and he wasn’t about to puff out his chest about his production.

“I’m not a good hitter, but I try my best to get a good swing at the ball,” Garcia said.

He pitched out of a two-on, no out jam in the fourth, striking out Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp before getting Adonis Garcia to ground out. Freeman and Kemp, the Braves’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, were a combined 0 for 6 against Jaime Garcia with five strikeouts.

Garcia’s two-out single in the second drove in Matt Holiday for the pitcher’s fourth RBI this season. Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur thought he had a play on Holiday at the plate.

“It was just a bad throw, kind of straight in the ground, which I don’t usually do,” Francoeur said. “So that was a frustrating one.”

Garcia needed just 89 pitches to get through eight innings, facing three batters over the minimum.

“You could tell the breaking ball and change-up were falling off the table, but he went to his sinker whenever he needed to and he wasn’t even in a lot of deep counts,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s why he only threw 89 pitches through eight innings.”

Seung Hwan Oh got the last three outs for his ninth save.

Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz (0-4) gave up the run and two hits with five walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Garcia’s effort aided a taxed Cardinals bullpen. Prior to his start, five of the last six St. Louis starters failed to pitch into the sixth inning.

“It was huge, trying to get our bullpen another full day,” Matheny said. “But we would have had Oh up and hot again so it wasn’t like he was going to sit around.”

The Cardinals have won six of their last eight games at home to improve to 26-30 at Busch Stadium. St. Louis has won all four games this season against the Braves.

Atlanta’s Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 16 games by leading the game off with a single.

Atlanta has lost eight of its last 11 games at St. Louis.

HEAD OVER HEELS

Braves 3B Adonis Garcia tumbled into the camera well next to the Atlanta dugout to make an acrobatic catch on Brandon Moss’ pop foul in bottom of the third inning.

“It was awesome,” Francoeur said. “I actually saw him from right field disappear and the next thing I saw was a baseball coming over the thing. It was a great play.”

WELCOME BACK

Cardinals All-Star INF Matt Carpenter returned from the disabled list after missing 24 games with a right oblique strain. LHP Dean Kiekhefer was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

TRAINERS ROOM

Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (right lat strain) will play catch on Saturday, but there is no timetable for his return.

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons (knee) will miss at least a month, general manager John Mozeliak said.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Roberto Hernandez will make his Braves debut after being called up from Triple-A Gwinett Hernandez, formerly known as Fausto Carmona, has pitched for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston.

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (10-6, 2.99 ERA) leads all N.L. pitchers with a career-high 24 double plays induced. He is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 career innings against the Braves.

— Associated Press —

Newest Chiefs’ QB Nick Foles practices for the first time Friday

Posted on August 5, 2016August 5, 2016

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Fans will have to wait at least a day to see the Kansas City Chiefs’ new presumptive backup quarterback.

Rain forced the team into the indoor facility on the campus of Missouri Western State University for practice Friday, which took place hours after Nick Foles signed a one-year contract with an option for a second year. The move reunites him with coach Andy Reid, who drafted him out of Arizona in 2012 while with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Foles adds experience behind starter Alex Smith and brings a familiarity with Reid’s system. After the Los Angeles Rams granted his release, Foles said, he contacted Reid and indicated he was the only coach he wanted to play for this season.

Reid said after practice that the team remains Smith’s, and Foles said he didn’t receive any guarantee of being the No. 2 behind the 12-year veteran.

“I don’t need any guarantees,” Foles said. “He knows that I’m coming here to work and just be a part of the team. I’m not coming here to try and do anything except be a great teammate to these guys, help Alex in any way and obviously, you always have to be ready to play because we’re here to play.”

Foles eschewed other potential offers that could have given him a better chance to compete for a starting job right away.

After a sub-par season in 2015 with the Rams, Foles sees Kansas City as a place where he can re-evaluate where he is in his career. The Eagles were 15-9 in his 24 starts spread across three years, while the Rams were 4-7 last season after he went to St. Louis in a quarterback swap that offered him and former No. 1 pick Sam Bradford a change of scenery.

