Professional – Page 133 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Cueto drops fifth straight as Royals lose at Baltimore

Posted on September 13, 2015September 13, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Davis hit his league-leading 42nd home run, Jonathan Schoop added a pair of solo shots and the Baltimore Orioles took the three-game series against the Kansas City Royals with an 8-2 victory Sunday night.

The Orioles have won four of their past five as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Royals lost seven of nine and dropped their third straight series for the first time this season.

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (9-7) kept the Royals off-balance with his slider and changeup. He allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts over seven innings.

Schoop had three hits and has 14 home runs on the season. Adam Jones had two hits, including his 27th homer, with four RBI.

Royals right-hander Johnny Cueto (2-6) lost his fifth straight start. He allowed a season-high eight runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 6 1/3 innings. He tied a career-high by allowing four homers and has given up 28 runs over his past 26 1/3 innings.

Cueto’s struggles began in the first when Manny Machado walked and Chris Davis singled before Jones delivered a towering 450-foot shot to center. The Royals pulled to within 3-2 in the second when Salvador Perez and Alex Rios hit a pair of two-out doubles followed by a single by Alcides Escobar.

Schoop responded by delivering solo homers in the second and fourth innings to boost Baltimore’s margin to 5-2. Cueto has given up three home runs in a game twice this season-both times against the Orioles.

Davis added the fourth homer against Cueto with another solo shot in the sixth and Baltimore led 6-2. Meanwhile, Chen retired 10 in a row before allowing a double to Perez in the seventh.

The Orioles added a seventh run that inning on a fielder’s choice by Machado that ended Cueto’s night. Louis Coleman entered and allowed an RBI-single to Jones.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Right-hander Louis Coleman left with two outs in the eighth with an undisclosed injury.

Orioles: C Matt Wieters was behind the plate for the second straight night after missing the previous two games with a sore left wrist. It was just the third time this season Wieters caught back-to-back games.

ON DECK

Royals: Edinson Volquez opens the four-game series Monday at Cleveland looking to extend his team-leading 13 wins. The right-hander also has a 3.49 ERA with 130 strikeouts over 29 starts.

Orioles: Right-hander Kevin Gausman faces Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez in the series opener between the AL East foes. Gausman is looking for his first victory since Aug. 1.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis beats Cincinnati 9-2 to avoid sweep

Posted on September 13, 2015September 13, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tommy Pham made the most of a rare start, giving his St. Louis Cardinals a needed boost.

Pham hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning, pinch-hitter Matt Adams added a two-run drive in a five-run eighth and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 Sunday and avoid getting swept in the four-game series.

“Just to be able to get a start and help the team out was a truly good feeling,” said Pham, whose start on Sunday was his second in 10 games since striking out four times against Washington and Max Scherzer.

The Cardinals, on their worst stretch this season, had lost eight of 10 going into the series finale, and their division lead over Pittsburgh was down to 2 1/2 games. St. Louis then fell behind 2-0 on Todd Frazier’s second-inning homer and Tucker Barnhart’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly.

“We played a good Cardinal team and took three out of four,” Frazier said. “We’ll take that any day of the week. We helped a couple teams. We made the race a little closer. It’s hard to take four from any team.”

Those were the only runs the Reds would score against Michael Wacha (16-5), who allowed three hits and four walks in six innings.

Outscored 20-3 in the first three games, the Cardinals tied the score in the fifth against Raisel Iglesias on Kolten Wong’s run-scoring infield single and Matt Carpenter’s RBI single.

Sam LeCure (0-1) walked Greg Garcia and Pham homered on a 2-2 pitch for a 4-2 lead, his second home run of the season and first since July 5.

St. Louis broke open the game in the eighth against Carlos Contreras, when Barnhart’s passed ball allowed Wong to come home from third, and Jason Heyward hit an RBI double and scored on Yadier Molina’s single.

The Reds bullpen allowed seven runs, snapping a 14 2/3 a stretch of consecutive scoreless innings.

“I’m not going to use (J.J.) Hoover and (Aroldis) Chapman every game to keep it close,” manager Bryan Price said. “We got some of the other guys out there and it got out of hand.”

Adams, was activated from the disabled list on Wednesday after missing 91 games with a right quadriceps injury, homered for the first time since May 20.

