Sports – Page 972 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Miller, Wainwright lead St. Louis to doubleheader sweep of Giants

Posted on June 2, 2013June 2, 2013

Adam Wainwright refused to relax against a makeshift San Francisco Giants squad.

Pitching against the Giants missing stars Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval, Wainwright struck out 10 in his 14th complete game and third this season, and the St. Louis Cardinals completed a day-night doubleheader sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 7-1 win Saturday night.

”You look at a lineup and you don’t see some of their boppers in there,” Wainwright said. ”Those are key parts of their lineup. You can very easily go out there and take it for granted and give up a couple of runs because you’re not ready to pitch.

”My thought today was to just respect all those guys over there and make sure I was ready to pitch,” he said.

Rookie Shelby Miller was also ready. He pitched six-hit ball for seven innings and backup catcher Tony Cruz hit two doubles and drove in a pair of runs for St. Louis in an 8-0 win in the opener.

Wainwright (8-3) allowed eight hits and one run without walking a batter to close out the first doubleheader between the Giants and Cardinals in St. Louis since July 16, 1978. Wainwright threw 106 pitches and 73 strikes.

”I didn’t feel like I had the best jump on my heater I’ve ever had,” Wainwright said. ”But I was locating it and my other stuff felt great. You can go a tick or two down in velocity and locate and still get the job done.”

Carlos Beltran and Ty Wigginton each had two hits and drove in two runs for the Cardinals. Jon Jay, Daniel Descalso and Shayne Robinson had the other RBIs.

Dt. Louis manager Mike Matheny was happy to see his reserves contribute.

”All the way around, the guys made good plays,” Matheny said. ”Whenever you see your bench guys, you know they’re doing the right work. So, very impressive.”

The Giants had little to celebrate, as they managed just one run in 18 innings.

”It was a tough day, no getting around it,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. ”We scored one run. They played great. We didn’t pitch great. We didn’t hit the ball great. That’s a good team over there.”

Wainwright also helped with his bat when the Cardinals broke through against San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (4-4) with three runs in the third.

Pete Kozma started the inning with a walk, and he advanced to third when Wainwright followed with a double to left-center. Kozma scored on a fielder’s choice to first by Jay, and one out later, Beltran drove Wainwright and Jay home with a single to center.

Bumgarner lasted six innings and allowed five runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

In the opener, Miller (6-3) scattered six hits, stranding seven runners. His ERA dropped to 1.82. Miller struck out seven with one walk.

Matt Cain (4-3) allowed seven runs in six innings, falling to 0-3 at Busch Stadium with an 8.87 ERA in four starts.

Cain struggled in the third, when he threw 40 pitches. In the other five innings he pitched, Cain set the Cardinals down in order. He threw 101 pitches, striking out nine with no walks.

The Cardinals had seven runs on nine hits – seven singles and two doubles – in the third when St. Louis sent 12 men to the plate.

Cruz, starting at catcher instead of Yadier Molina, smacked a two-run double. Descalso hit a double and a single while Kozma had two singles in the outburst.

— Associated Press —

Mustangs open season with 7-0 victory over Rossville

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013

The St. Joseph Mustangs opened their 2013 season in impressive fashion Friday night as they defeated Rossville (KS), 7-0, at Phil Welch Stadium.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team began its fifth year quickly as they scored three runs in the first to take an early lead. Kris Koerper drove in a run with a double, Shane Segovia had an RBI ground out and Grant Fink knocked in a run with a two-out single.

That was all Mustangs’ starting pitcher Aaron Baker would need as he went seven innings and allowed two hits and no runs. He struck out nine batters and walked just one.

St. Joseph added one run in the sixth inning and Fink highlighted a three-run seven innings with a two-out double that scored two runs.

Fink finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Michael Schulze went 3-for-5 with two runs and Koeper added two runs, two runs and one RBI.

The Mustangs are back at home Saturday night as they play Nevada in their first MINK League game of the season. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and can be heard on 680 KFEQ and 680kfeq.com.

Kansas City falls in series opener at Texas

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013

The Texas Rangers were unbeatable in May with Derek Holland on the mound.

