Professional – Page 176 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Royals use long ball to win game one of ALCS in 10 innings at Baltimore

Posted on October 11, 2014October 11, 2014

BALTIMORE (AP) — These Kansas City Royals, and Alex Gordon in particular, are way more than just speed and singles.

Especially in extra innings.

Gordon hit a tiebreaking homer in the 10th inning, Mike Moustakas added a two-run shot and the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 Friday night in the opener of the AL Championship Series.

Earlier, Gordon doubled in three runs, was picked off first base, made a great catch in left field and got hit in the neck with a pitch.

But his most memorable moment came when he lined a pitch from Darren O’Day into the right-field seats. That was enough to provide the Royals with their fourth extra-inning victory in five games this postseason.

As the ball soared over the wall, O’Day flung his cap to the ground in frustration.

Moustakas followed with another shot to right, this one off Brian Matusz with a runner on.

This best-of-seven series was billed as Kansas City’s speed against Baltimore’s power, but the Royals didn’t steal a base and hit all of the game’s three home runs.

The Orioles tried to rally in the 10th. Pinch-hitter Delmon Young hit an RBI single with two outs, but closer Greg Holland retired Nick Markakis on a grounder with two runners on for the final out in the rain shortly before 1 a.m.

Game 2 is Saturday afternoon. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura makes his second postseason start for the Royals against Bud Norris.

Wade Davis got the win with two shutout innings and Holland got a save.

The fastest team in the majors nearly walked to victory in the ninth. After Orioles closer Zach Britton issued three straight walks to open the inning, Eric Hosmer into a force at the plate — helped by catcher Nick Hundley’s nifty pickup at the plate — and O’Day got Billy Butler to hit into a double play.

O’Day wasn’t nearly as effective in the 10th.

Down 5-1 in the fifth against James Shields, the Orioles scored three times as 47,124 towel-waving fans cheered them on. Nelson Cruz hit an RBI double before Ryan Flaherty delivered a two-out, two-run single.

Shields made it out of the inning, but did not return after giving up four runs and 10 hits.

The rain that was expected for much of the day finally made an appearance in the sixth, shortly before Baltimore pulled even against the usually reliable Kansas City bullpen. The tying run scored off Kelvin Herrera on a low popup by Alejandro De Aza that dropped behind the mound.

The Royals’ frustration showed in the seventh, when pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson complained about being called out at second on an attempted steal before Lorenzo Cain and Butler fumed over called third strikes.

Early on, Kansas City dominated.

After the Orioles left the bases loaded in the second inning, Alcides Escobar drove a 2-0 pitch from Chris Tillman into the left-field seats for the game’s first run. It was his 22nd homer in 2,994 career at-bats, including this postseason.

Kansas City then sandwiched two singles around a four-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs for Gordon, who lofted a broken-bat fly that landed about four feet inside the right-field foul line for a three-run double.

Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce, who couldn’t get a grip on a bouncing throw from shortstop J.J. Hardy earlier in the inning, clutched the top of his cap in dismay as the ball plopped into fair territory.

Gordon also hit a three-run double in the finale of Kansas City’s three-game sweep of the Angels in the Division Series.

Baltimore got an RBI single from Adam Jones in the bottom half, but a diving catch by Gordon prevented further damage. Shields thrust his arm in the air and pointed to Gordon, a Gold Glove winner in each of the past three years.

A sacrifice fly by Butler in the fifth made it 5-1.

UP NEXT

Royals: In two starts against the Orioles this season, Ventura has a 1.26 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14 1-3 innings.

Orioles: Baltimore tries to rebound from its first loss since Sept. 27. The last time the Orioles lost the opener of an ALCS game was when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier got involved with a Derek Jeter home run at Yankee Stadium in 1996.

LIGHTS OUT

The start of the game was delayed while the bright lights above a TV booth in center field were shut down, one by one.

Escobar was about the step into the batter’s box when he noticed the glaring bulbs in his sight line. While Tillman took a few extra warmup tosses, the song “Lights” by Journey played over the PA system.

— Associated Press —

Adams homers off Clayton Kershaw, Cards rally to reach NLCS

Posted on October 8, 2014

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Adams and the Cardinals are moving on. Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are going home.

Again.

St. Louis tagged Kershaw in the seventh inning for the second straight time, riding Adams’ go-ahead, three-run homer to a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday and a fourth consecutive trip to the NL Championship Series.

“I don’t think I touched the ground the whole way around the bases,” Adams said. “Definitely the highlight of my career. … I will never, ever forget this.”

Neither will Kershaw.