“Lots of people contributing again,” manager Mike Matheny said. “You saw some big at bats all the way through, and Michael came up big today.”

Jason Heyward, who watched Adam Duvall’s go-ahead, two-run homer bounce off the top of the wall in Saturday’s completion of a suspended game, made a leaping catch in right to rob Ivan De Jesus Jr. of what would have been a go-ahead home run in the fifth.

SELECT COMPANY

Todd Frazier’s 33rd home run on Sunday is the third-highest total for a Reds’ third baseman in franchise history. Only Hall of Famer Tony Perez has hit more — 39 in 1970 and 37 in 1967.

FINALLY

St. Louis C Yadier Molina threw out Billy Hamilton trying to steal second base in the seventh inning on Sunday. Hamilton had been 10-for-10 in his career against the All-Star and Gold Glove winner, the longest active streak by any player. The stretch included two in this series that included two throwing errors on Molina.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny wouldn’t commit to RHP Adam Wainwright (Achilles tendon) or OF Matt Holliday (quadriceps strain) returning for the series in Milwaukee that starts Tuesday.

Reds: RF Jay Bruce and 2B Brandon Phillips both got Sunday off.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: After an off day, RHP Carlos Martinez (13-7) starts at the Brewers.

Reds: RHP Keyvius Sampson (2-4) is Cincinnati’s scheduled starter in Monday’s opener of a three-game series in San Francisco.

— Associated Press —

Moustakas drives in team-record 9 RBIs as Royals beat Orioles

Posted on September 12, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Kansas City Royals kept getting on base in front of Mike Moustakas, and he repeatedly brought them home.

And that, quite simply, is how Moustakas amassed a franchise-record nine RBIs in a 14-6 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

“It’s pretty special,” Moustakas said. “I was just able to get good pitches, and I didn’t miss them today.”

Moustakas hit a two-run single in the sixth inning, his second career grand slam in the seventh and, capping the unprecedented performance, a three-run homer in the ninth.

The previous team record for RBIs in a game was seven, by Billy Butler against Philadelphia on April 7, 2013.

“The guys got on base today, gave me opportunities to drive in some runs,” Moustakas said. “I was able to capitalize on that.”

The start was delayed by rain for 3 hours, 2 minutes, and the game lasted 3:40. By the time it was over, it was difficult for Royals manager Ned Yost to recall all that Moustakas accomplished.

“He sure had a great one today,” Yost said. “A grand slam, a three-run homer. I don’t know what else he did, that game was so doggone long. He had nine RBI? A four-hour game, I forgot about all of that.”

Salvador Perez had two hits and three RBIs for the American League Central-leading Royals, who won for only the second time in eight games.

“It was a big win. You can’t lose six out of seven like we had,” Yost said. “The good thing about it is their disposition, their focus, their intensity hasn’t changed through this.”

Yordano Ventura (11-8) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings for Kansas City. The right-hander is 7-1 in his last 10 starts, including a pair of wins over Baltimore.

Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold homered for the Orioles, whose modest three-game winning streak ended. Baltimore has 21 games left to close a significant gap in the hunt for the second AL wild card.

Baltimore was betrayed by a bullpen that yielded 10 runs and 10 hits over the final 3 1/3 innings. The relievers weren’t sharp on Friday night either, when the Orioles rallied to win 14-8.

“We didn’t pitch well out of the pen, obviously,” manager Buck Showalter said. “A couple of games, I’m being nice when I say they weren’t crisp. Both of them.”

Kansas City trailed 4-1 before batting around in a five-run sixth against three pitchers. After Eric Hosmer chased starter Chris Tillman with a run-scoring single, Moustakas drove in a pair of runs with a single off Brian Matusz (1-4). Perez greeted Chaz Roe with an opposite-field, two-run single to right.

The Royals pulled away with a five-run seventh. The big blow was delivered by Moustakas, who drove an 0-2 pitch over the right-field wall after an intentional walk to Kendrys Morales filled the bases.

After Reimold got Baltimore to 11-6 with a two-run drive in the eighth, Moustakas connected off Steve Johnson in the ninth.

It was the fourth career multihomer game for Moustakas, who turned 27 on Friday night.

“What did he have, seven RBI? Nine?” Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy said. “That’s a pretty good month — or week. What did we score? Not enough.”