While Yu Darvish is still the Texas ace, Holland struck out eight and allowed only one earned run over seven innings to wrap up his undefeated month in a 7-2 victory over the weary Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

”He’s certainly pitching well. He was outstanding again,” manager Ron Washington said. ”Once again, he stayed out of the fat part of the plate, and off the fat part of the bat for the most part. If Yu Darvish wasn’t on the staff we have right now, I guess you’d say Derek would probably be the ace.”

Holland (5-2) went 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six May starts, matching a career best for wins in any month. The Rangers, who have the best record in the American League, won all six of those games started by the left-hander.

After Holland gave up a run in the top of the third against the Royals, Nelson Cruz hit a long tiebreaking three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put Texas ahead to stay.

”The offense is going to do their part as long as I do mine,” Holland said. ”My job is to limit the damage. I thought I did a nice job of that. And our guys came back and did what they’re capable of doing, get some runs.”

The Royals, after playing until 3:14 a.m. Friday for a victory at St. Louis, led 1-0 after Adam Moore led off the third with a double and scored on a single by Alcides Escobar. They still had two runners on before a comebacker and an inning-ending grounder.

”That’s part of the reason we’ve been struggling a little bit. You get second and third with one out and we take the lead, have an opportunity to tack some more on, and we just couldn’t,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said.

”They’re giving us a run, they’re playing the infield back and we couldn’t take advantage of it, we hit the ball to the pitcher and we can’t get a two-out hit. … That’s the way things have been going.”

The Royals finished 8-20 in May, losing nine of their last 10 games.

Cruz pulled a ball an estimated 419 feet, his 13th homer hitting a scoreboard high above the first section of seats in left field, to make it 4-1 against Wade Davis (3-5).

”It’s just a weird day, it was a weird day,” Davis said. ”I was a little sluggish, but I made good pitches, I just made one bad one. ”

Adrian Beltre led off the Rangers seventh off the Royals second reliever with his 11th homer, his fourth hit of the game. It was his fourth four-hit game this season – all in May, the first Texas player with four such games in a month. He had 44 hits in May and is hitting .306, over .300 for the first time this season.

Beltre’s eight-game hitting streak includes multiple hits in five of his past seven games. He had an RBI single right before the Cruz homer.

”When you see Adrian recognize a breaking ball and go down to his knee and it leaves the ballpark, you know he’s swinging the bat well,” Washington said.

The Rangers (34-20) have played exactly one-third of their regular season, and matched their most wins at this point.

Kansas City had an eight-game losing streak before the win over the Cardinals. That game started an hour late because of rain, and then had another 4 1/2-hour delay after the Royals took the lead with three runs in the top of the ninth in George Brett’s first game as their hitting coach.

The Royals got to their Texas hotel about 7 a.m. Friday – right fielder Jeff Francoeur said the sun was coming up and people were already having breakfast as team members headed to their rooms.

Davis had a season-high eight strikeouts with no walks in what was otherwise another tough start against Texas, giving up six runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 17.18 ERA in three starts against the Rangers. He twice started for Tampa Bay against them, giving up seven runs in 2 2-3 innings and then eight runs in 3 1-3 innings.

The last batter Davis faced was A.J. Pierzynski, who hit a ball that ricocheted off the padding on the top of the 8-foot wall in straightaway center.

Pierzynski rounded first base with his right hand extended above his head signaling home run. Washington went out to question the play with the umpires, who did go look at the replay that showed clearly that the ball stayed in the park.

After reliever Bruce Chen walked Jurickson Profar to load the bases, No. 9 hitter Leonys Martin hit a two-run double.

— Associate Press —

Kansas State opens NCAA tournament with big win over Wichita State

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013

Kansas State scored nine first-inning runs to set the tone for the afternoon, while second baseman Ross Kivett hit a pair of home runs as the top-seeded Wildcats opened the 2013 NCAA Manhattan Regional with a 20-11 victory over No. 4-seed Wichita State Friday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

K-State, which scored in every inning except the second, improved to 42-17 on the year and will face the winner of the evening session between No. 2-seed Arkansas and third-seeded Bryant at 7 p.m., Saturday evening. Wichita State fell to 39-27 on the year and will face the loser of Friday’s evening matchup in an elimination game at 2 p.m., Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats scored their 20 runs on 19 hits as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit and six had multi-hit games. Kansas State also coaxed nine walks from Wichita State pitching and was hit by a pitch six times, the second-most ever in a NCAA Tournament game. Kivett led the way with four hits and four RBI, while Tanner Witt also had four hits and drove in one run and Jon Davis had four RBI.

