Baseball – Page 68 – North Platte Post Archive

Royals Awaiting MRI Exam Result on Pitcher Ventura

Posted on May 27, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals are awaiting MRI exam results on pitching prodigy Yordano Ventura and have learned top prospect Kyle Zimmer will miss additional time with his own injury.

Ventura’s 100 mph fastballs have made him a budding star. He was removed from Monday night’s loss to Houston with discomfort in his right elbow, but the Royals are hopeful that his injury is not to a ligament because it was on the opposite side from where those injuries are typically felt.

Meanwhile, the team said in a statement Tuesday that Zimmer, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, will be kept from even playing catch for at least six weeks because of a strained back muscle.

Zimmer was already getting a slow start to the season because of biceps tendinitis.

First Nationals Play .500 Ball in Busy Holiday Weekend

Posted on May 27, 2014

The North Platte First Nationals American Legion baseball team played six games over Memorial Day Weekend and went 3-3.

The First Nationals (4-5) traveled to Lincoln on Friday for a doubleheader against JC Brager. JC Brager won the first game 6-0 behind the arm of Connor Curry. Curry threw a one-hit shutout against North Platte. The First Nationals lone hit came off the bat of Ty Brockmoller. Jace Barker took the loss on the mound for North Platte. Barker threw four and one-third innings, giving up five runs, three of them earned, on seven hits.

The second game of the doubleheader was a pitchers dual as JC Brager won 2-1. North Platte struck first with a run in the third inning before JC Brager scored two in the fifth to secure the win. Despite scoring one run in the game North Platte didn’t have a hit. JC Brager’s Noah Kulhanek threw the no-hitter and earned the win, giving up just the unearned run. Darian Allberry took the loss on the mound for North Platte after pitching four and one-third innings, giving up two runs on seven hits. Following Friday’s games North Platte was 1-4 on the season.

The First Nationals played in Gretna on Saturday in a Cornhusker League doubleheader. North Platte won the first game of the day, 2-0. Dalton Pflughaupt was dominant on the mound by pitching a complete game one-hit shutout while earning the win. Allberry provided the offense for North Platte by going 1-3 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

The second game of the doubleheader favored Gretna as they beat the First Nationals 6-3. North Platte started to really get the bats rolling with 10 hits in the game, but could only get three runs across the plate. Jack Kenny, Barker, Luke Volz and Drew Callaghan each had two hits in the loss. Barker had the First Nationals lone extra-base hit with a double and Jayden Kruse had two RBI to lead North Platte. Riley Vierya took the loss on the mound by giving up four runs, three of them earned, on five hits in four innings. North Platte had a record of 2-5 after Saturday’s games.

The final doubleheader of the holiday weekend was North Platte’s home-opener. The First Nationals hosted Norfolk on Memorial Day and won game one 11-1. Callaghan had a two-run home run for the first home run this season by a First National. Brockmoller added a double and Volz went 3-3 at the plate in the run-rule victory. Brockmoller earned the win on the mound as well after giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out five batters.

Game two was more of a test for North Platte after leading by just one run in the sixth inning en route to a 10-6 win. The First Nationals led 7-3 before Norfolk scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to make it a one-run game. The First Nationals gave themselves a cushion in the sixth inning by scoring three runs to secure the win. The sixth inning offense was provided by Volz. He hit a two-run double for North Platte’s only extra-base hit of the game. Volz also earned the save, pitching two and one-third innings without giving up a run on two hits. Kruse earned the win after giving up six runs, five of them earned, on six hits, while striking out four batters. Barker also had two RBI in the game to pace the North Platte offense. The First Nationals finished the weekend with a 4-5 record overall.

The North Platte First Nationals seniors next game is Wednesday, May 28 against Lexington at Bill Wood Field. It is a juniors-seniors doubleheader. The juniors will play at 5:30 pm with the first pitch for the seniors game scheduled for 8:00 pm.

The most recent results for the North Platte First Nationals juniors team shows they have a record of 5-0 after beating Ogallala 6-5 and Gering 13-3 over the weekend.

Howard, Kendrick Lead Phillies over Rockies 9-0

Posted on May 27, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Howard had five RBIs and Kyle Kendrick pitched into the seventh inning to snap his 10-game losing streak as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 9-0 Monday.

A day after Dodgers right-hander Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter against the Phillies, leadoff man Ben Revere started with a single for the first of Philadelphia’s 12 hits.

Kendrick (1-5) allowed six hits over 6 2-3 innings to earn his first win since last Aug. 6, a span of 16 winless starts. His best performance in a while came against the top offense in the majors. The Rockies are first in runs (262) and batting average (.291).

Jhoulys Chacin (0-4) gave up four runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He has lost five straight decisions dating to last season.