Baltimore used a sacrifice fly by Gerardo Parra and a three-run shot by Jones to build a 4-1 lead after three innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Reliever Wade Davis returned to action after being rested with shoulder soreness.

Orioles: C Matt Wieters was back in the starting lineup after missing three games with a sore left wrist. … The Orioles hope RHP Miguel Gonzalez (right shoulder tendinitis) can come off the disabled list before the season ends. “Best scenario, he gets some starts,” Showalter said. “It would certainly help his frame of mind.”

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Johnny Cueto attempts to snap a four-game losing streak in the series finale Sunday night. He is 2-5 with a 4.86 ERA in eight starts with Kansas City.

Orioles: Wei-Yin Chen beat the Royals on Aug. 26 and tries for an encore. The Taiwanese left-hander is 4-1 in his last nine starts.

— Associated Press —

Slumping Cardinals drop third straight to Reds 5-1

Posted on September 12, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — Sometimes, when Lance Lynn makes mistakes, hitters still pop them up.

Skip Schumaker popped Lynn’s Saturday mistake into the right field seats.

Schumaker hit a three-run homer, rookie Anthony DeSclafani pitched six strong innings and the Cincinnati Reds won their second game of the day, beating the struggling St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday.

The first-place Cardinals have lost the first three games of this four-game series. Their lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central fell to three games before the Pirates hosted Milwaukee on Saturday night.

Earlier, Adam Duvall’s two-run homer in the eighth lifted the Reds to a 4-2 win in the completion of a game suspended in the eighth by rain on Friday.

Schumaker, a former Cardinal, hit his first homer since Aug. 13 of last season.

“We have to disrupt a little bit of what’s going on in this race,” he said. “To have fun around here, we have to beat teams going to the playoffs. It’s nice to hit one against the organization that I respect the most.”

St. Louis is 3-8 in September after three straight losses to the last-place Reds, who on Sunday can finish off their first four-game sweep of the Cardinals since 2003.

Lynn agreed that a losing streak looks worse down the stretch.

“It’s a good thing it’s the beginning of the month,” he said. “We’ll see where we are at the end of the month. It’s a good thing the season goes a couple of days into October.”

Joey Votto, who is appealing the two-game suspension he was handed Friday for his altercation with plate umpire Bill Welke on Wednesday, electrified the sellout crowd of 41,187 with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh that Jason Heyward tracked down a step in front of the center field wall.

The Cardinals committed two errors to push their total to five in the first three games of the series.

Rain fell during the middle innings of the scheduled game and again in the eighth and ninth, but not heavy enough to interrupt play.

DeSclafani (9-10) bounced back from giving up hits to the first three Cardinals, including Heyward’s RBI single, to strike out the next three and go on to retire 15 straight batters.

“That was a good start,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said of the Cardinals’ first. “It’s a shame three strikeouts had to follow. Strikeouts hurt us today.”

DeSclafani finished with one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings.

“DeSclafani found his curveball and fastball command after the first three batters,” manager Bryan Price said. “He’s a tough kid. I’m really happy with his makeup.”

Tony Cingrani, Burke Badenhop and Jumbo Diaz combined to finish the game.

Lynn, coming off his second-shortest appearance of the season, opened with four hitless innings before Eugenio Suarez and Tucker Barnhart started the fifth with singles. Those set up Schumaker’s two-out shot to right. Lynn (11-10) allowed four hits in six innings.

Barnhart added an insurance run with a single in the eighth.

KING’S DAY

Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann presented career hits leader Pete Rose with a key to the city and proclaimed Saturday “Pete Rose Day.” Friday was the 30th anniversary of Rose’s record-setting hit. A Rose bobblehead helped attract a sellout crowd.

SUSPENDED

Cardinals C Cody Stanley was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Stanley, 26, spent most of this season at Triple-A Memphis, but was promoted to St. Louis when major league rosters expanded on Sept. 1. It is the seventh suspension announced this year under the big league program.

Major League Baseball said Stanley tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. The suspension is effective immediately.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Matt Belisle was reinstated from the disabled list on Saturday. Belisle had been out since June 26 with right elbow inflammation.

Reds: Billy Hamilton’s two stolen bases in the first game were his first since Aug. 18. He was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday after missing 19 games with a sprained right shoulder.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (15-5) makes his first start since tying his single-game career high by allowing six runs on six hits in four innings of Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to the Cubs.