Kansas State’s 20 runs were the most in its NCAA Tournament history, topping a 16-run effort against Xavier in 2009, while they were the most by a Wildcat team overall since a 20-2 victory over Chicago State on April 28, 2010. K-State’s 19 hits were also a season high and the most since collecting 21 at San Diego State early in 2012.

The Wildcats were not without their faults, however, as they allowed five two-run innings and gave up their second-most runs in a NCAA Regional game.

“That was kind of an ugly game,” head coach Brad Hill said. “Neither team wanted to play like that. It was ugly, but we won and that is the good thing about it. Offensively, we did a tremendous job of covering ourselves today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an offensive guy so I love the 20 runs, I just hate giving up 11. Give the guys a lot of credit. They did not give away at-bats today.”

After Wichita State scored two runs in the top off the first, the Wildcats sent 15 men to the plate in the bottom half, which was highlighted by two-run singles by Davis and Austin Fisher. K-State also received RBI singles by Mitch Meyer and Witt, a pair of bases-loaded walks by Davis and Jared King, while another run scored on an error.

The nine runs in the first inning were the most by a Wildcat team in a NCAA Regional game, topping an eight-run third inning in K-State’s first-ever regional game against Xavier in 2009. The 11 combined runs in the first inning tied a NCAA record for first-inning runs in a tournament game.

Kivett, who had one career home run coming into the contest, recorded two-run homers over the left-field wall in both the sixth and seventh innings, the latter extending K-State’s lead to 18-9. His two home runs were the most by a Wildcat since King had two at CSU Bakersfield in 2011.

Meyer went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs, including a two-run double in the third inning. Fisher, who has had just one at-bat in the last five games, earned his first start since the opener against Oklahoma and shined by going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Fisher has a hit in 19 of his last 20 games as he lost an 18-game hitting streak in last week’s Big 12 Championship by going 0-for-1 against Texas Tech before being pulled due to an injury.

Left-handed reliever Jared Moore (4-0) earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work. The Boulder, Colo., product struck out a season-high four batters, including two in the third inning to put a stop to a potential big inning.

Wichita State starting pitcher Cale Elam (7-5) suffered the loss as he allowed six of the first-inning runs and recorded just one out. The Shockers had four hitters with two-hit games, including Johnny Coy, who had four RBI.

— KSU Sports Information —

Jerrance Howard added to Kansas men’s basketball staff

Posted on May 31, 2013May 31, 2013

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Friday that Jerrance Howard will join his staff as an assistant coach for the Jayhawks.

Howard comes to KU after one season in the same position on Larry Brown’s staff at SMU. He replaces Joe Dooley who left KU after 10 seasons to become the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast in April.

“Jerrance has great energy, is unbelievably positive and in a short amount of time has established himself as one of the better recruiters in college basketball,” Self said. “Having worked for one of my former assistants, Billy Gillispie, and my former mentor Larry Brown, I’m totally comfortable with him coming in here, having a smooth transition and having an immediate, positive impact on our program.”

Prior to SMU, where the Mustangs were 15-17 in Brown’s first year, Howard spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois. While at UI he earned a reputation as one of the top young assistant coaches in the country and one of the nation’s best recruiters. Before Illinois, Howard spent three-plus seasons on Billy Gillispie’s staffs at Texas A&M and Kentucky.

“Being around Coach Brown and hearing all the great stories about when he was at Kansas, I’ve been overwhelmed,” Howard said of becoming a KU assistant. “Coach Brown talks about the great players like Danny Manning, the tradition and the history. Kansas is the mecca. I’ve been excited and haven’t slept in two days. It’s a great feeling to be at Kansas and with my former coach.

“I am really grateful to learn and coach under Coach Brown this past year at SMU,” Howard said. “He’s a Hall of Fame coach and I will take a lot from my time on his staff.”

