Professional – Page 132 – St. Joseph Post Archive

St. Louis drops series opener at Chicago 8-3

Posted on September 18, 2015September 19, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — Starlin Castro remembered the previous time he had six RBI in a game.

“Yeah, my debut,” he said. “That was a long time ago.”

Castro accomplished that in his first big league appearance, at Cincinnati on May 7, 2010 at Cincinnati.

He did it again Friday, hitting a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fifth inning and a three-run drive in the sixth to lead the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 Friday for their fourth straight win.

Castro went 3 for 3 with a walk in the third multihomer game of his career. He put the Cubs ahead 5-3 in the fifth with his drive off Seth Maness (4-2), then connected off Steve Cishek in the sixth for his 10th homer this season.

Castro, who lost his starting shortstop job in early August, has not lost his swing and upbeat attitude, according to manager Joe Maddon. And the infielder loved the curtain call following his second homer.

“I have like six years here and that never happened, never,” Castro said. “That’s my first time and I enjoyed it so much.”

Maddon was heartened by Castro’s performance and recognition.

“When his name has been called, he’s been ready,” Maddon said. “I’ve been nothing but impressed with him this whole time.

Chicago began the day two games behind Pittsburgh for the NL’s top wild-card berth. The Cubs closed within six games of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

Tommy Hunter (2-0), the second Chicago reliever, got one out in the fifth, and Justin Grimm, Pedro Strop, Fernando Rodney and Neil Ramirez combined for four scoreless innings of two-hit relief.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn lasted 3 1/3 innings and threw 83 pitches, allowing three runs, four hits and six walks. He is 0-2 with a 9.26 ERA in his last three starts, giving up 12 runs, 15 hits and 11 walks in 11 2/3 innings.

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny and a trainer went to the mound to speak with Lynn with one out in the fourth. Lynn walked Dexter Fowler and was replaced by Tyler Lyons.

“I was a little caught on the mound. That happens sometimes as the game goes on,” Lynn said.

Chicago starter Dan Haren gave up three runs — one earned — and three walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Matheny and Matt Belisle, the sixth St. Louis reliever, were ejected in the seventh after Belisle hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch.

“Obviously there was a warning, but I had to try to pitch in, so what can you do,” Belisle said.

Plate umpire Dan Bellino had issued a warning after St. Louis pinch hitter Matt Holliday was struck on the back of the helmet by a pitch from Haren in the fifth. After walking to first, Holliday was replaced by pinch-runner Pete Kozma.

Matheny said Holliday sustained only a bruise. Holliday returned from the disabled list this week after being sidelined 41 days with a right quadriceps strain, and Matheny had planned to run for him.

Haren said hitting Holliday was accidental.

“Going inside on him is one of the only places I can go, and I just lost it,” Haren said. “The ball popped out my hand.”

Maddon was angry over what he claimed was retaliation by the Cardinals.

“There was no malicious intent on Dan Haren’s part,” Maddon said. “So to become this vigilante group that all off a sudden wants to get their own pound of flesh, that’s absolutely insane, ridiculous and wrong. … And furthermore, we won’t start stuff, but we will end stuff.”

TRAINERS ROOM

Cardinals: Matheny held C Yadier Molina out of the starting lineup for a second straight day to give him rest.

Cubs: Rookie Kris Bryant didn’t start despite having six hits, including four doubles, in the previous two games. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the sixth and stayed in the game at third base.

UP NEXT

Ace RHP Michael Wacha (16-5, 2.96) will start for St. Louis on Saturday and LHP Travis Wood (5-4, 4.11 ERA) for Chicago.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs suffer stunning loss to Denver Thursday 31-24

Posted on September 17, 2015September 17, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The curse of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos lives on in Kansas City.

Bradley Roby returned Jamaal Charles’s second fumble 21 yards for a touchdown with 27 seconds left Thursday night, completing a stunning comeback for a 31-24 victory over the Chiefs.

Manning threw for 256 yards and three scores, the last to Emmanuel Sanders with 36 seconds left as the Broncos (2-0) appeared to force overtime.

But on the next play by the Chiefs (1-1), Charles was stripped by Brandon Marshall and the ball bounced right into Roby’s hands.

“I’m not quite sure I’d ever been in one quite like that,” Manning said. “That was a new one for me.”