Reds: Rookie RHP Raisel Iglesias (3-7) is coming off his shortest appearance of the season, lasting just three innings in a 7-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

KC gives up 10 runs in the eighth, drop series opener at Baltimore

Posted on September 11, 2015September 12, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles earned a piece of history by becoming the seventh team in the modern era to hit two grand slams in the same inning.

Between those two home runs, Chris Davis got plunked with a pitch. And that is why Orioles manager Buck Showalter had to watch the second home run on television.

Nolan Reimold and Steve Clevenger both hit slams during a 10-run eighth, giving Baltimore a 14-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Since the start of the 20th century, six teams have hit grand slams in the same inning. The Orioles are the only ones to do it twice — they also pulled it off in 1986 — and no team had done it since the New York Mets in 2006, STATS said.

“Yeah, it was crazy,” Reimold said.

Baltimore trailed 6-4 in the eighth before a double, an error and an infield hit loaded the bases for Reimold, who lined a 2-0 pitch from Kelvin Herrera (4-3) high off the left-field foul pole.

Manny Machado followed with a solo shot off Franklin Morales. After Adam Jones singled, Morales hit Davis in the back with a pitch. Davis slammed down his bat, breaking it in two, as Showalter sprinted out of the dugout.

No one else emerged from either dugout during the potentially volatile situation, although Davis glared at Morales while taking his base.

“We hit a grand slam, another home run, a couple rockets,” Davis said. “It just didn’t look right, regardless of whether it was on purpose or not.”

Showalter thought it was, and was ejected for arguing that point.

Thus, he missed what happened next: Morales lasted one more batter before being replaced by Joba Chamberlain, who yielded Clevenger’s slam. Clevenger entered the game earlier in the inning as a pinch hitter.

Royals manager Ned Yost insisted that Morales was not throwing at Davis.

“You’re going to react like that because it does hurt,” Yost said. “But that pitch wasn’t on purpose. There was a lot of hullabaloo after that. But it wasn’t on purpose.”

Baltimore improved to 3-62 when trailing after seven innings. Kansas City is now 63-3 when leading after seven.

Lorenzo Cain hit two solo homers and Alex Rios also connected with the bases empty for the Royals, who have lost eight of 11.

“You go through stretches like this,” Cain said. “We can’t let it worry us. We understand we’re a good ballclub. We’ve just got to find a way to bounce back.”

The Orioles’ three-game winning streak comes on the heels of a stretch in which they lost 15 of 18.

Mychal Givens (2-0) got the win despite giving up two runs in the ninth. Fellow rookie Dariel Alvarez hit his first big league homer for Baltimore.

It was the Royals’ first visit to Baltimore since last October, when they opened the AL Championship Series with two straight wins at Camden Yards and completed the four-game sweep at home.

While first-place Kansas City appears poised for a return trip to the postseason, the defending AL East champion Orioles started play Friday trailing six teams for the league’s final wild-card spot. Baltimore must win 13 of its last 22 games just to finish .500.

The Royals’ early 3-0 lead dwindled to 4-3 before Rios led off the seventh with a drive off Brad Brach — his first home run since July 17. Davis countered in the bottom half with a run-scoring single to increase his RBI total to 105.

Salvador Perez restored the two-run cushion with an RBI single in the eighth, setting the stage for Baltimore’s grand comeback.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Reliever Wade Davis was unavailable because of shoulder stiffness.

Orioles: Jones returned to the Baltimore lineup after missing two games with a sore right shoulder. He struck out three times. … Catcher Matt Wieters remained sidelined with a sore left wrist but hopes to return Saturday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (10-8, 4.34 ERA) and RHP Johnny Cueto traded places in the rotation. Ventura will start Saturday afternoon and Cueto under the lights Sunday because he prefers to pitch at night, manager Ned Yost said.

Orioles: Chris Tillman (9-11, 5.15) owns a lifetime ERA of 6.17 against the Royals. The right-hander gave up four runs over six innings in a loss to the Royals on Aug. 27.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals at Reds game suspended in top of 8th tied 2-2

Posted on September 11, 2015September 12, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — John Lackey could win a game Saturday without taking the mound.