A Peoria, Ill., native, Howard was a four-year letterwinner for the Fighting Illini from 2001-04, including three seasons for Self. During his career, Illinois compiled a record of 104-31 overall and 48-16 in the Big Ten Conference. The Illini won three Big Ten championships (2001, 2002, 2004), a Big Ten Tournament title (2003) and appeared in the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2001 and the Sweet 16 in both 2002 and 2004.

“I’ll bring energy and enthusiasm every day,” Howard said. “I’ve been in the trenches like the other coaches, fighting with that energy every day in practice, preparation and all aspects of the program. I have a great relationship with Norm Roberts and I love Kurtis Townsend. I’m really looking forward to and am excited about being on staff and learning from those guys. They are two of the best guys in the business.”

Howard brings with him a strong playing career, over half of which was spent under Self. He played point guard for the Illini, backing up All-Americans Frank Williams, Dee Brown and Deron Williams.

“Jerrance is one of my all-time favorite players,” Self said. “Even though he didn’t play a lot, he found a way to impact our program and probably had as much to do with us winning games as anybody on our team in the years I was at Illinois.”

Howard developed a reputation as the program’s inspirational leader was a team captain his junior and senior seasons. He also was a two-time winner of the Kenny Battle Award, an accolade voted upon by the players and coaches and given to an Illini who earns the respect of his teammates through hard work and effort in games and practice each day.

“This came about from me playing for Coach Self at Illinois,” Howard said. “We did some special things – winning Big Ten titles and going to the Elite Eight – but it was Coach Self who inspired me to coach basketball. I remember him after practice one day asking ‘have you ever thought about coaching?’ and I said ‘not really’ and he said ‘well you need to think about it.’ I credit Coach Self getting me started in my coaching career.”

Howard earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Illinois in 2004. He is married to the former Jessica Wordlaw, who also is an Illinois graduate. The Howards have a son, Jerrance Jr., and a daughter, Jaya Brooklyn-Rose.

“One of the important fits for me in selecting an assistant coach is that I wanted someone who is loyal, a tireless worker, has great contacts and will bring something to the table recruiting-wise,” Self said. “From a basketball standpoint, I wanted someone that through their experiences could also add to what we are doing and Jerrance can certainly do that. We have an unbelievable staff and I wanted someone who fit well with Norm (Roberts) and Kurtis (Townsend) and both those guys are very excited about adding Jerrance to the mix.”

— KU Sports Information —

George Brett named Royals hitting coach

Posted on May 30, 2013May 30, 2013

Stuck in an eight-game losing streak, the stumbling Kansas City Royals turned to the greatest player in franchise history to turn around their hitting woes.

Hall of Famer George Brett was appointed the club’s interim hitting coach Thursday and will join the team in time for their game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Brett takes over for Jack Maloof and Andre David, who have been reassigned to the minor league organization.

This will be Brett’s first in-season coaching role, though he’s been the franchise’s vice president of baseball operations since retiring as a player following the 1993 season. He’s also worked as a volunteer coach at spring training for years.

“I’m thankful that this organization has one of the greatest hitters and more importantly one of the greatest competitors our game has ever seen in George Brett, and he has accepted our offer to join the coaching staff on an interim basis,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.

Royals manager Ned Yost dumped hitting coach Kevin Seitzer following last season, and said at the time that he wanted to develop an offense that flashed more power.

Well, the offense hasn’t flashed much of anything.

The Royals, who have won just four of their past 23 games, haven’t scored more than three runs in their past six games. They rank near the bottom of the league in runs, walks, homers, RBIs and just about every other statistical category. After starting 17-10, the Royals have fallen into last place in the AL Central.

“Obviously things have not gone as we would have expected and in light of the downturn in offensive production and poor results we’ve decided to make a change,” said Moore, who thanked Maloof and David for their work.

The 60-year-old Brett has turned down numerous opportunities to be a coach, and told The Associated Press during spring training that he’s had several chances to manage a team. But he’s been content to serve as a volunteer coach during spring training all these years because he said that he didn’t need the daily grind that comes with a 162-game schedule.

But he’s kept the pulse of the organization by working in the front office, and earlier this week lamented during a radio interview the team’s misfortune.

Evidently, the losses had piled up to the point that Brett was ready to accept the challenge.