“The season ended and I was a big part of the reason why,” Kershaw said. “I can’t really put it into words, Just bad deja vu all over again.”

Following their 3-1 win in the best-of-five series, the Cardinals await San Francisco or Washington with their rotation well-rested for the NLCS, which starts Saturday. They will open at home against the Giants, who ousted the Nationals later Tuesday night.

Trevor Rosenthal allowed two runners in the ninth before getting Carl Crawford on a game-ending groundout for his third save of the series. At AT&T Park in San Francisco, fans cheered when the rival Dodgers were eliminated.

“It was awesome, everything we did throughout that game,” starter Shelby Miller said. “It was a heck of a game and a lot of fun, I know that.”

An overwhelming favorite to win his third NL Cy Young Award in four years, Kershaw’s October resume is a wreck.

Kershaw dropped to 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in 11 postseason games, including three relief appearances early in his career. He has lost four straight starts to St. Louis over the past two postseasons.

“I’ve had success against them, too,” Kershaw said. “It just seems like one inning gets me every time. And obviously that’s not success.”

While the steady Cardinals advanced to their ninth NLCS in 15 years, the defeat was a huge disappointment for the NL West champion Dodgers, who finished the regular season with a $256 million payroll that was $40 million higher than any other team.

Los Angeles remains without a pennant since winning the 1988 World Series.

Manager Don Mattingly wasn’t about to second-guess leaving Kershaw in the game, especially with a bullpen that’s foundered. He wanted the lefty to get three more outs.

“It goes back to the same question: Is there anybody better, even on short rest, and even where he was at that point?” Mattingly said.

Kershaw started on three days’ rest for the second time in his postseason career. He was dominant into the seventh, as he was in Game 1, but again started the inning with three straight hits.

The third hit Tuesday came when Adams drove a curveball on Kershaw’s 102nd pitch into the right-center bullpen to put St. Louis up 3-2. Adams thrust his hands over his head in the batter’s box then jumped several times as he ran down the first base line. A stunned Kershaw bent over on the mound, head hung and hands on his knees.

“I had a pretty good idea that it was gone,” Adams said.

Kershaw allowed one homer to left-handed hitters while going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA in the regular season. He gave up two to the Cardinals, with Matt Carpenter connecting in the opener. The left-handed ace is 0-3 with a 9.72 ERA in his last three postseason appearances, including St. Louis’ clinching Game 6 victory in the NLCS last year.

Reliever Marco Gonzales earned his second victory of the series, after getting treated for a nosebleed. The rookie lefty got Adrian Gonzalez on a groundout to end the seventh and strand two runners.

Pat Neshek worked a perfect eighth for the second straight game and Rosenthal pitched the ninth for a second straight day, receiving two visits to the mound from catcher Yadier Molina and one from the pitching coach after a shaky start to the inning.

Kershaw had yielded only one hit through six innings and struck out nine, including three in a row in the sixth.

But Matt Holliday opened the seventh with a sharp single up the middle off second baseman Dee Gordon’s glove, and Jhonny Peralta lined another single before Adams homered off a left-hander for the first time since July 7.

The Cardinals had an NL-low 105 homers this season and left-hander batters had only eight homers against lefty pitching. But lefties hit five off Dodgers southpaws in four playoff games.

Miller matched Kershaw into the sixth, when the Dodgers started the inning with two hits. They scored a run on Matt Kemp’s double-play grounder and added another on Juan Uribe’s RBI single against Seth Maness.

But Los Angeles wasted a chance to add on when Andre Ethier, playing in place of Yasiel Puig, was picked off third by Molina — a call overturned by video review.

Miller went 5 2/3 innings in his first postseason start.

Both pitchers likely benefited the first few innings from late-afternoon shadows mixed with brilliant sunlight.

Kershaw piled up five strikeouts the first time through the order. The Cardinals got the ball out of the infield for the first time on Carpenter’s routine fly on a checked swing leading off the fourth.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright gets extra rest after a Game 1 dud when he was charged with six runs in 4 1/3 innings at Dodger Stadium. He was 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in September with two complete games, one of them a shutout.

FIRST PITCH

Scott Rolen, who earned three of his seven Gold Gloves at third base and was a key member of two World Series teams, threw out the first pitch.

— Associated Press —

Royals claim ALCS berth with sweep of regular-season-best Angels

Posted on October 6, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — (AP) The Kansas City Royals waited nearly three decades to return to the postseason. Now that they’re here, they want to stick around for a while.

Alex Gordon hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas each homered and the wild-card Royals finished off a three-game sweep of the mighty Los Angeles Angels with an emphatic 8-3 victory Sunday night in the AL Division Series.