The St. Louis starter was still the pitcher of record when heavy rain forced the Cardinals’ game against the Cincinnati Reds to be suspended in the top of the eighth inning tied 2-2 on Friday night. It’ll resume on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. before the regularly scheduled game.

Lackey won’t pitch on Saturday, but he would get the win if the Cardinals score in the eighth and hold on.

“I’m all for it,” said Lackey, who has never pitched in a suspended game. “We’ll see what happens. Maybe that’s what we need to get us going.”

The NL Central leaders have lost six of eight, with their rotation hitting a downturn lately. Lackey held up his end, allowing seven hits and three walks while fanning 10. He repeatedly pitched out of threats to keep it tied.

“He was terrific, absolutely terrific,” manager Mike Matheny said. “He got better as the heat got turned up.”

Rain fell intermittently during the game and intensified as the eighth inning began. Jhonny Peralta led off and hit a pop-up that shortstop Eugenio Suarez dropped for an error. Suarez had trouble looking up into the heavy rain, and the umpires called for the tarp.

The Cardinals will have a runner on first when the game resumes.

“We’ve got the leadoff runner on, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” Matheny said.

The teams waited out the 17th rain delay at Great American Ball Park for an hour and seven minutes before it was suspended. It was Cincinnati’s first suspended home game this season — three have been rained out.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto struck out and walked three times. He received a two-game suspension on Friday for an altercation with umpire Bill Welke on Wednesday, but will keep playing while his appeal is heard.

Cincinnati’s Michael Lorenzen gave up two runs in five innings. His start was the 42nd in a row by a rookie for the Reds, passing the 1902 Cardinals for the major league record. The Reds have gone with an all-rookie rotation since trading Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake in July.

Billy Hamilton opened the Reds’ first with a bunt single, stole second, advanced on catcher Yadier Molina’s wild throw for an error and came home on Brandon Phillips’ infield single. Ramon Cabrera hit his first major league homer in the second.

The Cardinals repeatedly wasted scoring opportunities, stranding runners in scoring position during the first three innings. Also, Jon Jay was thrown out at third base while trying to stretch a double with no outs in the fourth.

Lackey had an RBI groundout in the second, and Greg Garcia homered in the fourth to tie it 2-2.

CAN’T STOP HIM

Hamilton stole two bases, leaving him 10 for 10 in attempts against catcher Yadier Molina over his career. He leads the majors with 56 steals in 63 attempts, matching his stolen base total from last season.

NO MOSS

Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss stretched into the dugout to catch Phillips’ foul with two runners in scoring position in the fifth, undercutting a rally. He went 0 for 2, extending his slump to 0 for 19.

RAIN GO AWAY

The 17 rain delays at GABP have lasted 24:26, the highest home total since the Reds began tracking weather delays in 1978. They’ve had a rain delay every homestand except one this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Matt Adams felt good a day after his pinch-hit appearance, his first since May 26. He missed 91 games with an injured right calf that needed surgery.

Reds: Brayan Pena won’t catch for a couple of days because of a slightly strained right hamstring, suffered while running the bases on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Lance Lynn (11-9) is coming off one of his worst starts. He lasted only 2 1/3 innings and gave up six runs — matching his season high — during a 9-0 loss to the Cubs. He’s 7-3 career against the Reds with a 3.51 ERA.

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani (8-10) is 2-0 in three career appearances against the Cardinals with a 1.29 ERA, allowing two runs in 14 innings.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals get crushed in series opener at Cincinnati

Posted on September 10, 2015September 10, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals hoped their come-from behind win on Wednesday over the Chicago Cubs would get them back on track.

Instead, they followed with their most one-sided defeat this season.

Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips both homered and drove in three runs as the last-place Cincinnati Reds beat the NL Central-leading Cardinals 11-0 Thursday night.

St. Louis opened its longest trip this season — 10 games in 11 days — with its fourth loss in five games, including a 9-0 defeat to the Cubs on Monday.

Reds star Joey Votto doubled and singled, driving in a run and scoring one, a day after his tantrum at home plate following an ejection.

Jaime Garcia (8-5) lasted a season-low 4 1/3 innings and gave up six runs. He had been 5-0 in seven starts since losing to the Reds on July 28.

“Definitely not a good one,” Garcia said. “There are no excuses. I’ve got to do a better job the next time.”