Foles ended up seeking another change of scenery after just one year with the Rams, who chose quarterback Jared Goff with the first pick in the NFL draft. Some were not surprised he landed with the Chiefs and Reid.

“You know why it didn’t? I think it goes to show the type of respect that people who play for coach Reid have for him and the kind of faith they have in him,” said Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who caught 78 passes and 10 touchdowns from Foles with the Eagles in 2012 and 2014. “Any time ‘Big Red’ wants you to be a part of what he has going on, that’s an honor, so it didn’t really surprise me this would be the spot he picked.”

Foles started six games in 2012 with the Eagles with limited results in what turned out to be Reid’s final season in Philadelphia.

In 2013, Foles flourished after taking over the starting job from Michael Vick and threw 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in 10 starts under Chip Kelly and his innovative pass offense, which included an NFL record-tying seven-touchdown performance against the Raiders. That season ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl and seemingly cemented Foles as a star.

Instead, the Eagles went 6-2 in his eight starts in 2014 despite limited success (13 touchdowns, 10 interceptions) before a season-ending injury ultimately spelled the end of Foles’ tenure with Philadelphia. He started 11 games last year with the Rams — his worst season as a pro.

“I think he got out of me more than I ever thought possible,” Foles said of Reid. “He pushed me — every throw, everything I did — to just be aggressive and really, really helped me to be the player the next year (in 2013) and just continued to grow. It hasn’t always been smooth; it hasn’t always been like those first two years.”

At practice, Foles split repetitions with Tyler Bray, who signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie in 2013 and has worked as Smith’s backup throughout the start of camp. Bray has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game, and neither have 2014 fifth-round draft pick Aaron Murray and 2016 fifth-round draft pick Kevin Hogan.

Reid cited Foles’ experience as a reason to bring him into an already crowded situation behind Smith. The Chiefs cut defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu to make room on the roster for the new quarterback.

“Nick’s familiar, obviously, with the system,” Reid said. “He’s a good football player. He was good for me as a rookie and Chip that first year there. I think he’s a good fit, and you can’t have enough of those guys. It’s a tough position, and you want to make sure that you’re fully loaded there. I think we’re fully loaded.”

Foles hit tight end James O’Shaughnessy on his first pass during a drill at the indoor practice. He received limited opportunities to throw in his first workout with Kansas City and did not participate in the Chiefs’ first live-tackling segment of training camp.

Reid said the Chiefs would continue to work on ways to split up repetitions and didn’t have an answer for how long they would hold on to all five guys.

“We’ll see. Maybe I’ll start my own hamburger stand,” the veteran coach joked.

— Associated Press —

Meet the U.S. Olympians from the Show-Me State

Posted on August 5, 2016

(Missourinet) – Team USA is just about set for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Learn more about the athletes who will be leading our country, who were born in the Show-Me State.

Archery–Zach Garrett, Wellington, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Archery–Zach Garrett, Wellington, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Zach Garrett first picked up a homemade bow his grandfather made him when he was barely five years old. He was a bronze medalist at the 2014 U.S. National Target Championships, and silver medal winner at the U.S. Open that same year. He attended Wellington-Napoleon High School and currently lives in Chula Vista, CA.

Rowing–Edward King, Ironton, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Rowing–Edward King, Ironton, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Edward King graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2011, and thrived in both his military and athletic endeavors as a member of the United States National Rowing Team. After rowing with the lightweight men’s four this past summer at the World Championships, King and his U.S. teammates now turn their attention to the 2016 Olympics.

rack and Field–Brittany Borman, Festus, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–Brittany Borman, Festus, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Brittany Borman tried nearly every event by the time she entered Festus High School and earned a scholarship to UCLA, where she was ready to follow in her childhood idol Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s footsteps as a heptathlete. Borman transferred to Oklahoma, winning back-to-back NCAA national titles in 2011 and 2012 and becoming a three-time Big 12 outdoor champ in the javelin … Her father played football at Southeast Missouri State.