The scrappy team with the quirky manager, popgun offense, dynamic defense and lights-out bullpen will open the AL Championship Series against the Orioles beginning Friday night in Baltimore. Kansas City went 4-3 against the O’s this year.

“I’ve never seen this group of kids so confident on the big stage,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “It’s really fun to see their development and watch them come into the postseason and just really take their game to the next level.”

The Angels, 98-64 in the regular season, became the second team in the divisional era that began in 1969 to have the best record in the majors and get swept out of the playoffs, STATS said. In no small coincidence, the Royals dealt the same humiliating fate to the New York Yankees in the 1980 ALCS.

Stalking around the mound amid an electric atmosphere, James Shields lived up to his “Big Game James” billing. The Royals’ ace gave up homers to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, but otherwise held in check a suddenly punchless Los Angeles lineup

Shields was helped, too, by a pair of diving grabs by center fielder Lorenzo Cain on back-to-back plays. All told, the highest-scoring team in baseball managed six runs in the entire series.

“Anything happens in the playoffs,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “You don’t go in with any badge saying you won the most games, and you’re certainly not going to get any points for that going into the playoffs.”

As for the Royals, “they’re going to be a team tough to beat in this tournament,” he said.

Kansas City showed off great glovework in every game, especially by its fleet outfielders. In this one, Cain’s catches in the fifth inning ended an Angels’ rally and preserved a five-run lead.

The Royals coasted the rest of the way to their seventh straight postseason victory dating to Game 5 of the 1985 World Series, the last time they were in the playoffs. George Brett, the star of that team, watched from an upstairs suite and raised his arms when ace closer Greg Holland fanned Trout for the final out.

This bunch of Royals is certainly making up for all that lost time.

Kansas City played a 12-inning thriller against Oakland in the wild-card game, and a pair of 11-inning games in Los Angeles before returning home to an adoring crowd at Kauffman Stadium.

This one had none of the drama, not that anybody wearing blue cared.

After Trout staked his team to the lead, Angels starter C.J. Wilson quickly got into trouble. The left-hander with the $16 million price tag this season gave up consecutive singles and a four-pitch walk in the first inning to load the bases for Gordon, whose slicing two-out double gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead.

Sensing the game already slipping away, Scioscia immediately turned the game over to his bullpen. It didn’t fare a whole lot better.

The Royals kept the pressure on, and even plodding designated hitter Billy Butler got in on the act, stealing second base to the roar of the crowd. It was his fifth career steal and first in two years, but it typified the way the Royals have been winning this postseason.

Dazzling pitching, daring baserunning and some dogged determination.

After swiping seven bases and playing small-ball against the A’s, the club that hit the fewest homers in the regular season pounded out four long balls against Los Angeles.

Moustakas hit the first of them in the 11th inning of the opener, Hosmer hit the second in the 11th inning the next night, and both of them went deep to finish off the sweep.

Hosmer’s two-run shot came in the third inning. Moustakas connected in the fourth.

By that point, the Angels — their high-priced offense having fizzled and pitching having failed them — were slumped over the railing of their dugout. They spent the final five innings bundled up against the October chill, periods of rain making their night miserable.

But hardly putting a damper on Royals fans that have waited 29 years for these moments.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals RHP Kelvin Herrera pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He left Thursday night’s series opener after five pitches with a strained forearm.

UP NEXT

The Orioles, who beat Detroit 2-1 on Sunday to finish off their series sweep, are in the ALCS for the first time since 1997.

— Associated Press —

Smith, Chiefs come up short at San Francisco

Posted on October 6, 2014October 6, 2014

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The day began with another round of questions about the relationship between Jim Harbaugh and his players. It ended with him putting a lot of trust in them to make a big play.

And just as Harbaugh’s teams usually do, the San Francisco 49ers delivered.

The 49ers converted a gutsy fake punt from deep in their territory and leaned on five field goals from Phil Dawson to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 on Sunday, quieting the drama around Harbaugh’s future for at least one more week.

“The football team has done good. And the better you do and the more you do, the more people try to trip you up,” Harbaugh said. Later, he added: “My destiny lies between these walls with these men.”

Reports have appeared since the offseason that players aren’t particularly happy with Harbaugh, and the latest caused 49ers CEO and acting owner Jed York to speak out.

About three hours before kickoff, York posted on Twitter: “Jim is my coach. We are trying to win a SB (Super Bowl), not a personality or popularity contest. Any more questions?”

Harbaugh and his players helped answer some of them with a critical call late, spoiling the return of former franchise quarterback Alex Smith in the process.