John Lamb (1-3), one of three left-handers acquired from Kansas City for Johnny Cueto in late July, shook off control problems for his first major league win. He walked six, struck out six and gave up three hits in five innings.

“It was a crazy game,” Lamb said.

Four relievers combined to complete St. Louis’s 12th shutout loss this year, matching last season’s total.

The Reds scored their first two runs on groundouts. Lamb got his first career RBI in the second and Phillips made it 2-0 in the third.

Cincinnati chased Garcia in a four-run fifth that included RBI doubles by Votto and Frazier. Phillips and Bruce each had a sacrifice fly.

Votto’s double into the left field corner came on a 3-2 pitch after he fell behind 0-2 and was sent sprawling by a high-and-tight fastball.

“He’s locked in right now,” manager Mike Matheny said of Votto. “That kind of changed the game a little bit.”

Phillips hit 12th homer, a leadoff shot in a three-run seventh. Right fielder Jason Heyward almost made a leaping catch, but he couldn’t keep the ball in his glove.

Frazier added his 32nd homer, a two-run line drive in the eighth.

“It’s a great feeling, but you have to stay on an even keel,” Frazier said.

WELCOME BACK

St. Louis 1B Matt Adams made his first appearance after missing 91 games with a quad injury as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and singled. “Everybody was happy to see him back and active,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We were excited to get him in there.”

BIG NAMES

Todd Frazier’s fifth-inning double was his NL-leading 40th this season, making him just the fourth player in Reds history with at least 40 doubles and 30 home runs in the same season. Frank Robinson (1962), Dave Parker (1985) and Jay Bruce (2013) are the other three.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Randal Grichuk took the day off from throwing as he continues to rehab his inflamed right elbow. The Reds have right-handers scheduled to start the final three games of the series, which means the right-handed hitting Grichuk might not start all weekend.

Reds: C Brayan Pena will be “limited for a couple of days,” manager Bryan Price said. Pena strained his right hamstring legging out a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning of Cincinnati’s 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey (11-9, 2.90) scheduled to start Friday, a year and a day after he was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes against the Reds in Cincinnati.

Reds: RHP Michael Lorenzen (4-8, 5.54) is coming off his first win in his last 10 starts.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City loses series finale to Twins in 12 innings

Posted on September 10, 2015September 10, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The longer Miguel Sano stayed in the batter’s box, the more confident Twins manager Paul Molitor felt that his big pinch-hitter would come through in the 12th inning Wednesday night.

Sano delivered with a two-out homer over the bullpen in left field, boosting Minnesota to a 3-2 victory over the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals and a series win in their three-game set.

“Sano had a really good at-bat,” Molitor said. “He did what he can do, put a run up quickly.”

Sano was stuck in an 0-for-14 slump that included 11 strikeouts when he stepped to the plate against Franklin Morales (3-2), the Royals’ sixth reliever of the night. After he appeared to take strike three on a pitch plate umpire Greg Gibson called a ball, the big rookie took a mighty swing and sent his 16th homer of the year over just about everything in left field.

“(The umpire) missed it. The pitch was right there,” Morales said. “I tried to come back with the same pitch again. And I missed for my part and he got a homer.”

Blaine Boyer (3-4) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for Minnesota. Kevin Jepsen got three outs for his 12th save while Glen Perkins sat out again with a back injury.

Perkins received a second cortisone shot Wednesday and was still unavailable.

Kansas City had a chance to win in the 10th when pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson stole second and third, and Lorenzo Cain chopped a grounder back to the pitcher. Brian Duensing alertly threw home and the throw carried Kurt Suzuki into Dyson, who claimed the catcher was blocking the plate.

Royals manager Ned Yost also argued, and Gibson and crew chief Jim Joyce went to the headset for a review. The call was confirmed and Dyson was out.

Meanwhile, Suzuki was shaken up in the collision. He left with a bruised left knee.

“The doctor’s report is fairly optimistic,” Molitor said. “We’re hoping the initial diagnosis is accurate and there’s no ligament damage in there.”

Suzuki homered earlier in the game and Joe Mauer also drove in a run for the Twins, who had dropped four of six after a hot streak vaulted them into wild-card contention.

Ben Zobrist homered for the Royals. Cain drove in their other run with a sacrifice fly.