The dramatic about-face came after Knile Davis gave Kansas City the lead with 2:27 left on an 8-yard run, raising hope among a sellout crowd that the Chiefs might finally end some curses.

Instead, Denver pushed its winning streak to seven straight over its AFC West rival, while the ageless Manning quieted his many doubters by improving to 14-1 in his career against the Chiefs.

Charles finished with 125 yards rushing and a touchdown, but he will only remember his fumbles — one in the red zone early in the game, the other deep in his own territory late in the game.

Alex Smith threw for 191 yards for Kansas City, but he also was picked off twice.

Manning threw a pick-six of his own, but he responded when it mattered the most.

The Broncos had taken over at their own 20-yard line with 2:27 left and trailing 24-17, and the seven-time All-Pro marched them calmly down field. He found Demaryius Thomas for three long receptions to get deep into Chiefs territory, then hit Sanders over the middle on third-and-10 from the Chiefs 19 for the tying touchdown that kept the Broncos alive.

The late-game dramatics transpired after the Chiefs bolted to a 14-0 lead in their home-opener, energizing a boisterous, red-clad crowd that had been tailgating all afternoon.

But like he has so often against the Chiefs, Manning answered by leading Denver on an 80-yard TD march late in the first half. The capper was a pass over the middle to Sanders, who slipped between the safeties and somersaulted into the end zone for the 16-yard touchdown reception.

Two plays later, Aqib Talib picked off Smith on a poorly thrown play in the flat, and the Broncos needed just four plays for Manning to find Virgil Green with the tying touchdown toss.

After swapping field goals, the Chiefs appeared to put the game away when Davis took a handoff from Smith as the quarterback fell down and raced into the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

Turned out to be not late enough for Manning and the Broncos.

— Associated Press —

Infante drives in seven runs as Kansas City downs Cleveland 8-4

Posted on September 17, 2015

CLEVELAND (AP) — As Omar Infante prepared for a postgame TV interview, teammate Salvador Perez dumped a bucket of Gatorade over his head, soaking Kansas City’s second baseman to the bone.

Well, that finally cooled him off.

Infante drove in a career-high seven runs and the Royals overcame some early sloppiness for an 8-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

A veteran infielder making his first start in 11 days, Infante hit a three-run homer in the second inning off Corey Kluber (8-14), added a two-run double in the fifth after the Indians pulled their ace and hit a two-run single in the seventh.

Infante also had a sacrifice and nearly matched the offensive output of teammate Mike Moustakas, who set a team record with nine RBI on Saturday against Baltimore. Needing a triple to hit for the cycle, Infante lined out to center field in the ninth.

Afterward, he treated his big night like it was nothing unusual.

“I’m grateful for the chance to play,” Infante said. “It felt good.”

Yordana Ventura (12-8) went five innings, retiring struggling All-Star Jason Kipnis with the bases loaded to end the fifth as the AL Central-leading Royals, who had three errors in the first three innings and four overall, split the four-game series. Kansas City won for just the fourth time in 13 games.

Infante has hit two homers this season — both in Cleveland.

“I get lucky in this park,” he said, laughing. “I put some good swings on the ball here.”

The Indians didn’t make up any more ground in the wild-card race. They came in trailing Houston by four games for the second spot.

Cleveland loaded the bases in the ninth, prompting Royals manager Ned Yost to bring in closer Greg Holland, who gave up a sacrifice fly but got his 32nd save.

Kluber started for the first time since Aug. 29 after being sidelined with a hamstring injury. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed two runs and five hits in four innings, settling in after Infante’s homer.

But as soon as Kluber left, the Royals pounced on left-handed reliever Kyle Crockett, who gave up Eric Hosmer’s RBI double that put Kansas City up 4-2. Jeff Manship came on for Cleveland but walked Alex Rios, and Infante followed with his double to make it 6-2.

Infante’s second double pushed Kansas City’s lead to 8-3 in the seventh.

“We just made some mistakes to Infante tonight,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “When we got it where we needed to we were OK, but when we didn’t he killed us.”

With a large lead in the division, the Royals have been on cruise control lately and not playing as well as they did earlier in the season.

They didn’t start out smoothly in the series finale, committing three errors — two on pretty routine grounders — in the first three innings.

