KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kendrys Morales hit two home runs and had five RBIs, Chris Young gave up six hits in six innings and the Kansas City Royals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 Friday night.
The Royals improved to 27-14, the best record in the majors, while the Cardinals dropped to 27-15, best in the National League.
Morales, who leads the American League with 37 RBIs, hit a three-run homer with two out in the first. He homered again in the third with Lorenzo Cain aboard for his 13th multihomer game. The five RBIs matched a Royals’ season high.
Young (4-0) got 13 flyball outs and struck out two. In Young’s four starts, he has allowed one earned run in 22 1-3 innings (0.40 ERA).
Royals starters Young, Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura and Jeremy Guthrie have combined to throw 26 shutout innings while allowing 18 hits in the past four games.
DENVER (AP) — Brandon Belt homered into the third deck, Ryan Vogelsong threw six scoreless innings and also doubled and the San Francisco Giants held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-8 on Friday night.
Buster Posey singled and doubled to extend his hitting streak to 14 games as surging San Francisco won its seventh straight.
Belt’s mammoth shot got a jump on the fireworks show that was planned for after the game but started during a ninth inning rain delay.
It is the sixth time in 21 home dates this season rain has delayed or postponed a game at Coors Field.
After a one-out single in the sixth by Posey, Belt sent Kyle Kendrick’s 83-mph changeup an estimated 475 feet into deep right field to make it 3-0. It is the 34th home run to land in the third deck at Coors Field.
KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm goaltender Alec Dillon was named to the USHL All-Rookie First Team Friday by the league’s office. The netminder led all goalies with a goals against average of 2.27 during the 2014-15 season.
Dillon, who is expected to play Division I college hockey for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y. next season, played in 41 games as a rookie and had a record of 23-11-4 with three shutouts.
A fifth round 2014 NHL Draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings, Dillon also finished fourth in the league with a .914 save percentage, while playing over 2,000 minutes in net.
The Victoria, B.C. native had a big hand in the team’s 16-win turnaround, finishing in second place in the USHL’s Western Conference.
In the postseason, Dillon went 4-2-0 in six appearances with a goals against average of 2.17 and a save percentage of .923.
The voting for the award was conducted by the league’s coaches and general managers. All-Rookie Teams recognize the top players who were 18 or younger during the season, playing their first full year in the USHL.
As a team, Tri-City finished the regular season No. 1 in defense, only allowing 158 total goals for an average of just 2.63 per game.
The Storm are now preparing for the team’s annual tryout camp, which will be held in Las Vegas June 15-21.
The Mid-Plains Area All Star games will be held June 5 at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium with the girls’ game starting at 6:00 p.m. and the boys’ game starting at 7:45 p.m.
The boys’ gold team will be coached by Kolby Hamilton of Sandhills – Thedford. Hamilton led Sandhills – Thedford to an 18 – 6 record this past season and were defeated by Pleasanton in the D2-7 sub-district semifinals.
The roster of the Gold team are: Hunter Martin and Jake Wilkins from Ainsworth, Troy Lusk from Brady, Jason Finnegan from Cozad, Nic Crowley from Elm Creek, John Rippen and Daniel Arp from Hitchcock County, Shane Mauch from North Platte High, Alex Coffman and Justin Lee from Sandhills-Thedford, Jeremiah Perkins and Hunter Quinn from Southern Valley, Andrew O’Neill from North Platte St. Pats and Cody Blackwell from Valentine.
The boys’ Black team will be coached by Greg Oltman from Leyton High School. Oltman led Leyton to a 12 – 10 record and were defeated by Minitare in the D2-11 sub-district final.
The roster of the Black team are: Evan Jones from Cambridge, Travis Luhrs and Jeff Dickey from Chase County, Kameron Krutsinger from Dundy County, Skyler Werger and Zach Hackbart from Elwood, Austin Meyers from Hayes Center, Cody McKay from Leyton, Zak Kurkowski from Perkins County, Layton Dockweiler and Trevor Halstead from South Loup, Brooks Coleman and Cameron Bancroft from Valentine.
On the girls’ side, the Gold team will be coached by Mullen’s Bec Ray. Ray led Mullen to the state tournament this past season with a record of 21 – 5.
The Gold roster includes: Tami Myers and Kelsey Thompson from Anselmo Merna, Kaylea Watson from Arapahoe, Taylor Vasa from Arthur County, Paige Spady from Chase County, Jill Behrends from Creek Valley, Whitney Rosno from Hayes Center, Brooke Hoyt from Hitchcock County, Jessica Hanks from Kimball, Abby Werkmeister from Maywood, Jessica Lovitt from Mullen, Shayla Dockweiler and Racheal Smith from South Loup,
The girls’ Black team will be coached by Nathan Stienike of North Platte St. Pats. Stienike has led St. Pats to the state tournament the past four seasons. This season St. Pats went 23 – 4.