The 49ers (3-2) turned to a trick play on fourth-and-1 from their 29 early in the fourth quarter, giving a direct snap to Craig Dahl for a 3-yard run up the middle. Colin Kaepernick directed the offense downfield, and Dawson kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:42 to play for the go-ahead score.

“It doesn’t matter where they’re called on the field. You just have to execute,” Dahl said. “See the ball, catch it, tuck it away and go.”

Dawson also connected from 55, 52, 35 and 30 yards. He credited Harbaugh and the coaching staff for having confidence in him to make the kicks, particularly the two long ones.

Kaepernick threw for 201 yards and a touchdown, and Frank Gore ran for 107 yards to offset the absence of injured tight end Vernon Davis.

The 49ers smothered Smith and the Chiefs (2-3) for most of the second half, including twice in the closing moments. Smith threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns, but Perrish Cox intercepted his overthrown pass to end any chance Kansas City’s comeback.

“It’s tough, you’re competitive, you want to win the game. Some of those guys I played a long time with,” said Smith, who completed 17 of 31 passes.

San Francisco sparked the offense with the fake punt, and even more big plays followed. Brandon Lloyd made a leaping 29-yard catch over 6-foot-3 Sean Smith — “basketball’s version of the alley-oop,” Lloyd said — to extend San Francisco’s drive again and set up Dawson’s fourth field goal.

Dawson also lined up for a 54-yard field goal with 4:19 remaining after San Francisco stopped Kansas City. But the Chiefs were penalized for having 12 players on the field, handing the 49ers a first down. Dawson finished the drive with a 30-yard field goal.

Smith and Kansas City took over with 2:12 left and another chance to rally. But Smith sailed a pass to tight end Anthony Fasano, and Cox swooped in for an easy interception.

“I thought he handled (the environment) like a champ,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Smith.

On a sun-touched day that sent temperatures into the low 90s in Silicon Valley, both offenses started out hot.

Smith completed six of eight passes for 61 yards on the game’s opening drive, capping it with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce. Jamaal Charles ran for 80 yards to eclipse Larry Johnson (6,015 yards) for second place on Kansas City’s career rushing list, but was mostly a nonfactor late.

San Francisco scored on all three of its possessions in the first half, though the first two ended with Dawson’s big right leg. Kaepernick finished off the third drive where he wanted, rolling to his right and lofting a 9-yard pass to a wide-open Stevie Johnson to give the 49ers a 13-10 lead.

The Chiefs stopped San Francisco to start the third quarter, and De’Anthony Thomas ran his first punt return 28 yards, then caught a short screen and sprinted 17 yards for a score to put the Chiefs back in front, 17-13.

But San Francisco stayed focused and never lost its cool.

— Associated Press —

Hosmer hits 11th inning HR as Royals take 2-0 series lead on Angels

Posted on October 4, 2014

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the surprising Kansas City Royals took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Alex Gordon had an early run-scoring single and Salvador Perez added an RBI infield single in the 11th for the Royals, who became the first team in major league history to win three straight extra-inning playoff games.

In its first postseason appearance since 1985, Kansas City’s playoff roll just can’t be slowed by the majors’ best regular-season team. Hosmer had three hits and scored two runs as the Royals moved to the brink of the AL Championship Series.

Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday in Kansas City, where Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson faces James Shields.

After 10 innings of intense, pitching-dominated baseball, the Royals broke out. Lorenzo Cain beat out a one-out infield single off losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen, and Hosmer smacked a no-doubt homer to right field, setting off a celebration for several dozen blue-clad fans in a sea of red at the Big A.

Albert Pujols had a tying RBI single in the sixth for the Angels, but the majors’ most productive offense has been mostly helpless against the Royals. Los Angeles, which led the big leagues with 98 wins, has just 10 hits and three runs in 22 innings.

Mike Trout got a chance to help in the 11th after second baseman Omar Infante made a throwing error on Kole Calhoun’s two-out grounder. But the AL MVP favorite struck out against Greg Holland, finishing his second straight 0-for-4 night in his first playoff series.

Only two teams since 1995 have rallied to win a division series after losing the first two games at home.

Kansas City’s cardiac kids have put an unlikely charge into October. The Royals are the first team to play in three consecutive extra-inning playoff games since the 1980 NLCS between Houston and Philadelphia, which had four straight.

They followed up their 12-inning wild-card victory over Oakland with a series-opening win on Mike Moustakas’ 11th-inning homer, and Hosmer kept it going with his decisive homer one night later.

