PAGE 10
TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
A's ruin home opener for Twins with 8-3 victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS — Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the Oakland Athletics a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins' home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday.
MLB
Moss added a two-run single in the third and Derek Norris homered in the sixth.
Cespedes has been hobbling around the last few days with the injury, but the team wasn't worried enough about it to hold him out of the lineup. The Cuban slugger followed a leadoff walk to Brandon Moss by crushing a double in the second inning for the first run against Kevin Correia (0-1) and hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Kazmir (2-0), who stymied with Twins in five starts against them last season for Cleveland, completed six innings with six hits, three runs and four walks allowed.
He struck out five, and RBI doubles by Aaron Hicks and Jason Kubel were the only damaging hits against him.
The 30-year-old Kazmir dazzled in his As debut with 7 1-3 scoreless innings last week against his old team, the Indians. He did the same against the Twins in 2013, going 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in 31 innings with 36 strikeouts. At least the Twins won't have to face him four more times, as they did as a division foe. They travel to Oakland for a four-game series in August, the only other possible match.
Correia took a step back from his first start. About the only dependable starter last year in a ragged rotation that has since been upgraded through free agency, the right-hander was removed with two outs in the sixth. He yielded nine hits, six runs and two walks while striking out three.
Alberto Callaspo and Josh Reddick also drove in runs for the As, who played without center fielder Coco Crisp because of a sore left wrist.
The Twins had double that trouble, with left fielder Josh Willingham (left wrist) and right fielder Oswaldo Arcia (right wrist) both out of the
lineup. Backup first baseman Chris Colabello, who had a league-leading 11 RBIs over the first week of the season, played for Arcia and made a lunging catch of a sinking line drive to start a double play that ended the second inning. Kubel took over for Willingham, and backup catcher Josmil Pinto was the designated hitter.
Jed Lowrie hit what the As believed was a home run down the right-field line in the third inning, but the call on the field was a foul ball and the umpire-initiated review upheld the ruling. Lowrie took a walk instead and later scored.
十
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer stretches before the Minnesota Twins host the Oakland Athletics in a home opener baseball game in Minneapolis Monday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha watches from the dugout after the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds Monday in St. Louis. The Cardinals defeated the Reds 5-3.
Wacha pitches Cards past Reds for victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Michael Wacha outdid Tony Cingrani in a rematch of young power arms and the St. Louis Cardinals got a three-run double from Yadier Molina in the first inning, beating the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 in their home opener on Monday.
The Cardinals bunched three hits and a walk over the first five hitters to take the early lead against Cingrani (0-1), who allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings six days earlier in Cincinnati.
Standing room attendance of 47,492, the largest crowd at 9-year-old Busch Stadium, braved daylong rain and temperatures in the 40s to greet the National League champions and take a look at the new Ballpark Village. Hundreds milled about the attached complex, which features five sports bars and rooftop seating.
The Cards went 1 for 18 before adding RBIs from Matt Holliday and Allen Craig off Trevor Bell in a two-run seventh.
St. Louis ended a three-game
losing streak on opening day, including a blowout loss to the Reds last year.
The 22-year-old Wacha (1-0) hadn't allowed a run in 21 career innings against the Reds before back-to-back doubles by Brayan Pena and pinch hitter Roger Bernadina in the fifth cut the Cardinals' lead to 3-1.
The NL championship series MVP benefited from two double-play balls in six stingy innings and has permitted one run in 13 2-3 innings his first two starts.
Cingrani needed 31 pitches to exit the first and lasted four innings, striking out five but walking four. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said before the game that his hitters had been a "click off" with timing against the 24-year-old lefty last week and should benefit from another chance so soon.
Peter Bourjos moved up to second in the order and got his first two hits of the season after an 0 for 13 start. Craig got his third hit and third RBI of the season after entering 2 for 22.
Seeing Wacha once again
didn't do the Reds any good.
The start of the game was delayed 12 minutes after the inclement weather combined with pregame ceremonies that featured the traditional grand entrance with players, coaches and Hall of Famers touring Busch Stadium on the back of convertibles and trucks. A team of Clydesdales was kept in the stable due to concerns the field might be damaged.
Billy Hamilton doubled to start the game and the Reds put the leadoff man on base in the first four innings but were undone by two double plays.
Zack Cozart broke an 0-for-22 slump to start the season with a bloop RBI single and pinch hitter Neftali Soto had a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI in the ninth against St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal.
The Cardinals opened the first with singles by Matt Carpenter and Bourjos and Holliday walked to load the bases with none out. Craig struck out before Molina cleared them with a drive to left center on a 1-2 pitch.
RUN OR WALK TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
Date: Sunday, April 13th
Where: South Park
Time: Race starts at 9:30am-12:00pm. Check-in on race day
Why: commitment to the prevention of child abuse through the support of Kansas Childrens Service League, along with Prevent Child Abuse America.
f KU Kappa Delta Shamrock 5K
Sign up at: Eventbright http://bit.ly/1mPd5dj
.
+