He certainly has quite the résumé.

The family No. 5 retired in 1993 as the Royals’ career hit leader with 3,154 during a career that spanned two decades. He remains the only player in major league history to win batting titles in three different decades, including his memorable 1980 season in which he hit .390.

The 13-time All-Star is the club’s career leader in every offensive category besides stolen bases, and he was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1999.

The Royals also said Pedro Grifol will serve as a special assignment coach. He is in his first year with the Royals, where he’s been working as the hitting coach for the club’s team in Surprise, Ariz. He spent the past 13 seasons with the Mariners organization.

Maloof and David had been working in the Royals’ minor league system when they were promoted to work with the big league roster. At the time, they were credited with helping young cornerstones such as Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas matriculate to the major leagues.

Hosmer was batting .262 with one homer and 13 RBIs entering Thursday night’s game in St. Louis, while Moustakas was hitting .187 with four homers and 12 RBIs.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western’s Fink named to the Academic All-America 2nd Team

Posted on May 30, 2013

Missouri Western senior third baseman Grant Fink has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America..

The Spokane, Washington, native earned the award for the first time in his career. Fink was also a first team Capital One Academic All-District 7 and he has a 3.43 GPA in Sports Management.

Fink finished the season with a .397 batting average and tied an MWSU single season record with 14 home runs.

He also 77 hits, 14 doubles, 40 runs scored, 51 RBI, 137 total bases, and finished with a .706 slugging percentage and a .451 on base percentage.

Fink had a .959 fielding percentage making 44 putouts and 95 assists with just six errors. He has been on numerous All-America teams and is a finalist for the Tino Martinez Award which is given to the top player in Division II.

The Griffons won their first MIAA Championship in school history and finished the season with a 40-12 overall record, making just their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Benton, LeBlond Coaches Named To Mustangs Hall Of Fame

Posted on May 30, 2013May 30, 2013

The St Joseph Mustangs on Wednesday announced the latest additions to their hall of fame.

The 2013 class includes two longtime high school baseball coaches and a well-known professional scout.

Coaches Greg Kastner, with 26 years at Bishop LeBlond High School, and Mike Musser, with 26 years at Benton HS, are joined by the late Tony Poloski, who was recognized for his work as a pro scout and for his long time commitment to baseball.

Kastner was an All-American pitcher for Missouri Western before taking the coaching job at LeBlond. He holds the record for strikeouts in a game (16). The teams he coached have won more than 320 games and 11 district championships.

Musser was also an All-American at Missouri Western. He holds school records for home runs, RBI, hits and stolen bases. Three of Musser’s teams at Benton have made it to the state’s final four. One team won the title in 2007. The Cardinals under Musser’s leadership have won more than 360 games, six district titles, and eight Midland Empire Conference championships.

Poloski, who died in 2002, was once descriped by Benton coach Pop Springs as the greatest athlete he ever coached. He earned a scholarship to USC to play football and basketball, but opted to play both sports at the then Oklahoma A&M to be closer to home. World War Two interrupted his pro baseball career. He later scouted professionally for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds.

The formal induction is scheduled June 7, during a ceremony between games in a St Joe/Joplin doubleheader.

MWSU’s Schulze named NCBWA DII Player of the Year; three others also earn All-America honors

Posted on May 29, 2013

Four Missouri Western baseball players earn Division II All-Region and All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Michael Schulze continued to bring in the awards being named the national and regional Player of the Year which included being named first team All-American and All-Region. Grant Fink and Bubba Dotson were named first team All-Region and second team All-America while Brandon Simmons was named first team All-Region and honorable mention All-America.

This is the third All-American honor for Schulze as he was named the National Player of the Year and First Team All-America by Daktronics. He was the MIAA and Daktronics Regional Player of the Year hitting .439 on the year for the Griffons scoring 70 runs while adding 17 stolen bases. He had 24 extra base hits and drove in 49 runs. He was also a First Team All-America selection by American Baseball Coaches Association along with being named the Central Region Player of the Year and a first team selection.

