One bad inning doomed the Colorado Rockies to defeat last night. The Pittsburgh Pirates used a four-run fifth inning to get past the Rockies 6-2 at Coors Field. The Rockies led the game 2-1 going into the fateful fifth, thanks to an RBI triple by rookie Josh Rutledge. But Christian Friedrich started the inning with back-to-back walks, and it only got worse for the young southpaw from there. All four earned runs in the fifth were charged to Friedrich, who took the loss. The Rockies loaded the bases in the ninth inning and had the tying run at the plate with two outs, but Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan got Tyler Colvin to strike out swinging to end the game. The Rockies and Pirates play the rubber game of their three-game series in Denver this afternoon. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action from Coors Field, with pregame coverage at 1:30 and the first pitch at 2:10.

 

Former Husker football player Alfonzo Dennard was granted a continuance on a charge of assaulting a police officer yesterday. His trial date has been moved back to December as a result. Dennard was arrested in the early morning hours of April 21 after an altercation outside a bar in downtown Lincoln, during which he allegedly punched a police officer who was trying to break up the fight. The New England Patriots selected Dennard in the seventh round of this year’s NFL Draft.

Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil told the Denver Post “the truth will come out” regarding his arrest on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a firearm over the weekend. Dumervil and a friend were arrested in Miami Beach on Saturday night after allegedly getting out of their car in stand-still traffic and brandishing weapons during a road-rage related argument. Police seized two weapons, including one from Dumervil’s vehicle, and are currently processing them for fingerprints.

A former Husker baseball standout is the newest member of the Colorado Rockies. Andrew Brown had his contract purchased by the Rockies yesterday and was added to the 25-man roster. Brown was having a big year with AAA Colorado Springs, batting .317 with 20 home runs and 84 RBI. After playing two seasons at Nebraska, Brown was an 18^th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007, and made his big league debut with the Cardinals last year. He was signed as a minor league free agent by the Rockies this past winter. Brown and fellow AAA player DJ Lemahieu were called up to the big club yesterday to replace two injured players. Chris Nelson was placed on the disabled list with an irregular heartbeat that hospitalized him overnight Monday, and Jonathan Herrera hit the DL with a wrist infection, believed to have been caused by a watch he was wearing.

The Denver Nuggets are set to release Chris Andersen and sign Anthony Randolph to a free-agent contract. Andersen, a fan favorite better known as ‘Birdman’, has spent two separate stints with the Nuggets, including the last four seasons. But his playing time decreased this past year, and he appeared in just 32 games and did not play in the playoffs. The 6’11” Randolph has spent the last five seasons in the NBA with three different teams. He played for Minnesota last season, averaging 7.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 34 games played.

NEW YORK (AP) – Jose Bautista has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his left wrist and the Toronto Blue Jays have called up outfielder Anthony Gose from Triple-A Las Vegas.

In a news release Tuesday, the Blue Jays did not give a timetable for Bautista’s return. The All-Star slugger was scheduled for an MRI after leaving Monday night’s loss to the New York Yankees when he injured his wrist on an eighth-inning swing.

The two-time defending AL home run champion was tied for second in the majors with 27 homers. He is batting .244 with 65 RBIs and a .360 on-base percentage.

The 21-year-old Gose played in the Futures Game for top prospects last week in Kansas City. He was hitting .292 with 10 triples at Las Vegas.

DALLAS (AP) – Police say Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was arrested because his mother complained that he had assaulted her over the weekend.

Bryant surrendered Monday afternoon to police in DeSoto, a suburb south of Dallas. His attorney, Royce West, says Bryant posted $1,500 bond after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

DeSoto Police Capt. Ron Smith told media Tuesday that “some type of altercation” occurred between Bryant and his mother, Angela Bryant, who called police Saturday afternoon. Officers found she had bruising on her arm and a swollen wrist and thumb. The arrest warrant was issued Monday.

Under state law, family violence is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The Cowboys have declined to comment.

NEW YORK (AP) – The president of the NCAA says he isn’t ruling out the possibility of shutting down the Penn State football program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

In a PBS interview Monday night, NCAA President Mark Emmert said he doesn’t want to “take anything off the table” if the NCAA determines penalties against Penn State are warranted.

Emmert said he’s “never seen anything as egregious as this in terms of just overall conduct and behavior inside a university.” He added, “What the appropriate penalties are, if there are determinations of violations, we’ll have to decide.”

The last time the NCAA shut down a football program with the so-called “death penalty” was in the 1980s, when SMU was forced to drop the sport because of extra benefits violations.