The Black team roster includes: Sloan Johnson from Cambridge, Grayce Jorgensen from Curtis -Medicine Valley, Kaitlynn Harvey and Jessy Hunt from North Platte High, Kelsey Higgins from Sandhills- Thedford, Shelisa Brooks from Southern Valley, Anna O’Malley and Toni Caudillo from St. Pats, Kaley Stokey from Sutherland, Christina Daniels from Wallace, Sydnee Harchelroad and Lesley Towery from Wauneta Palisade.
Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased at the door.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos defensive end Antonio Smith is under investigation in Texas over a criminal allegation the local sheriff describes as “sexual in nature.”
Smith has not been arrested and no charges have been filed. TMZ first reported the investigation on Thursday.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said a complaint was made against Smith in November and it was “sexual in nature.” After its investigation, the sheriff’s office forwarded its findings to the county District Attorney’s Office in February.
Prosecutors are still reviewing the matter.
The 33-year-old defensive end signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Broncos on April 2.
DENVER (AP) — Michael McKenry hit a two-run homer and Jorge De La Rosa became Colorado’s career strikeouts leader as the Rockies beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 on Thursday.
Troy Tulowitzki added a two-run single for the Rockies. Brandon Barnes, just recently called up from Triple-A Albuquerque, had four hits.
De La Rosa fanned Freddy Galvis on the fourth for this 774th strikeout in a Rockies uniform, moving past Ubaldo Jimenez.
The left-hander struck out five in 4 1-3 innings. Christian Bergman (2-0) got a pair of flyouts in the fifth.
Jerome Williams (3-4) gave up five runs over five innings in his first start against Colorado in 10 years. He became the third pitcher to go more than a decade between starts against the Rockies, joining Tim Wakefield and Pedro Martinez, according to STATS.
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Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa became the Colorado Rockies’ career strikeouts leader by fanning Philadelphia shortstop Freddy Galvis in the fourth inning Thursday.
That strikeout gave De La Rosa 774 with the Rockies, one more than Ubaldo Jimenez.
De La Rosa joined the Rockies in 2008. He’s one of the few pitchers who actually feels comfortable at Coors Field, going 45-15 in the hitter-friendly park.
Kyle Kubat made his 43rd career start on Thursday (Photo Courtesy Nate Olsen/NU Media Relations)
Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-23) had a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon at Target Field, but the No. 5 seed Michigan State Spartans (34-22) exploded for six runs in the frame on its way to a 9-7 victory that eliminated the Huskers from the Big Ten Tournament.
The Huskers entered the game 28-1 on the year when leading after seven innings, but were unable improve to 29-1. Reliever Ben Miller took the mound in the eighth and gave up a walk to Brandon Hughes to start the frame. The bases were quickly loaded following singles by Chad Roskelly and Anthony Checky. Dan Durkin stepped in and Miller issued a four-pitch walk to plated a run. NU went to senior Josh Roeder and NU’s all-time saves leader came into a jam, the bases loaded and no out. With the tying runs on base and the top of MSU’s order coming to the plate, Roeder plated a run with just his third walk of the season before Ryan Krill delivered a grand slam that put the Spartans ahead, 9-7, it was Krill’s 13th homerun of the season.
MSU reliever Joe Mockbee worked the final 3.2 innings for the Spartans, including a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his sixth win of the season.
The loss ended the careers of seven Husker seniors, including Kyle Kubat, Chance Sinclair, Christian Cox, Austin Darby, Blake Headley, Tanner Lubach and Roeder. Kubat, who was winless in his past eight starts entering Thursday, left the game in line for the win with a 6-3 lead. Kubat was looking to become the 11th pitcher in school history to reach 20 career wins, but it wasn’t meant to be. In his 43rd career start, the fifth most in NU history, Kubat went 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits, while striking out three.
MSU starter Jeff Kinley lasted 4.1 innings in his fifth start of the season. The one-time closer for the Spartans this year allowed five runs on six this and two walks, but did notch six strikeouts.
Kubat retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first before he hit Mark Weist. The HBP came back hurt on the very next pitch of the game, as Blaise Slater launched a two-run homer into the third deck in left field. Former Husker Ryan Richardson then ripped a single before Kubat got a pop out to end the inning.