“We didn’t play great baseball tonight,” Yost said. “We swung the bats, but defensively we had some lapses. We’ve got to get this little streak turned around and get back to playing good baseball.”

Kluber’s return was surprisingly short.

On Wednesday, Francona joked that he might limit the right-hander to “140-150” pitches, but wound up pulling Kluber after 61.

Infante’s second homer of the season gave the Royals a 3-0 lead in the second.

Salvador Perez led off with a routine grounder, but reached safely on third baseman Giovanny Urshela’s throwing error. Rios singled before Infante turned on a 1-0 fastball, driving it onto the home run porch in left. His other homer came in Cleveland on July 27.

HOT HOSMER

Hosmer went 1 for 5 but is batting .359 (23 for 64) with 20 RBI this season against the Indians.

PEREZ’S SHOULDER

Perez was struck on the right shoulder by a wicked foul tip off Urshela’s bat in the fourth inning. Kansas City’s All-Star catcher stayed in the game, but later took a shot off the chest protector and was replaced in the ninth.

“It might have killed you and me, but he’s a tough guy,” Yost said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals OF Lorenzo Cain got the night off after going 0 for 4 on Wednesday. He’s been slowed by an assortment of nagging injuries, and those coupled with a .192 career average against Kluber kept Cain on the bench.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Johnny Cueto has dropped five straight starts for the first time in his career. He’ll start the series opener in Detroit. The first inning has been an issue for Cueto, who has been touched for a combined seven runs and 10 hits in the first over his past three outings.

Indians: RHP Cody Anderson opens a three-game series against the White Sox. He’s won back-to-back starts for the first time after defeating Detroit in his previous outing.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals complete sweep of Milwaukee

Posted on September 17, 2015

MILWAUKEE (AP) — John Lackey pitched seven shutout innings and the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee 6-3 Thursday night in a game delayed after Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson was hit in the head by a line drive.

The Cardinals swept the three-game series to extend their winning streak to four. They now lead second-place Pittsburgh by five games in the division race.

Nelson was struck in the back of the head by a liner from Tommy Pham in the third inning. Nelson crumpled on the mound and remained prone face down for about a minute.

Nelson later walked off the field and was hospitalized after a CT scan showed a contusion.

There was a three-minute delay in the seventh when a fan was hit by a foul ball off the bat of St. Louis pinch hitter Matt Holliday. The fan got medical attention and was able to walk out of the stadium bowl.

Lackey (12-9) scattered five hits and two walks while striking out eight. He has a 2.23 ERA in his last 17 starts dating to June 15.

Pham tripled, doubled and singled, driving in two runs and scoring twice. Matt Carpenter got three hits, including a home run.

Nelson (11-3) took the loss and Milwaukee dropped its sixth in a row.

Carpenter singled to open the game and scored when Pham followed with a triple. Carpenter doubled and scored in the third and hit his 23rd homer into the second level of the right-field bleachers in the sixth.

Jean Segura hit a three-run homer with two outs in the Milwaukee ninth off Mitch Harris.

Pham’s liner hit Nelson and ricocheted down the left-field line for a double. Nelson got to his knees and later stood up while Pham watched with a look of anguish.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Holliday struck out in his first game since July 29. He had been out because of a strained right quadriceps. He fouled the first pitch he saw from reliever Cesar Jimenez down the right-field line, striking a fan.

Brewers: RF Ryan Braun was back in the lineup after being scratched Wednesday with a back injury. … Jonathan Lucroy remains out with concussion symptoms, but manager Craig Counsell said he expects his catcher to play again this year. … RHP Matt Garza left the team this week to be with his wife as she delivers twins and the team said he would not return this season. Garza was removed from the rotation earlier this month and refused to pitch out of the bullpen.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: St. Louis plays a day game to open a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lance Lynn (11-10) will start and is 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in his last two starts, giving up nine earned runs in just 8 1/3 innings.

Brewers: The team opens a three-game home series with the Reds, and Cincinnati’s Brandon Finnegan will make his first major league start Friday night. Finnegan, the 17th pick in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft by Kansas City, was traded to the Reds on July 26 in the deal that sent Johnny Cueto to the Royals. Finnegan has pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings over two relief appearances since joining the Reds.