On the second team are teammates Grant Fink, Bubba Dotson. This is their third selection on All-America teams. Fink hit .397 for the year hitting 14 home runs and driving in 51 runs. He is also a finalist for the Tino Martinez Player of the Year Award and was a First Team All-America selection by Daktronics and Second Team selection by American Baseball Coaches Association. Dotson hit .359 for the season with 13 home runs and 59 RBI being named to the Daktronics All-American First Team and ABCA Second Team.

Brandon Simmons earned First Team NCBWA All-Region and Honorable Mention All-American. He became the Griffons first ever MIAA Pitcher of the Year selection and earned his second First Team All-MIAA honor this past season. He was also a First Team All-Region selection by the ABCA and Daktronics. Simmons was outstanding last season finishing with a 11-1 record. Simmons won 10 or more games twice and broke the MIAA and MWSU record for wins in a career. He won 35 games in his career. Simmons sits third in the MWSU record book in strikeouts with 228 and complete games with 20. Simmons started and appeared in 13 games with three complete games. He finished with a 2.91 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched.

The Griffons finished the season with a 40-12 overall record making just their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Cardinals rally past Royals with four-run eighth inning

Posted on May 29, 2013May 29, 2013

The rally came too late for Lance Lynn to get another win. Just in time, though, for the St. Louis Cardinals to keep the scuffling Kansas City Royals down.

Pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to snap a tie in a four-run eighth and the Cardinals rallied for a 5-3 win Wednesday night, the Royals’ season-high eighth straight loss.

”It was a good comeback, we haven’t had to do that a lot this year,” Descalso said. ”Of course, I wanted to be in that spot.

”You’ve got to like that spot.”

Luis Mendoza got his first career hit and RBI and held the Cardinals to a run in 5 2-3 innings before the bullpen failed for the Royals. They dropped the first two games of the interleague series by a combined 10-4 score and have totaled 11 runs the last six games.

”We felt like we had it set up,” manager Ned Yost said. ”We just needed to execute. We battled hard to get the three runs.”

Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran homered for the second straight night. The Cardinals have won seven of eight overall, lead the majors with a 35-17 record, and go for a sweep Thursday with touted rookie Michael Wacha making his major league debut.

”It was great, no doubt about that,” Beltran said. ”We took advantage of their bullpen and we were able to come out big.”

Randy Choate (1-0) got the last out in the eighth and Edward Mujica finished for his 17th save in 17 chances, retiring the side in order for the second straight game.

Lynn missed a chance to start out 8-1 for the second straight season, allowing two runs in seven innings but getting hurt most by Mendoza’s hit.

Mendoza joked his last hit was ”when I was 10 years old, probably.”

”I know he is going to throw a strike, just hit the ball,” the pitcher added.

Beltran hit his 12th homer off Aaron Crow (0-1) to open the eighth and David Freese tied it with a one-out RBI single. Crow intentionally walked Jon Jay to load the bases, then got Pete Kozma on a called third strike before Descalso bounced one up the middle for his first pinch-hit RBIs of the season.

The Cardinals have won six in a row in the series. They’d been 0-12 when trailing after seven innings before getting to Crow, who allowed five hits and four runs while getting just two outs and said Beltran homered on a ”real bad pitch.”

”The worst I’ve ever pitched in my career by far,” Crow said. ”I feel like I let everyone in this clubhouse down tonight.”

Royals rookie David Lough had two hits for a two-game total of six and threw out a runner at the plate. Alex Gordon had three hits and Lorenzo Cain and George Kottaras had an RBI apiece.

The Busch Stadium field showed little signs of wear six days after the mound was removed and the infield dirt covered with sod for an exhibition soccer match between English Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City that drew a standing room crowd.

Mendoza retired the side in order in the first, a welcome change for the Royals after Molina and Beltran opened with two-run homers the first two games.

Lough tripled to start the fifth and was still there with two outs before Mendoza, who’d been 0 for 6 with five strikeouts for his career, singled to right to put the Royals up 2-0. Mendoza passed on what would have been a double for most players, taking his time getting to first and then speeding up briefly before slamming on the brakes.

The Royals traveled Interstate 70 by bus for the second half of the interleague series after difficulties with the team flight.

Lough earned his second outfield assist, throwing out Allen Craig trying to score from second and tie it at 1 in the fourth on a single by Yadier Molina.

— Associated Press —