Down 2-0, the Huskers cut MSU’s lead in half in the top of the second on two hits. Scott Schreiber started the inning with his fourth hit of the tournament and was soon in scoring position on a groundout by Headley. Miller then came through with a single that put runners on the corners and Jake Placzek drove in Schreiber with a sacrifice fly to left field. Darby worked a walk with two outs and Jake Meyers nearly came through with a two-out RBI, but Checky made a running catch in the left-field gap to end the frame.
The Spartans had their next scoring opportunity in the fourth when they had a runner on second with two outs after Checky was hit-by-pitch. Facing MSU’s No. 9 hitter, Kory Young, Kubat got an inning-ending ground ball to Headley at third, keeping MSU’s lead to 2-1.
After Kubat got out of the jam, NU’s offense went to work in the top of the fifth with five runs on five hits and two walks. Placzek got the inning started with a single and after Darby struck out, got himself in scoring position by stealing second base. Meyers then worked a walked and Luis Alvarado singled to load the bases for Jake Schleppenbach. The Lincoln native lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a game-tying RBI single. MSU went to lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz to face Lubach and the junior walked in a run to put the Huskers ahead 3-2. The Spartans again made a call to the pen and right hander Walter Borkovich got Schreiber to foul out. With two out and the bases still loaded, Headley worked a full count before driving a two-RBI single into left field. Miller, the ninth batter of the inning, followed with a RBI single to push NU’s lead to 6-2. Placzek stepped in for his second at-bat of the inning with two runners in scoring position and Borkovich put an end to the bleeding with a strikeout.
Working with the lead for the first time all day, Kubat faced the top of MSU’s lineup in the bottom of the fifth. He retired the first two batters before giving up a single to Weist and then he hit Salter. Kubat dug in and got a 1-3 groundout from Richardson to keep NU’s four-run lead intact.
Kubat took the mound in the sixth but wouldn’t record an out, as he was replaced by Jeff Chesnut after giving up consecutive singles to start the inning. With runners on the corners, Chesnut got a 5-3 groundout of the bat of Checky, but the grounder was slow enough to score Hughes on the play. MSU went to pinch hitter, Durkin, who lined an infield single off of Chesnut to again put runners on the corners. With the top of the order up and one down, Cam Gibson came to the plate as the tying run. Gibson got a 3-1 hitters count, but Chesnut made the pitch he needed and got a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning with the Huskers ahead 6-3.
The Husker offense got the run back in the seventh with one hit and a pair of sacrifices. Schreiber led off the frame with his sixth hit of the tournament and with Headley up Schreiber took second on a wild pitch Mockbee. Headley then laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Schreiber to third and Miller drove him in with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that gave NU a 7-3 lead.
Colton Howell took the mound for NU in the eighth and gave up a one-out walk, but nothing else, and struck out Richardson to keep the Husker lead a 7-3 through seven.
With three runs on eight hits through the first seven innings, the Spartans scored six runs in the eighth on four hits and three walks to retake the lead for good.
DENVER (AP) — Rookie Severino Gonzalez pitched five solid innings, Ryan Howard homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 Wednesday night for their seventh win in eight games.
Gonzalez (2-1), recalled prior to the game from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, allowed a run on five hits in his third big league start. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 11 chances.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead at the outset against Eddie Butler (2-5), who labored to get through a 43-pitch first inning. He had a chance to escape unscathed but with two on and two outs, he short-hopped a throw to first on Maikel Franco’s comebacker for an error, allowing Howard to score from third. Jeff Francouer followed with an RBI single.
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Struggling outfielder Drew Stubbs has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque by the Colorado Rockies, who recalled outfielder Brandon Barnes from the Isotopes.
Stubbs was hitting .118 with two home runs and 5 RBIs in 24 games and had struck out 31 times in 51 at bats.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he believes Stubbs, who is making $5,825,000, needs to work on his rhythm and timing at the plate. Because Stubbs has five years of major league service, his consent was needed for the minor league assignment.
“It’s a situation where we felt like Drew just needed to get away from the heat of the major leagues so he could go down and work on some things. He was in full agreement,” Weiss said. “He was very professional about it. He understands. He wants to go down there and get right.”
Barnes made the Rockies’ opening-day roster last season and appeared in 132 games, batting .257 with eight homers and 27 RBIs. He was hitting .205 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 33 games for Albuquerque since being optioned April 1.
“Obviously, we know Brandon well,” Weiss said. “He was with us all last year. He brings a ton of energy and the ability to play all three outfield spots.”