— Associated Press —

Duffy struggles as Royals lose at Cleveland 5-1

Posted on September 17, 2015

CLEVELAND (AP) — While Francisco Lindor makes a late run for AL Rookie of the Year, he might be accomplishing something even more important for the Cleveland Indians.

“He keeps getting better and better,” manager Terry Francona said. “He’s impacting games almost every night.”

Lindor was 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBI, and also made an outstanding defensive play at shortstop to help the Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 Wednesday night.

The win also helped Cleveland remain in contention for the Amercan League’s second wild-card spot.

“It’s fun to watch,” Francona said. “For him to impact games the way he has is pretty special.”

Lindor downplayed his night, saying, “It felt great. We won. That’s the biggest thing.”

Danny Salazar (13-8) took a three-hit shutout into the seventh before Mike Moustakas started the inning with a home run. The right-hander allowed one run and struck out six in seven innings as the Indians (72-72) got back to .500.

Danny Duffy (7-8) allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings for Kansas City, which has dropped nine of 12.

Lindor, who matched his career high in hits and RBI, had a solo homer in the first for his 100th hit since being called up from the minors on June 14. He added a two-run single in the second and an RBI single in the fourth, but the moment that meant the most to him may have come the following inning.

Lindor impacted the game defensively in the fifth. He dove to his left to come up with Alex Rios’ ground ball and made a one-hop throw to first from his knees for the out. He showed his ever-present smile after the play as he watched the scoreboard replay.

“It looked great,” he said. “I’ve never been a fan of a guy who makes a great play and acts like he’s done it 10,000 times. Smile, man. That’s what we play for.”

Duffy was impressed.

“I honestly think Lindor has already arrived,” he said. He’s going to be a heck of a player.”

Lindor drove a 1-0 pitch several rows deep in the left-field bleachers in the first. Following Jason Kipnis’ RBI single in the second, the switch-hitter punched a hit through the right side for a 4-0 lead.

Lindor’s first two hits came from the right side against the left-handed Duffy. His fourth-inning single was off right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Lindor, 21, was Cleveland’s first draft pick in 2011, No. 8 overall. He began the season at Triple-A Columbus.

Cleveland is four games behind Houston, but also trailed Minnesota and Los Angeles in the wild-card race.

Kansas City was a season-high 31 games over .500 (82-51) on Sept. 3 before its recent rough stretch. The Royals were still 10 games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central.

HOW MANY?

Reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, who has been out since late August with a strained hamstring, will start against the Royals on Thursday. Asked if Kluber will be on a pitch count, Francona joked, “Yeah, probably 140-150.” Francona then said there won’t be a fixed number of pitches for the right-hander.

HEARD IT THIS TIME

A Progressive Field technician mistakenly set off fireworks when Rios homered Tuesday night. Francona said the explosion shocked him a little and then admitted he’d never heard the fireworks go off when an Indians player hit a home run.

“I did (hear it),” Francona said of the fireworks after Lindor’s homer. I kind of checked it out.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Lorenzo Cain was in the lineup after being removed in the ninth inning Tuesday. He was hit on the leg by a pitch earlier in the game and twisted his ankle Monday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura has won three of his last four road starts, raising his season mark in away games to 4-3 with a 5.15 ERA.

Indians: RHP Corey Kluber returns to the mound for the first time since Aug. 29. He’s 1/3 in four starts this season against the Royals.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis hangs on for second straight win at Milwaukee

Posted on September 17, 2015September 17, 2015

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Call this one Phamtastic!

Tommy Pham homered twice and tripled, Matt Carpenter added a solo shot and Jaime Garcia went 6 1/3 innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals increased their lead in the NL Central to four games over the Pirates, who lost 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs.

Pham’s two-run shots came in the second and the fourth off Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta (5-9). It was the rookie’s third and fourth home runs of the season and first multi-homer effort in 43 career games over this season and last. He was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on August 17 when Randal Grichuk went on the disabled list with a right elbow strain.

Pham downplayed his success.

“I didn’t try to do too much today,” the 27-year-old left fielder said. “I went into the game with the mindset of have some good at bats.”

He did just that.

His first home run came on a 3-1 pitch he deposited over the wall in center. His second blast was on a 3-2 count that ended up on the short porch near dead center.

“I laid off some good pitches, and he put me in some hitter’s counts,” Pham said. “When you’re throwing in a zone, I put a good swing on it. The byproduct was just the result of me laying off his pitches and getting good looks.”