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

L.A. Angels at Detroit 6:05 p.m.
Toronto at N-Y Yankees 6:05 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Boston 6:10 p.m.
Cleveland at Tampa Bay 6:10 p.m.
Baltimore at Minnesota 7:10 p.m.
Seattle at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Texas at Oakland 9:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

N-Y Mets at Washington 6:05 p.m.
Arizona at Cincinnati 6:10 p.m.
San Francisco at Atlanta 6:10 p.m.
Miami at Chi Cubs 7:05 p.m.
St. Louis at Milwaukee 7:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Colorado 7:40 p.m. (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)
Houston at San Diego 9:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at L.A. Dodgers 9:10 p.m.

UNDATED (AP) – Pro Bowl running backs Ray Rice of Baltimore and Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears have agreed to long-term contracts. Rice has accepted a five-year, $40 million deal after leading the NFL with 2,068 yards from scrimmage last season. Forte took what the Chicago Sun-Times says is a four-year, $32 million deal with $18 million guaranteed.

CINCINNATI (AP) – The Cincinnati Reds will spend the next three to four weeks without first baseman Joey Votto, who needs surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. The 2010 National League MVP hurt the knee while sliding into third base June 29 in San Francisco, but continued to play until Sunday. General manager Walt Jocketty said Votto didn’t have an MRI before yesterday because the first baseman didn’t think he needed one.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Carl Edwards has a new crew chief just 19 races after losing last year’s championship to Tony Stewart on a tie-breaker. Roush Fenway Racing says Tuesday that Bob Osborne will become a senior member of the organization’s management team and steering committee. Chad Norris was chosen crew chief for the No. 99 Ford. Osborne had run the team since 2004, and Edwards took over that ride for the final 13 races that year. Edwards and Osborne won 18 races, and tied Stewart for the championship last season. Stewart won the title based on victories, and Edwards is stuck in a 52-race losing streak dating back to Las Vegas last season. Edwards is currently 11th in the point standings and in danger of missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 8, L.A. Angels 6
N.Y. Yankees 6, Toronto 3
Boston 5, Chicago White Sox 1
Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 2
Minnesota 19, Baltimore 7
Seattle 9, Kansas City 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona 5, Cincinnati 3
Miami 5, Washington 3
St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 2
Colorado 5, Pittsburgh 4
Houston 2, San Diego 0
Philadelphia 3, L.A. Dodgers 2

A long, wild and wet ninth inning ultimately produced a walk-off victory for the Colorado Rockies. Dexter Fowler’s sac fly delivered the winning run in a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. The Rockies led 4-1 heading into the ninth. With one out and two Pirates on base, the game was delayed because of rain. On the first pitch after the 53-minute delay, Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez hit a game-tying three run homer off Rockies reliever Rex Brothers. In the bottom of the ninth, singles by Wilin Rosario and Jason Giambi set the stage for Fowler, whose drive to center field was deep enough to score Rosario with the winning run. Eric Young Jr. hit a two-run double to key a four-run fifth for the Rockies. The Rockies and Pirates play game two of their series tonight. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action, with pregame coverage at 7:05 and the first pitch at 7:40.

A pair of Husker football teammates will be in competition for a second national award this season. After being named to the Outland Trophy watch list last week, junior guard Spencer Long and senior defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler were both selected as part of the watch list for the Lombardi Award yesterday. The Lombardi Award is given annually to the nation’s best lineman. It has a long history of finding a home in Lincoln, including taking up prior residence in the Steinkuhler household. Baker’s father, Dean, won the award in 1983. He’s one of five Huskers to have won the honor, the last being Ndamukong Suh in 2009. Long was a second-team All-Big Ten pick at guard last season, while Steinkuhler has been an honorable mention all-conference performer each of the last two seasons.

If it weren’t for bad luck, Juan Nicasio wouldn’t have any luck at all. The Colorado Rockies right-handed pitcher is out for the rest of the season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee yesterday. Nicasio injured the knee on June 2 and had been on the disabled list since. He had tried to come back from the injury but fluid kept building up in the knee. The surgical procedure removed four bone chips. It’s the second straight season the 25 year-old Nicasio has lost prematurely due to injury. He suffered a broken neck and a concussion when he was hit with a line drive last July, cutting short his promising rookie campaign. The Rockies also had a health scare yesterday with infielder Chris Nelson, who was admitted to a Denver hospital and underwent tests for an irregular heartbeat. Nelson remained in the hospital overnight.