Scott Schreiber was 3-for-4 with a RBI in the loss (Photo Courtesy Nate Olsen/NU Media Relations)
Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-22) had a 2-0 lead after the top of the sixth, but the No. 1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (46-6-1) scored the game’s final three runs for a 3-2 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at Target Field. With the win, the No. 5 nationally ranked Illini extended their winning streak to 27 games, the longest streak in the country this season.
After the Illini took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, they turned the ball over to Big Ten Pitcher-of-the-Year Tyler Jay, who retired the Huskers in order in the ninth for his 13th save of the season.
The Huskers entered the game with a 25-4 record on the year when outhitting their opponent and out-hit the Illini 9-7, but couldn’t get the extra hits they needed late. Nebraska also fell to 0-6 on the year in games decided by one-run against Big Ten teams.
Freshman Scott Schreiber was 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run, while Tanner Lubach was 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman Luis Alvarado also added a RBI on the day, his fourth extra-base hit off Illini pitching in the last week after he produced two doubles and home run in Champaign, Ill., during last week’s conference series.
Two-time All-Big Ten pitcher Chance Sinclair made his 31st career start on Wednesday night and gave the Huskers 5.2 strong innings, as he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out four. Sinclair allowed one hit over the first five innings, with three of Illinois’ four hits off of Sinclair coming in the sixth.
Junior Kevin Duchene, an unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection on Tuesday, started for the Illini and went 6.2 innings. Duchene allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five Huskers. It was the first time Duchene has allowed more than five hits in a start since April 17, when he gave up 10 hits to Indiana.
Nebraska had the game’s first runner in scoring position with two out in the second after Schreiber roped a single and then moved to second when Ben Miller drew the 11th walk of the season off Duchene in 84.2 innings. Jake Placzek stepped in an worked a 3-1 count and got a pitch to hit, but it resulted in a fly ball to left field to end the frame.
Illinois had its leadoff batter on base for the first time in the fourth when Ryan Nagle reached on a walk, but he didn’t advance any more. Sinclair responded with back-to-back strikeouts before Wes Edrington made a bare-handed play on a slow roller off the bat of Casey Fletcher to end the inning.
The Huskers offense was in position to score again in the fifth, but Duchene dug in. Schreiber led off with a single and then Placzek blasted a one-out double to put two runners on scoring position. Duchene got a shallow fly out off the bat of Edrington that wasn’t deep enough to score Schreiber and struck out Ryan Boldt swinging to end the Husker threat.
Sinclair retired the Illini in order in the fifth and the Husker offense finally broke through in the top of the sixth. Lubach got NU going with a one-out double to right-center field and scored the first run of the game when Alvarado doubled down the left-field line. The hits kept coming, as Blake Headley delivered a groundball single that put runners on the corners. Schreiber stepped in an worked an 11-pitch at-bat, delivering a RBI single on the 11th pitch to put the Husker onto 2-0.
The lead didn’t last long, as Illinois answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth. Ryne Roper started the inning with a single to set the table for the top of the NU lineup. Sinclair came back with a strikeout of Adam Walton before Nagle and Reid Roper each singled, with Ryne Roper scoring on the single by his older brother. Jason Goldstein then tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Sinclair was in position to get out of the inning, but Headley committed an error to put runners on first and second. The Huskers went to Jeff Chesnut out of the pen for his 30thappearance of the season and the junior right hander struck out Pat McInerney swinging to keep the game tied, 2-2, through six innings.
Placzek led off the seventh with a walk and was soon in scoring position for the top of NU’s lineup following a sacrifice bunt by Edrington. Duchene struck out Boldt for this third time and with two down the Illini went to right-handed reliever Nick Blackburn to face Jake Meyers. Nebraska countered with pinch-hitter Austin Darby and Blackburn won the battle with an inning-ending strikeout.
The Huskers had their leadoff man on in the seventh when Lubach started the frame with a single, his second hit of the game. Blackburn quickly cleared the bases with a double play off the bat of Alvarado, and then Headley lined out to Walton at shortstop to end the inning.
Illinois got their leadoff man on in the bottom of the eighth with an infield single by Reid Roper and he later scored to put Illinois ahead 3-2 on a single by McInerney. After Goldstein laid down a sacrifice to put two runners in scoring position, the Huskers loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Fletcher. McInerney delivered a single that found its way through the right side of the infield to give Illini the lead. David Kerian and Will Krug then grounded out to end the inning.
Facing the bottom of NU’s lineup, Jay needed just seven pitches to polish off the comeback win for Illinois.
Nebraska returns to Target Field tomorrow for an elimination game against 1 p.m. The Huskers will play the loser of tonight’s 9 p.m. game between Michigan State and Maryland. Tomorrow’s game will be streamed liver on BTN Plus.