Garcia liked what he saw out of Pham who is in his second stint with the Cardinals this season.

“Offensively, you saw what he did,” Garcia said. “He’s a kid. He’s been working really hard.”

Carpenter led off the third with his 22nd home run and 74th RBI of the season, both team highs.

Garcia (9-5) won for the third time in his last four starts and improved to 6-1 in nine starts since Aug. 1, helping the Cardinals go 8-1 over that span.

Garcia’s only trouble came in the fourth when the Brewers pushed across four runs, highlighted by Martin Maldonado’s three-run homer.

“It was literally one pitch,” Garcia said. “He put a good swing on the mistake I made. At the same time, I was able to stay in the game. That really didn’t affect me mentally or physically. I was able to continue to make pitches just as if nothing happened. It was just a mistake, and I paid for it.”

Garcia allowed eight hits, struck out four, walked one in 6 1/3 innings as the Cardinals won their third straight after a 2-8 skid.

Jonathan Broxton retired the side in order in the eighth. Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth for his 45th save, matching his career high set in 2014.

Peralta hadn’t allowed a home run in four starts since Aug. 19 against the Miami Marlins, but Pham and Carpenter ended that quickly.

It was the first time Peralta faced Pham.

“So far, he’s good,” Peralta said of his first impression of Pham. “Two ABs, two homers. I get to face St. Louis again, so I try to get him out.”

Peralta walked two and struck out two before being pinch hit for in the bottom of the fourth. He lost all four starts this season and is 0-5 with a 5.73 ERA in his last six against St. Louis.

The first two batters singled in the Brewers half of the fourth before Elian Herrera knocked in a run with a bloop base hit. Maldonado followed with his fourth home run of the season, a three-run drive that landed in the Cardinals’ bullpen in right-center field.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (11-9, 2.89 ERA) makes his team-leading 30th start and fourth against the Brewers this season. He is 2-0 with a 2.70 over that span.

Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (11-12, 3.95 ERA) makes his team-leading 30th start and third against the Cardinals this season. He is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in the two prior starts. Overall, he is 0-4 with an 8.72 ERA in five career games, including four starts, facing St. Louis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: 1B Matt Adams went 0 for 1 with a walk Tuesday night in his first start since May 26. He missed 91 games with a right quad injury that required surgery. Stephen Piscotty replaced him at first Wednesday night in a precautionary move. The Cardinals plan to bring Adams back slowly. However, he pinch hit for Seth Maness and lined out to end the Cardinals’ eighth inning.

Brewers: RF Ryan Braun missed the game with tightness in his lower back. Manager Craig Counsell said Braun was day-to-day. “I’m definitely hopeful that he plays tomorrow,” Counsell said. “It was a little tight yesterday, worse today.”

CARDS OWN MILWAUKEE

The Cardinals are 10-4 against the Brewers this season.

— Associated Press —

Medlen shines as Kansas City blanks Cleveland 2-0

Posted on September 16, 2015September 16, 2015

CLEVELAND (AP) — The spark came from Alex Rios. The sparklers were courtesy of the Indians.

Kansas City’s Kris Medlen allowed five hits over 6 1/3 innings and Rios connected for a home run off Josh Tomlin that launched some unintentional fireworks, leading the Royals to a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Medlen (4-1) shut out the Indians before Royals manager Ned Yost turned things over to his top-ranked bullpen. Ryan Madson struck out two in the seventh, Wade Davis got through the eighth and Greg Holland worked around a two-on, no-out mess he created in the ninth for his 31st save.

The Royals won for just the third time in 11 games and moved a little closer to wrapping up an AL Central title.

Rios put the Royals ahead 2-0 with two outs in the fifth off Tomlin (5-2) by hitting his fourth homer, a shot onto the pedestrian patio in left that prompted an accidental celebration in Progressive Field. As Rios rounded first, fireworks exploded above the ballpark, a tradition usually reserved for any homer hit by an Indians player.

TV cameras caught the distraught fireworks technician with his hands clutching his head after his quick-trigger mistake, which prompted a chorus of boos from the small crowd.

“It was nice,” Rios joked about the unexpected explosion. “It’s the first time that’s happened to me in a road game. When I heard all the screams, it crossed my mind that they somehow called it foul. It shook me a little bit. It caught me off-guard. When I was rounding second, I heard people screaming and that’s when I thought something happened, but it’s all good.”