Track and Field–Gwen Berry, St. Louis, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–Gwen Berry, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Gwen Berry was the victim of sloppy paper work which caused her a suspension right up until trials when she reported the use of an inhaler containing the prohibited substance Vilanterol Trifenatate. According to multiple reports, Berry didn’t even test positive, but she admitted in her paperwork that she was taking a banned substance. She will be a strong contender in the Hammer Throw.

Track and Field–Courtney Frerichs, Nixa, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–Courtney Frerichs, Nixa, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Track and Field–Colleen Quigley, St. Louis, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–Colleen Quigley, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley will make up 2/3 of the U.S. 3000m Steeplechase. Read more on their qualifying.

Track and Field–DeAnna Price, Old Monroe, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–DeAnna Price, Old Monroe, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Deanna Price is a 2011 graduate of Troy Buchanan who was born in St. Charles and currently lives in Moscow Mills. Her accomplishments are impressive, including 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships, 2nd (hammer throw), 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, 1st (hammer throw) and 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships, 1st (hammer throw), 3rd (discus throw) while at Southern Illinois.

Track and Field–Michael Rodgers, Florissant, Mo. photo/teamusa.org — Track and Field–Michael Rodgers, Florissant, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

31 year old Michael Rodgers attended Berkeley High School in St. Louis where he ran varsity track and played varsity basketball for the Bulldogs. He later attended Lindenwood University and Oklahoma Baptist University where he was a 10-time NAIA national champion from 2005-2007. Rodgers still holds the NAIA Indoor 60m record with a 6.65.

Volleyball–Murphy Troy, St. Louis, Mo. photo courtesy Missourinet — Volleyball–Murphy Troy, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

Murphy Troy majored in Physics at USC and has excelled on the court. He helped the U.S. Men win the 2015 FIVB World Cup and qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. He was also named 2011 AVCA Men’s Division I-II National Player of the Year and MPSF Player of the Year.

Wrestling–J’den Cox, Columbia, Mo. photo courtesy Missourinet — Wrestling–J’den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Photo courtesy Missourinet)

J’den Cox has excelled in wrestling since his days at Hickman High School in Columbia. He was the first Missouri wrestler to accomplish the feat of claiming four state titles in four different weight classes. He’s a two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American for Mizzou and finished fourth in 2016 U.S. Open.

Soria gives up three-run HR in 8th as Royals lose to Tampa Bay 3-2

Posted on August 4, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brad Miller took a punch to the gut on Monday when told he was losing his starting shortstop role and being moved primarily to first base.

On Thursday, he delivered the knockout blow in a victory.

Miller hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2.

“I just go out there and play,” Miller said. “It’s all I can really do. Try and get after it. I think I’ve shown them all year how valuable I am, but at the end of the day, I have to go out and play. That’s all that matters.”

Tampa Bay acquired Matt Duffy on Monday in a four-player deal that sent left-hander Matt Moore to San Francisco. Duffy will take over at short when he returns next week from a strained left Achilles tendon.

Miller connected on his 19th homer off Joakim Soria (4-5), who gave up three of the Rays’ overall four hits during his one inning.

“We’re lucky to have him, and it doesn’t matter where plays,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “We know his bat plays.”

Kansas City dropped to 40-2 when ahead after seven innings.

“In my view, it was a good pitch . it was down in the zone,” Soria said. “He hit it out, so it wasn’t a good pitch.”

Brad Boxberger (1-0) worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth before Alex Colome got his 26th save despite giving up two hits during the ninth. Drew Smyly allowed two runs, five hits, one walk and struck out 10 in seven innings.

Ian Kennedy gave up one hit, walked four and had nine strikeouts in six-plus innings for the Royals. Alex Gordon hit his eighth home.