Brandon Finnegan pitched a hitless 10th for the Royals, and the 21-year-old rookie earned the win. Greg Holland worked the 11th for his second save of the series.

In a matchup of impressive rookie starters, Yordano Ventura pitched five-hit ball for the Royals, and Matt Shoemaker threw six innings of five-hit ball for Los Angeles.

Ventura’s fastball was clocked at 102 mph in the second inning, and he was still hitting triple digits in the seventh. He escaped jams twice in the late innings, stranding three runners.

Shoemaker also was sharp in his playoff debut after a breakthrough 16-win regular season. The Angels’ 28-year-old rookie had six strikeouts while pitching for the first time since straining an oblique muscle on Sept. 15.

The Royals took an early lead for the second straight night when Hosmer singled, advanced on Calhoun’s error in right field and scored on Gordon’s single in the second inning.

After Ventura retired 10 straight in the early innings, the Angels evened it in the sixth with a two-out rally. After Calhoun singled and Trout walked, Pujols drove a 100 mph fastball to right for the first hit of his first postseason with Los Angeles.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was hit in the head by Josh Hamilton’s backswing in the fifth inning. Perez, the hero of Kansas City’s wild-card playoff victory over Oakland, stayed in the game after a long moment on the ground.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kelvin Herrera has a flexor strain in his right forearm after throwing just five pitches in Game 1. The reliever will be re-evaluated when the teams get to Kansas City.

Angels: Hamilton went 0 for 4 with a double-play grounder to end the 10th, dropping to 0 for 9 in his first playoff series with Los Angeles. The slugger played just once in the final 22 games of the regular season due to upper-body injuries.

UP NEXT

Shields started the Royals’ wild-card playoff win Tuesday, so he’ll be on normal rest. Los Angeles is hoping for solid work from the up-and-down Wilson.

— Associated Press —

Moustakas’ HR in the 11th lifts Royals past Angels in game one of ALDS

Posted on October 3, 2014October 3, 2014

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Moustakas homered leading off the 11th inning, and the Kansas City Royals kept rolling in their first postseason in 29 years with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the AL Division Series opener Thursday night.

Moustakas hit the first extra-inning homer in postseason history for the Royals, a high shot off Fernando Salas that barely reached the elevated right-field stands at Angel Stadium.

Alcides Escobar had an early RBI double for the Royals, and their bullpen repeatedly escaped trouble in Kansas City’s first game since that spectacular, 12-inning comeback victory over Oakland in the wild-card playoff Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Friday night at the Big A, with Angels 16-game winner Matt Shoemaker taking on fellow rookie Yordano Ventura.

Chris Iannetta and David Freese homered early in the Angels’ first playoff game since 2009, but the majors’ most productive offense stranded eight runners in the five innings before Greg Holland’s perfect 11th.

Winning pitcher Danny Duffy worked the 10th for Kansas City, and Holland picked up the save after arriving at the ballpark around the fourth inning. He went to North Carolina on the Royals’ off day to attend his child’s birth.

Mike Trout was 0 for 4 with a walk in his playoff debut. The favorite for AL MVP grounded into a fielder’s choice in the 10th before Albert Pujols popped out to end his 0-for-4 Angels playoff debut. Josh Hamilton popped out to end the game, capping his 0-for-5 return to the lineup.

Jered Weaver, Joe Smith and Huston Street combined to retire Kansas City’s final 15 batters before extra innings — and that’s when the Royals went to work. Kevin Jepsen let two runners on in the 10th, but retired Salvador Perez and Omar Infante to escape.

Salas wasn’t as lucky, giving up a homer to the Royals’ No. 9 hitter. Moustakas grew up in the San Fernando Valley and played at UCLA before making his big league debut and hitting his first homer at the Big A in 2011.

A raucous crowd banged balloons and cheered on the Angels throughout their postseason return after a half-decade away, but the fans got tense while the teams managed just three hits apiece in the first nine innings. Los Angeles earned home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a big league-best 98-64 record in the regular season, winning the AL West while scoring 773 runs.

The Royals can’t match Los Angeles’ offense on paper, but they’ve got some remarkable postseason mojo.

Even before Moustakas’ homer, Nori Aoki made dramatically awkward catches on the right-field warning track to end the sixth and seventh, twice making up for poor routes to the Angels’ drives with a last-instant stab. Lorenzo Cain also made two exceptional plays in center field in the first two innings, underlining Kansas City’s stellar defense.

Weaver yielded three hits over seven strong innings for the Angels while his good friend, Jason Vargas, pitched six innings of three-hit ball for Kansas City.