The Indians, who pulled back to .500 for just the second time since April by winning the series opener, fell to 13-6 since Aug. 25.

It was a hard-luck loss for Tomlin, who had won his previous five starts. The right-hander gave up two runs and four hits in his second complete game this month. After giving Rios’ homer, Tomlin retired 13 of 14.

Tomlin didn’t take any satisfaction in his strong outing.

“It doesn’t feel good,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to keep the team in the game, don’t get me wrong, but we need wins, and that’s the bottom line. It doesn’t matter how well I pitch, if their guy does better than me on the other side then it’s still a loss. And that’s not what we need right now.”

Medlen, who was making just his fifth start since bouncing over from the bullpen last month, improved to 3-0 on the road. The right-hander missed all of last season following Tommy John surgery.

“We needed that,” Yost said. “We needed a good pitching performance. We needed to get to the bullpen in the seventh inning with the lead and that’s exactly what Kris provided for us.”

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the second on Perez’s RBI single after the Indians failed to catch Mike Moustaskas’ foul pop behind the plate with two outs.

Catcher Yan Gomes yanked off his mask and looked skyward but couldn’t locate the high pop, which fell untouched about 15 feet from the batter’s box as Tomlin and third baseman Giovanny Urshela helplessly looked on. Moustakas made the Indians pay by following with a double off the center-field wall and scored on Perez’s clutch hit.

The Royals entered batting .280 with two outs — 37 points higher than the major league average.

HOLLAND’S HEALTH

Yost went to the mound with a trainer in the ninth to check on Holland, whose velocity has noticeably dropped.

“There’s a little bit of concern there,” Yost said. “You have to look at a closer’s mentality. He has that. He’s got the heart of a lion.”

Yost said Holland was surprised by the visit, and told his manager, “I got this. I’m fine.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: Ace Corey Kluber has been cleared to start Thursday’s series finale against Yordano Ventura after being sidelined with a right hamstring injury. Kluber did some infield drills before Tuesday’s game and was cleared by Cleveland’s medical staff. The reigning Cy Young Award winner has been out since Aug. 29.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy had his shortest outing this season against the Indians, who knocked him out with a four-run first inning on May 6. Duffy is allowing lefties to hit just .132 against him in his last 10 starts.

Indians: RHP Danny Salazar will make his third start this season against the first-place Royals. He’s 1-1 with a 5.54 ERA. In his last start, Salazar surpassed 175 strikeouts, the third Cleveland pitcher to reach that plateau in 2015.

— Associated Press —

Heyward lifts Cardinals past Brewers in 10 innings

Posted on September 15, 2015

MILWAUKEE (AP) — St. Louis hasn’t been playing well lately. Jason Heyward has.

Heyward hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

Heyward had two doubles to finish with three or more extra-base hits for the first time since Sept. 26, 2013, with Atlanta. The right fielder is batting .478 (11 for 23) with five RBI in his last six games.

“Just trying to keep it simple, keep it simple,” he said. “There are good stretches, bad stretches. You just try to minimize all of them regardless of what happens. Each at-bat, put it behind you and go attack the next one.”

St. Louis has won consecutive games following a 2-8 skid and increased its lead in the NL Central to three games over second-place Pittsburgh.

“We weren’t swearing too much what was going on before,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “We weren’t allowing ourselves.”

Kevin Siegrist (7-1) pitched the ninth and Trevor Rosenthal the 10th for his 44th save.

Carlos Martinez matched a season high by going eight innings. He struck out nine and gave up one earned run and four hits, as the team improved to 16-4 in his last 20 starts.

Milwaukee lost its fourth straight game and has just 10 victories in its last 36 home games against St. Louis.

Matt Carpenter led off the 10th and reached on an error on by first baseman Adam Lind. With one out, Heyward connected off Tyler Thornburg (0-2) for his 12th homer.

“All night we were falling behind to Heyward,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “You can’t fall behind to a hitter like that. He’s going to make you pay.”

Milwaukee’s Ariel Pena made the second start of his career and allowed one earned run and four hits in five-plus innings.

Pena allowed a leadoff double to Heyward in the sixth and he scored on a single by Jhonny Peralta, as St. Louis tied the score 1-1.