Tampa Bay won the final two games to split the four-game series. The Rays are 8-25 against Kansas City since the start of the 2012 season.

Gordon had not homered or driven in a run in his previous 72 at-bats against left-handers this season before hitting a two-run drive off Smyly that put Kansas City ahead 2-0 in the fourth.

Smyly has given up 23 homers, including six to left-handed hitters. He didn’t allow a homer to a lefty last season.

Kennedy entered tied with teammate Chris Young and Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey with a major league-high 26 homers allowed but hasn’t given up a long ball in three consecutive starts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: RHP Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) will make his fourth rehab start Friday night with Double-A Montgomery.

MLB SANCTIONS

Royals DH Kendrys Morales received a one-game suspension and a fine for his actions following a ninth inning ejection, which included returning to the field, in Tuesday night’s game. Morales appealed the ruling and started.

FUTURE IN BLUE?

Major League Baseball will hold a one-day free umpiring clinic for all ages at Tropicana Field on Aug. 20. Baseball officials, including MLB umpire supervisor Charlie Reliford, will also be looking for scholarship candidates to attend a one-day pro mini-camp in December. Umpire Carlos Torres, who worked the Royals-Rays series, is a one-time camp participant that received an umpiring school scholarship.

MOVING DAY

Tampa Bay claimed C Bobby Wilson off waivers from Texas and optioned C Curt Casali to Triple-A Durham.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Dillon Gee (3-5) will face recently acquired Toronto LHP Francisco Liriano, who went 6-11 with Pittsburgh.

Rays: Rookie LHP Blake Snell (3-4) will go against Minnesota RHP Ervin Santana (4-9) in the opener of a three-game series Friday between the AL’s two worst teams.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis drops series finale at Cincinnati 7-0

Posted on August 4, 2016

CINCINNATI (AP) — Since the All-Star break, the last-place Reds have traded away another star and turned into a formidable team.

Brandon Phillips had three hits and left-hander Brandon Finnegan allowed two singles in six innings on Thursday, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-0 victory and a rare series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds took two of three, giving them only their fifth series win in the last 23 between the NL Central rivals. And it goes beyond the one series.

For the first time since 1999, the Reds have won six straight series after the All-Star break. They traded RBI leader Jay Bruce to the Mets during the current surge.

“This is the time when some teams might phone it in,” manager Bryan Price said. “This group hasn’t.”

Phillips had a single and a pair of doubles, scored three times and drove in a run against former teammate Mike Leake (8-9). Ramon Cabrera drove in three runs, and Eugenio Suarez knocked in a pair.

Finnegan (7-8) allowed only a pair of singles, and then left after throwing 79 pitches on a humid, 88-degree afternoon. The bullpen gave up three more singles while closing out Cincinnati’s fourth shutout, which is tied with Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for the fewest in the NL.

“I didn’t have my best command,” Finnegan said. “They hit some balls hard, but we had some guys catch it. I had a lot of movement on the ball. (It) was a confidence boost, definitely.”

Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 0 for 4, ending a 17-game hitting streak that was the longest of his career.

It was the second time that the Reds faced Leake since they traded him in the middle of last season as part of their rebuilding. On July 7 at Great American Ball Park, Leake allowed only one earned run in 7 1/3 innings of a 7-6 Reds victory that ended with Votto’s homer in the bottom of the ninth.

This time, he left the game after failing to retire a batter in the sixth, giving up eight hits and seven runs. After spending his first 5 1/2 seasons in Cincinnati, Leake suspects the Reds have an advantage because they know how he pitches.

“I’m sure it plays a part,” Leake said.

Leake extended his streak without walking a batter to 35 innings, the longest in the majors this season. It ended when Adam Duvall walked on a full-count pitch to open the sixth. The club record is held by Bob Tewksbury, who went 44 innings without walking a batter in 1993. Duvall later scored on Phillips’ double, his third hit of the game.