Weaver and Vargas played together at nearby Long Beach State and again with the Angels last year. They’re taking a vacation together after the season — but first, the former Dirtbags dueled through 6 1/2 tense innings in Orange County.

After Escobar put the Royals ahead, Los Angeles tied it when Iannetta drove a fastball into the bullpens in his first career playoff at-bat. While Trout’s October debut received all the pregame attention, the Angels’ tough catcher also got his first postseason experience after sitting out twice when his Colorado Rockies made the playoffs.

Kansas City went back ahead in the fifth when Alex Gordon doubled and scored on Infante’s sacrifice fly, but Freese tied it again with another drive to the bullpens in left. Freese, the MVP of the 2011 World Series and NLCS for St. Louis, got his 24th postseason extra-base hit and 30th RBI in his Angels playoff debut.

The Angels put two runners on against a tiring Vargas in the sixth, and Royals fans might have had bitter flashbacks to manager Ned Yost’s much-debated, sixth-inning pitching decisions in the wild-card game. But Aoki saved Kansas City when he blindly nabbed Howie Kendrick’s drive to the warning track in right.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kelvin Herrera walked Freese on five pitches leading off the seventh and then left the game with right forearm tightness. Herrera is a key member of Kansas City’s vaunted bullpen.

Angels: Hamilton played left field and batted seventh after missing 21 of the Angels’ final 22 regular-season games with upper-body injuries.

UP NEXT

Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04 ERA), the 28-year-old rookie who gets credit from manager Mike Scioscia for saving the Angels’ season, makes his playoff debut. He hasn’t pitched since Sept. 15, when he strained an oblique muscle. Kansas City counters with Ventura (14-10, 3.20), who struggled in the sixth inning of the wild-card game, but possesses a 100 mph fastball.

— Associated Press —

Royals to start Jason Vargas in game one against Angels

Posted on October 1, 2014

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Mike Trout asked Albert Pujols for advice on his playoff debut before the Los Angeles Angels stepped into the October spotlight, and the veteran slugger with two World Series rings had some simple guidance for baseball’s best young player.

”He told me to just be myself, and not try to hit that home run when you don’t need it,” Trout said. ”Just keep that same swing that got you here, and go from there. (But) it’s definitely a bigger game, for sure. All eyes are on you.”

Trout reaches the milestone he craves most Thursday night when he runs out to center field at the Big A for the Angels’ American League Division Series opener against the Kansas City Royals, who must concoct a quick encore to their incredible 12-inning comeback victory in the wild-card game.

Trout led the majors in RBI, runs and extra-base hits this season for the major league-leading Angels (98-64), capping nearly three full seasons of electrifying play with a likely MVP campaign — and a playoff berth.

It sure beats last October, which the New Jersey native spent back home in a tree stand when he wasn’t watching the playoffs on television.

”Now I’m hunting a ring instead of deer,” Trout said with a laugh.

While the Royals are in their first postseason since 1985, the Angels hadn’t been in the playoffs since 2009, and several regulars share Trout’s lack of experience on the big stage. But Pujols has a vaunted postseason history from his time in St. Louis, and third baseman David Freese was the MVP of the World Series and the NL Championship Series for the Cardinals just three years ago.

While Freese was having the best month of his career in 2011, Trout was coming off his season in the Double-A Texas League. Trout spent just 20 more games in the minors before heading to Orange County to stay.

”I don’t think I need to say anything to Mike Trout,” Freese said. ”He’s been in the spotlight since Day One, and he’s going to be in it again. The game is better with Mike Trout in the postseason. I think we all understand that, and it’s exciting to get him in there and get Albert back in there.”

Indeed, the big-budget Angels are getting a return on their lavish investments in Trout, Pujols and Josh Hamilton, who will return to the Angels’ lineup for the opener, batting seventh and playing left field after missing 21 of the last 22 games with injuries.

Angels ace Jered Weaver (18-9, 3.59 ERA) starts against Kansas City’s Jason Vargas (11-10, 3.71), who pitched for Los Angeles last year. The pitchers have been close friends since their days at nearby Long Beach State — but before their families take their joint vacation already planned for this winter, they’ll attempt to keep their clubs rolling.

”There aren’t very many players like (Trout) that come along,” Vargas said. ”(But) you’re going to have to negotiate that whole lineup, and if you think about one hitter, your work is going to be cut out for you.”

The Royals’ long-awaited playoff return has already been memorable. Kansas City is still buzzing after the club’s rally from a late four-run deficit and another 12th-inning hole for a dramatic 9-8 victory over Oakland on Tuesday night.