Khris Davis’ solo homer to deep center field gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead in the fifth and it came after Martinez retired 10 straight.

In the sixth, Martinez got out of a bases-loaded jam when Lind hit into an inning-ending double play.

MORE GOOD NEWS

Matt Adams made his first start at first base since tearing his quadriceps muscle on May 26, a few hours after teammate Matt Holliday returned from the disabled list. Adams, who was 0 for 2 with a walk, came off the bench over the weekend.

“I think whenever we have any of our guys back it’s a positive for us, especially two guys who have significant roles on our club,” Matheny said. “But we’ve been very fortunate, we’ve had some other young players step in. And this team hasn’t bought into the fact that we can’t compete, we can’t do what we need to do with some of our key pieces gone.”

SPOILER ALERT

Milwaukee hasn’t had much to play for this season, but the team still has six games left with St. Louis and six against the Chicago Cubs.

“There’s something in the atmosphere, the competition, that’s fun to be a part of,” Counsell said.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Jaime Garcia (8-5) is 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA since Aug. 1.

Brewers: Wily Peralta (5-8) is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA against St. Louis this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Holliday was activated from the 15-day DL before the game but did not play. The 35-year-old missed 41 games after being sidelined July 30 with a right quadriceps strain.

Brewers: C Jonathan Lucroy has been out since getting a concussion at Miami on Sept 8, and Counsell is hopeful for his return this season. “But you can’t press it,” he said.

— Associated Press —

Royals’ struggles continue with 8-3 loss at Cleveland Monday

Posted on September 14, 2015

CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Carrasco’s first pitch couldn’t have gone any worse, but he quickly took control Monday night.

Carrasco overcame Alex Gordon’s home run to throw six strong innings, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3.

Lonnie Chisenhall drove in three runs for the Indians, who trail Texas by 4 1/2 games for the AL’s second wild-card spot. Cleveland, which has won 13 of 18, also got back to the .500 mark (71-71).

Carrasco (13-10) had a simple strategy after Gordon’s drive landed deep in the seats in right field, the only run he allowed:

“Right away, I was thinking those guys were going to be aggressive,” he said. “It made me feel more aggressive, so I went after them harder.”

“The first pitch of the game, you’re already like, `Here we go,” manager Terry Francona said. “But once he established and got into the game, and fortunately did it right after that, he started throwing one of the better breaking balls he’s had.”

The right-hander struck out nine in his second start since coming off the disabled list with a sore right shoulder.

Carrasco got some quick help when Jason Kipnis led off the Indians’ first with a home run.

“It’s always better to play with the game tied,” Francona said. “Three hours later, it may not make that big a difference. It’s just a better feeling.”

Giovanny Urshela hit a solo homer in the fourth for Cleveland.

Edinson Volquez (13-8) allowed four runs in five innings for Kansas City, which has lost eight of 10, while Gordon was 4 for 5.

“I thought he was OK,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Volquez. “Tonight was just one of those nights. He couldn’t keep it going.”

Carrasco ran into trouble after striking out Alcides Escobar and Gordon in the sixth. Ben Zobrist walked, Lorenzo Cain singled and Eric Hosmer walked to load the bases.

Rookie shortstop Francisco Lindor backhanded Kendrys Morales’ sharp ground ball and threw to first, ending the inning.

“For the last few hitters I was feeling a little tired,” Carrasco said. “I was glad we got the ground ball.”

Run-scoring infield hits by Gordon and Ben Zobrist with two out in the seventh cut the lead to 4-3, but Bryan Shaw retired Lorenzo Cain on a fly ball to center.

Chisenhall’s RBI double gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead in the third. He added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh. Yan Gomes added a two-run double in the seventh, and Lindor had an RBI triple in the eighth.

ANOTHER FAN HIT

The game was delayed briefly in the seventh inning when a woman seated several rows behind the Indians’ dugout on the third-base side was struck by a ball hit by Lindor. Medical personnel and ushers quickly tended to the woman, who walked under her own power to a first aid station in the ballpark, where she received medical treatment. Several fans have been struck by baseballs and bats around the majors this season.

GRAND TOUR

Ray Mabus, the United States Secretary of the Navy, threw out the first pitch, completing the feat of doing so at all 30 ballparks in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Louis Coleman is listed as day to day after the back of his shoulder tightened up Sunday at Baltimore.