Springer Powers Astros’ 9-2 Win over Royals

Posted on May 26, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — George Springer homered in his fourth straight game and went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and scored five runs in the Houston Astros’ 9-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

The Astros have won three straight, matching their longest winning streak this season, and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Royals.

Springer led off the eighth with a home run off Louis Coleman, his fifth homer in four games. He is the first Houston rookie to homer in four straight games.

Springer also had two doubles and became the first Astro to score five runs in a game since Cody Ransom on Sept. 24, 2007 against St. Louis.

Scott Feldman (3-2) held the Royals to two runs and eight hits over six innings.

Royals rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura (2-5) left in the third inning with discomfort in his elbow.

Royals 2B Infante Activated off the DL

Posted on May 26, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals activated second baseman Omar Infante off the disabled list before their Monday night game and started him against the Houston Astros.

Infante, who has been shelved since May 7 with a lower back injury, went 4-for-11, .363, in a three-game rehab stint with Triple-A Omaha. Infante hit .267 with 19 RBIs in 30 games with Kansas City before the injury.

The Royals optioned right-hander Casey Coleman, who did not allow a run in two relief appearances in 2 2-3 innings, to Omaha.

Huskers in NCAA Tournament for 1st Time Since 2008

Posted on May 26, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is back in the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time since 2008.

The Cornhuskers (40-19) will play Friday in the Stillwater Regional against Cal State Fullerton (32-22) of the Big West Conference. Big 12 regular-season champion and host Oklahoma State (45-16) plays Binghamton (25-25) of the America East Conference.

Winners of the double-elimination regionals advance to the best-of-three super regionals.

Nebraska finished second in the Big Ten in the regular season and lost to Indiana in the conference tournament championship game for the second straight year.

The Huskers will be making their 13th appearance in the national tournament. They’re 31-25 all-time in the tournament and reached the College World Series in 2001, 2002 and 2005.

Minor Leaguer’s 1st Home Run Caught by Dad

Posted on May 26, 2014

A 22-year-old Houston Astros prospect’s first home run of the season was caught by a familiar fan: his father.

Quad Cities first baseman Conrad Gregor launched a go-ahead, three-run shot in the sixth inning of the Class-A River Bandits’ 5-2 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday night. A fan beyond the fence in right-center field caught the ball and proudly waved his arms. Turns out it was Gregor’s father, Marty.

The Quad City Times reported that Gregor’s parents made the five-hour drive from Carmel, Indiana, to attend the River Bandits’ weekend series.

“When I got back to the dugout,” Gregor said, “I heard he made a pretty good catch.”

Rockies’ Tulowitzki Leaves Game but Says He’s OK

Posted on May 25, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki says he avoided an injury when he hit his left foot on his backswing late in Colorado’s game against the Braves.

Tulowitzki left the game in the eighth inning. He limped slightly as he walked slowly off the field after a groundout in Sunday’s 7-0 loss to Atlanta. A trainer walked onto the field and accompanied Tulowitzki back to the dugout.

Josh Rutledge replaced Tulowitzki at shortstop.

Tulowitzki’s assurance that he is not hurt was important news for Colorado.

The Rockies lost third baseman Nolan Arenado to a broken left middle finger in Friday’s game. Arenado was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday and Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

19,965 at B10 Final Sets Conference-Tourney Mark

Posted on May 25, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The crowd of 19,965 at the Big Ten tournament final between Indiana and Nebraska set an NCAA record for attendance at a conference baseball tournament game.

The tournament was played at TD Ameritrade Park, the home of the College World Series. Nebraska was the host, and its appearance in the championship game Sunday accounted for the big crowd.

Top-seeded Indiana defeated the No. 2-seeded Cornhuskers 8-4 to earn the Big Ten’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten tournament’s five-day attendance was a conference-record 62,020 — 10 times the total for the 2013 event held at Target Field in Minneapolis. The previous NCAA record for single-game attendance at a conference tournament was 17,860 for an Atlantic Coast Conference game between Florida State and North Carolina in 2005.

Astle’s 3-Hitter Leads Xavier to Big East Title over Creighton

Posted on May 25, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Xavier freshman left-hander Trent Astle tossed a three-hitter to shut out top-seeded Creighton 5-0 on Sunday and lead the Musketeers to the Big East tournament title.

Astle (5-4) struck out two and walked one as Xavier (29-27), in its first season in the Big East, advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history, and first since 2009. The Musketeers will find out the opponent and site of their first-round matchup when the NCAA announces the field of 64 teams Monday.

Senior outfielder Mitch Elliott was selected the tournament’s most outstanding player after going 8 for 18 with four RBIs and three runs scored in four games for Xavier.

After losing the tournament opener at MCU Park in Brooklyn to Creighton (32-17-1), fourth-seeded Xavier staved off elimination by beating St. John’s and Seton Hall to reach the championship game.