The Royals celebrated with champagne and goggles after a game that lasted nearly five hours, but they were clear-headed and clear-eyed by the time they arrived Wednesday for a light workout.

”Not a lot of sleep, but that’s OK,” left fielder Alex Gordon said. ”We’ll take the lack of sleep for moving on and coming to L.A.”

Kansas City realizes the stiff challenge posed by the Angels, who overcame numerous pitching injuries with a boost from the majors’ most productive offense. The Royals struggled to score all season, but made up for it with steady starting pitching and a dynamic bullpen, which means the ALDS matches strengths against strengths.

If the Royals hope to return to raucous Kauffman Stadium with some of the momentum still intact from their win over the Athletics, an early victory in Anaheim would be helpful. Manager Ned Yost is confident that his raw roster gained experience quickly this week.

”You couldn’t have had a more charged atmosphere, more pressure, more intensity than we had,” Yost said. ”Our backs couldn’t be more against the wall than being four runs down against Jon Lester in the eighth inning, and they didn’t fold. They kept fighting and getting after it and found a way to win.”

— Associated Press —

Stephenson rejoins Chiefs after four-game suspension

Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Right tackle Donald Stephenson is back with the Kansas City Chiefs.

He’s just not back in the starting lineup.

Stephenson returned from a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs Wednesday, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Ryan Harris remains the starter on the right side and that Stephenson would have to work his way back into the mix.

“He’s just going to get himself back in the swing of things,” Reid said. “He’ll rotate back in there in practice. He hasn’t done any football for a month, so we’ll let him get acclimated.”

Stephenson was suspended in late August, and said at the time that he took a medication that requires a therapeutic-use exemption and failed to properly investigate it.

He was able to practice with the Chiefs throughout training camp, but Reid held him out of one of the preseason games so that he could get a better look at players he had available.

Stephenson said that he stayed in shape during his monthlong hiatus, during which he was barred from the team facility, by working out twice a day in Dallas. When asked whether he would be able to play Sunday in San Francisco, the third-year pro replied with a shrug.

“I feel like I’m in shape. I worked my butt off for the past month. Whenever they’re ready, I’m ready to go,” he said. “The only way to get in football shape is to play football. The only thing I could do was workout and stay in shape.”

It’s hardly surprising that Reid was hesitant to shake things up. After losing left guard Jeff Allen to a season-ending injury in their opener, and Stephenson to his suspension, their rejiggered offensive line has finally started to play well the past couple of weeks.

The Chiefs ran for 174 yards in a 35-14 pasting of Miami two weeks ago, and piled up 207 yards rushing in Monday night’s 41-14 rout of New England. In that game, quarterback Alex Smith enjoyed a nice pocket most of the night, throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

“It’s been a little battle with the personnel and we’ve had some injuries and things change,” Smith said, “but the guys up front have been doing a good job moving around.”

Eric Fisher is starting to look comfortable back at left tackle, the position the former No. 1 overall pick played in college. Mike McGlynn has hardly looked like a journeyman at left guard, and Zach Fulton has barely resembled a rookie sixth-round pick at right guard. Rodney Hudson has been a reliable center, and Harris has filled in admirably in Stephenson’s absence.

“We had some injuries in the beginning, some spots to fill and had to go through that. It’s kind of hard to click when you’re moving guys around the line constantly,” Fisher said. “The last few weeks, we’ve been able to stick together and that’s always going to help an offensive line.”

Good for the offensive line. Maybe not so good for Stephenson’s chances of starting soon.

Regardless, Reid said he welcomed the big right tackle’s return. He pointed out the attrition rate of offensive linemen is high, and that you can never have too much depth.

“You need everybody,” Reid said. “You need all the players as you go, and you want to make sure they’re all ready to play and ready to go.”

— Associated Press —

Royals rally past A’s in 12 innings, move on to ALDS

Posted on October 1, 2014October 1, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals had waited 29 years to reach the postseason. They weren’t going down without a fight.

Salvador Perez singled down the left-field line with two outs in the 12th inning, allowing Christian Colon to score from second base and giving the long-suffering Royals a 9-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics in a wild AL wild-card game Tuesday night.

Quite a start to October baseball — even if this one appeared to be over in September with plenty of time to spare.

The A’s raced out to a 7-3 lead by the sixth inning, but the Royals countered with three runs in the eighth. Nori Aoki’s sacrifice fly off Sean Doolittle in the ninth forced extra innings.

The teams kept trading blows over the next couple innings, as midnight came and went on the East Coast and the tension continued to build. Brandon Finnegan finally cracked after tossing two scoreless innings, but the Royals were there to pick up their pitching one last time.