The Reds got a pair of runs in the second inning, all on hits to right field. Phillips singled, Scott Schebler doubled and Cabrera pulled a ball down the line for a two-run single. Phillips doubled again to right field in the fourth and scored on Suarez’s sacrifice fly.

STATS

The Reds won nine straight series after the All-Star break in 1999, when they lost a one-game playoff to the Mets for the NL wild card. … The Cardinals got Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta back from the DL at the start of the series. Moss went 6 for 13 with two doubles and a homer in the series. Peralta was 2 for 10.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter is expected to come off the DL over the weekend. He’s missed 29 games with a strained right oblique. He went 4 for 12 during a rehab assignment with a homer and a double.

Reds: SS Zack Cozart was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game with a bruised finger on his throwing hand. … Schebler was hit on the right side of the knee in the sixth but stayed in the game. He left after the inning as part of a double switch.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: St. Louis returns home and starts a three-game series against Atlanta. LHP Jaime Garcia (7-8) is 2-1 in seven career starts against the Braves with a 4.32 ERA.

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani (6-0) opens a series in Pittsburgh. He’s 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts at PNC Park.

— Associated Press —

Nike to get out of golf equipment business

Posted on August 4, 2016

UNDATED (AP) — Nike is getting out of the golf equipment business, a surprising development that likely sends Tiger Woods and other players searching for new clubs.

Nike announced Wednesday it will stop making clubs, golf balls and golf bags, instead focusing more on its shoes and apparel, long its strength in the golf marketplace.

Woods has been with Nike since he turned pro in 1996 and remains the biggest ambassador of the Beaverton, Oregon-based company. Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management, said that won’t change. But he also said Woods likely will have different equipment in the bag whenever he returns.

Nike also signed Rory McIlroy to a big deal in 2013. It also has Brooks Koepka, who is in position to make his first Ryder Cup team.

Kansas City gets blanked by Odorizzi, Rays 12-0

Posted on August 3, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jake Odorizzi had his third consecutive scoreless start, Steven Souza Jr. homered for the first time in two months and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 12-0 on Wednesday night.

Brad Miller and Kevin Kiermaier also homered for the Rays, who are 7-25 against the Royals since the start of the 2012 season.

Odorizzi (6-5) allowed two singles, walked two and had six strikeouts in six innings. The right-hander has not given up a run in 20 2/3 innings over the three-start stretch.

Enny Romero and Ryan Garton completed a two-hitter.

After Evan Longoria had a sacrifice fly, Souza put the Rays up 4-0 on his three-run shot off Edinson Volquez (8-10) in the first. Souza had gone 109 at-bats without a homer after going deep June 4 against Minnesota’s Ervin Santana.

Miller made it 5-0 during the third on his 18th homer.

Volquez gave up eight runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings.

Kiermaier, who entered hitting .163 with two RBI in 16 games since coming back from a fractured left hand, hit a three-run drive off Chien-Ming Wang in a five-run sixth to put the Rays ahead 11-0.

MOVING DAY

Royals: OF Billy Burns, acquired from Oakland Friday, was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and RHP Brooks Pounders was optioned to the Pacific Coast League club.

Rays: INF-OF Richie Shaffer was recalled from Triple-A Durham and UTL Taylor Motter was optioned the International League club.

DUFFY’S DAY

SS Matt Duffy, acquired Monday in a four-player deal that sent LHP Matt Moore to San Francisco, could be a week away from returning from a strained left Achilles’ tendon. “Just getting back up to speed and making sure that I’m 100 percent confident in this thing going forward,” Duffy said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Burns will probably start Thursday because manager Ned Yost does not want Lorenzo Cain to play a fourth straight game on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field. Cain returned from a left hamstring strain Friday.

Rays: RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) is scheduled to go three innings in a rehab start Thursday night with Class A Charlotte.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Ian Kennedy (6-9) will face Rays LHP Drew Smyly (3-11) Thursday. Kennedy (26) and Smyly (22) are among the major-league leaders in home runs allowed.

— Associated Press —