The late-inning theatrics transpired after Twins starter Mike Pelfrey and Royals counterpart Kris Medlen waged an entertaining pitchers’ duel through the first five innings.

Medlen retired the first 11 batters he faced and did not allow a hit until Suzuki went deep leading off the sixth. Medlen wound up allowing two more hits in the inning, including an RBI single by Mauer, and exited with the Royals in a 2-0 hole.

It was still a solid outing by Medlen, battered by the White Sox in his previous start.

“I thought he threw the ball great,” Yost said. “He was very efficient with all his stuff.”

Pelfrey got a double play in the second and another with Cain on third to end the fourth. The right-hander didn’t allow a run until the sixth, when Zobrist went deep with one out, and then was pulled after allowing a single to Alex Gordon and hitting Cain in the back with a pitch.

Neal Cotts got Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales to fly out, ending the threat in a game that was only just beginning.

“We went 12 innings for it,” Pelfrey said. “Our bullpen came in and did a great job, and we scored enough at the end.”

RECORD ATTENDANCE

The Royals set a franchise record for single-season attendance with 2,506,913 fans, and they still have six home dates to go. The previous record of 2,477,700 was set in 1989.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: RHP Phil Hughes (back inflammation) threw 45 pitches during a simulated game, then fielded bunts and did pitcher’s fielding practice. “He came out of it fine,” Molitor said. “Now it’s just a matter of seeing what the next step will be.”

Royals: Gordon has been swinging a hot bat since his return from the DL following a groin injury, though Yost said he will continue to replace Gordon on defense late in games.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Ervin Santana pitches against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday night.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy opens a series in Baltimore on Friday night.

— Associated Press —

Carpenter, Piscotty lead Cardinals past Cubs 4-3

Posted on September 9, 2015

ST. LOUIS — Cardinals rookie Stephen Piscotty continues to show a penchant for making quick adjustments.

After going hitless in his first three at-bats, Piscotty lined a two-run double off the centerfield wall to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning that sent St. Louis over the Chicago Cubs 4-3 Wednesday.

Matt Carpenter tripled and scored twice as the Cardinals ended their three-game losing streak. The NL Central leaders avoided their first sweep at home this season and their first against the Cubs since September 2010.

“It’s definitely good to get that one,” Piscotty said. “You don’t want to get swept by the Cubs. We’re fine. There’s no panic. We did a good job of fighting back.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Piscotty is a good self-evaluator.

“This is what he did: ‘He got me last time, this is what I probably need to do.’ And not many guys can make those adjustments as far as approach,” Matheny said. “He’s able to think ahead and then make those physical adjustments as well.”

Cubs lefty Jon Lester exited after seven dominant innings. He gave up two hits, retired 20 of his final 21 hitters and left with a 3-1 lead.

“I felt good, cutter was better today,” Lester said. “I got away with a couple of pitches because of what we established early.”

Jonathan Broxton (2-4) got the win and Trevor Rosenthal picked up his 43rd save. Clayton Richard (3-1) took the loss.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez needed 99 pitches to get through five innings. The Cubs stranded at least one runner in each of his innings, and Martinez was able to limit the damage with eight strikeouts.

“All in all, I think he did a nice job of keeping it together all the way around,” Matheny said. “His mind was right. He kept coming out and grinding and that’s a great sign of what could come.”

The Cardinals’ bullpen retired 12 of the 13 batters they faced.

“Carlos gave us five,” Broxton said. “He struggled early, but once the bullpen opened up we just tried to hold them there and give our offense a chance.”

Chris Coghlan took advantage of Randal Grichuk’s compromised throwing arm to score the Cubs’ first run on Anthony Rizzo’s double.

Grichuk, starting for the first time since straining his elbow Aug. 16, had to flip the ball to right fielder Jason Heyward, who threw it in allowing Coghlan to score from first.

Rizzo appeared to be caught in a run-down following his double, but Martinez failed to cover third, allowing Rizzo to take an extra base. Tommy La Stella followed with a two-out double to give the Cubs an extra run.

Lester got his second career hit, both against St. Louis. The Cardinals have given up hits to opposing pitchers in four consecutive games and each have led to runs.

WEB GEM

Coghlan made a tough catch on a tailing flyball off the bat of Tommy Pham in the fifth. Coghlan made the grab in foul territory, and his momentum flipped him over the wall and into the crowd.