Eric Hosmer hit a rocket to the wall in left field off Dan Otero for a leadoff triple in the 12th, and Colon hit an infield chopper that he beat out for a tying single. That set the stage for Perez, who lined a pitch from Jason Hammel just inside the third-base line to send the Royals pouring out of their dugout in a mad celebration.

The long-suffering franchise hadn’t played in the postseason since beating St. Louis in the 1985 World Series, and the excitement the permeated the city might best be summed up by a statement posted by the Kansas City Police on Twitter in about the 10th inning: “We really need everyone to not commit crimes and drive safely right now. We’d like to hear the Royals clinch.”

They finally did it in a thrilling start to baseball’s playoffs.

For the Oakland, it was one final collapse in a season full of them. The club that once had the best record in baseball wilted over the second half of the season, and needed a victory on the final day of the regular season just to squeeze into the playoffs.

They had chances to put all that in the past. Instead, it will be dragged up for years.

A much-anticipated pitching showdown between Oakland ace Jon Lester and Kansas City counterpart James Shields instead turned into a high-scoring game and a battle of attrition between their bullpens.

Brandon Moss helped the A’s strike first, belting a two-run homer in the first inning and a three-run shot in the fifth. The Royals countered by playing small ball, stealing seven bases to tie a postseason record previously shared by the 1907 Chicago Cubs and 1975 Cincinnati Reds, according to STATS.

Kansas City clawed back from a four-run deficit over the final two innings.

The impassioned play by a scrappy bunch of Royals that have rarely tasted success energized a sellout crowd that had been pining for postseason baseball since the 1985 World Series.

Then again, maybe it was the crowd that energized the Royals.

Oakland had built a big lead after the fifth inning, and Lester — long a thorn in the side of Kansas City — had started to hit his stride. But A’s manager Bob Melvin opted to send him out for the eighth inning, and the Royals finally got Lester into a real jam.

Luke Gregerson entered in relief but failed to provide much. By the time he struck out Perez and Omar Infante to leave runners on second and third, the A’s four-run lead had become one.

Doolittle tried to finish the game off in the ninth, but he served up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Josh Willingham. Pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson was sacrificed to second, and then brashly stole third base, allowing him to score on Aoki’s sacrifice fly to right field.

It was the third time in the last three seasons Doolittle has blown a postseason save.

By that point, a series of blunders by the Royals and manager Ned Yost had become moot.

Sean Doolittle tried to finish the game off in the ninth, but he gave up a bloop single to pinch-hitter Josh Willingham. Pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson was sacrificed to second and then brashly stole third, allowing him to score on Aoki’s sacrifice fly to deep right field.

It was the third time in the last three seasons that Doolittle has blown a postseason save.

By that point, a series of blunders by the Royals and manager Ned Yost had become moot.

The first occurred in the first inning, when slow-footed designated hitter Billy Butler was caught wandering off first base on an attempted steal with a runner on third. Eric Hosmer broke late for the plate and was thrown out easily to end the inning.

In the sixth, Yost yanked Shields — the ace of his staff — and called on Yordano Ventura. The rookie promptly served up Moss’ go-ahead, three-run homer.

All that was forgotten as midnight approached at Kauffman Stadium. And now, none of it will be remembered after one of the most dramatic games in franchise history.

UP NEXT

Yost has refused to discuss who he might pitch in the opener against the Angels. The two best bets are vastly different options: Danny Duffy is a young, hard-throwing left-hander who plays on passion, Jeremy Guthrie is a cerebral right-hander that relies on guile.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics catcher Geovany Soto left the game after hurting his left thumb tagging Hosmer at the plate to end the first inning. Soto started over Norris despite never having caught Lester because he’s better at handling the running game. The Royals led the majors with 153 stolen bases this season, and they had seven more Tuesday night — all but one after Soto left the game.

— Associated Press —

(VIDEO) Kansas City Beats Seattle By 4.6 Decibels

Posted on September 30, 2014September 30, 2014

Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium is once again the loudest outdoor venue in sports. Chiefs fans reclaimed the mark with a reading of 142.2 decibels in the first half of their game against New England Monday night.

That’s louder than a jet airplane flying 100 feet overhead.

The Chiefs and the Seattle Seahawks have competed back and forth for the record ever since the “Beast Quake” touchdown run at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field during the 2011 playoffs. A 67-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch was loud enough to register as an earthquake at a nearby seismic center.

Seattle’s previous record was 137.6 decibels, but the Chiefs fans beat that Monday night with a reading of 142.2.