Indians: Francona said RHP Corey Kluber (strained right hamstring) will probably pitch Thursday against Kansas City. The reigning AL Cy Young winner threw a bullpen session Monday and will do fielding drills Tuesday. Kluber hasn’t pitched since Aug. 29.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen owns an 8-2 record and 2.21 ERA in 23 career appearances in the month of September.

Indians: RHP Josh Tomlin seeks to extend his five-game winning streak. He is 5-1 with a 2.85 ERA on the season.

— Associaed Press —

Chiefs open season with 27-20 win at Houston

Posted on September 13, 2015

HOUSTON (AP) — Kansas City’s defense forced Houston into some early mistakes, and Alex Smith capitalized on enough of them to give the Chiefs a win.

Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Chiefs built a big lead and held on for a 27-20 victory over the mistake-prone Texans on Sunday.

“It’s tough to turn the ball over a couple of times and win the game,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “With that we were able to score points … and get up fairly quickly and decisively.”

Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter, the first one coming after Kansas City intercepted Brian Hoyer’s first pass as a Texan.

The Chiefs were up by 14 in the second quarter when Justin Houston sacked Hoyer, forcing a fumble. Kansas City recovered it and a 7-yard touchdown reception by Jamaal Charles pushed the lead to 27-6.

“We got the couple of turnovers in the red zone and were able to capitalize and I think in the end that was the difference,” Smith said.

Hoyer struggled in his debut before Ryan Mallett took over with about six minutes left and led Houston on two scoring drives to cut the lead to a touchdown.

“I feel terrible,” Hoyer said. “I feel like I let this entire organization down. I mean, it just went from bad to worse.”

Coach Bill O’Brien was asked if Hoyer would start next week.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll review the film, and we will find out once we get into next week.”

J.J. Watt had two sacks, nine tackles and tied a career high with six tackles for losses. Jadeveon Clowney, last year’s top overall pick, had four tackles, with one for a loss, in his first game since microfracture surgery in December. He didn’t start but came in on the second play and played mostly on third downs after the first series.

The Chiefs had five sacks, two by Allen Bailey.

DeAndre Hopkins had nine receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Houston.

Hoyer elicited boos throughout the afternoon, and the home crowd began chanting “Mallett! Mallett!” after Hoyer was called for intentional grounding in the fourth quarter. He was 18 of 34 for 236 yards. Mallett was eight of 13 for 98 yards.

Hoyer’s pass was intercepted by rookie Marcus Peters on Houston’s first drive, giving the Chiefs the ball at the Houston 13. Smith connected with Kelce two plays later on a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

Kelce pushed the lead to 14-0 when Smith found him wide open on a 42-yard touchdown pass. Kelce finished with 106 yards receiving.

Hopkins reached over a defender to grab a 4-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. But Randy Bullock missed the first extra point of his career and the first since the NFL moved extra point attempts from the 2-yard line to the 15, to leave Houston down 14-6. He had made all 66 of his previous attempts.

Watt’s first sack came in the second quarter when Jah Reid knocked his helmet off trying to slow him down. Watt got to Smith anyway, taking him down for a 9-yard loss without his helmet. Kansas City’s second field goal of that quarter came two plays later to extend the lead to 20-6.

Houston’s strip sack of Hoyer came on the Texans’ next possession and the Chiefs recovered it at the Houston 7. The Chiefs cashed in on the mistake one play later on the touchdown by Charles.

Another sack by Watt, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, came with an assist by Clowney in the third quarter. Clowney got into the backfield, flushing Smith from the pocket and Watt dragged him down as he tried to evade Clowney.

“It’s been a long, long comeback, so it felt good to get back,” Clowney said.

Hopkins grabbed an 8-yard touchdown pass from Mallett in the fourth quarter and also caught a pass for the 2-point conversion. A 47-yard field goal by Bullock with less than two minutes remaining got Houston within 27-20.

Game notes
Kansas City safety Eric Berry had two tackles in his first regular-season game since revealing he had lymphoma last November. Berry was declared cancer-free in June and cleared to practice just before camp. … WR Jeremy Maclin had 52 yards receiving in his debut for the Chiefs after spending the first five years of his career with the Eagles.

— Associated Press —