WELCOME BACK

The Cardinals activated 1B Matt Adams from the 60-day disabled list. Adams was hitting .243 in 144 at-bats with four home runs and 20 RBIs before missing 91 games. Lefty Nick Greenwood was designated for assignment to make room.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Matt Belisle (right elbow inflammation) threw a simulated game, but no definite return date has been set for the right-hander. He has missed 65 games.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (18-6, 2.03 ERA) takes the mound to kick off a four-game series Thursday at Philadelphia. Arrieta has a 17-inning scoreless streak and was the NL Pitcher of the Month for August.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (8-4, 1.89 ERA) starts a 10-game road trip Thursday at Cincinnati. He is 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA since Aug. 1.

— Associated Press —

Hosmer, Volquez help Royals snap four-game skid with 4-2 win over Twins

Posted on September 8, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After watching the Royals lose four straight, Edinson Volquez was so focused on helping them out of their funk that the starting pitcher forgot something rather important.

“Tickets for my wife,” he said with a grin.

Good thing he remembered while warming in the bullpen. She got to watch Volquez bounce back from a lousy start to go seven sharp innings in a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Eric Hosmer hit a three-run double and Kendrys Morales added an RBI double in the first inning, and that was all Volquez (13-7) and the Kansas City bullpen needed. Wade Davis pitched a perfect eighth inning and Greg Holland tossed a flawless ninth for his 30th save.

The only runs Volquez allowed were consecutive RBI hits by Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer.

“I thought he was great,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “His last start he was out of whack, all over the place. He was much more mechanically sound tonight.”

Kyle Gibson (9-10) recovered from a brutal start to last eight innings for his first career complete game, but the Twins’ offense was unable to bail him out. Gibson’s first six batters reached, and Hosmer and Morales staked Kansas City to an early 4-0 lead.

“You can lose it in the first, but you can’t win it in the first. Those are situations that kind of speed up on you,” Gibson said. “I’m trying not to get too emotionally up in what happened, just take it one batter at a time and move on.”

The streaking Twins, who began the day just 1 1/2 games back of Texas for the final AL wild card, tried to mount a comeback after the Royals took their early lead.

Byron Buxton singled with one out in the third, later scoring on Dozier’s base hit, and Mauer followed with an RBI double to make it 4-2. But using some veteran guile, Volquez managed to get Trevor Plouffe to ground out and preserve his lead.

Plouffe also grounded into inning-ending double plays in the first and sixth, as the Twins failed to get a runner to second base the rest of the night.

Kansas City was suddenly having a similarly difficult time against Gibson, who allowed only two hits after his disastrous first inning. Both of them were to Alex Gordon, a two-out double in the second and a single in the fifth.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve been attacked like that,” Gibson said of the first inning. “Most teams come out taking, seeing if my sinker is going to stay in the zone.”

Gibson allowed six hits and walked two while throwing 101 pitches.

“This guy has arguably one of the best two-seamers in the league, and it wasn’t there in the first inning,” Yost said. “It was there in the second inning through the eighth.”

HOLIDAY SPIRIT

Royals pitcher Danny Duffy chose the postgame music in their clubhouse. First up was Frank Sinatra crooning, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which got a thumbs down from Volquez — “This is bad,” he said. Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” got better reviews.

STATS AND STREAKS

The attendance was 31,384, which means the Royals need just 3,074 fans to break the franchise’s single-season record Wednesday night. They still have six home dates after that. … Hosmer has a career-best 81 RBI. His previous high was 79 in 2013. … Gordon is 9 for 18 since returning from the disabled list. He had been out with a groin injury.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: LHP Glen Perkins (back) is considering a second injection after seeing a spinal specialist in the Twin Cities, manager Paul Molitor said. He last pitched Sept. 1. … RHP Phil Hughes (back) will throw a 45-pitch simulated game Wednesday.

Royals: Yost bristled when asked whether RHP Johnny Cueto was healthy after another poor start. “How many times am I going to answer this?” Yost asked. “He’s absolutely fine. … I’m not worried about Johnny. He’s completely healthy.”

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Mike Pelfrey gave up seven runs in four innings his last start at Houston.

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen gave up seven runs in 5 2/3 innings his last start vs the White Sox.

— Associated Press —