THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012
PAGE 9
BASEBALL
Oakland produces third game-winning hit
Oakland Athletics' Yoenis Cespedes steals third base against the Kansas City Royals during the second inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, April 11, in Oakland, Calif. Cespedes scored after the stolen base on a throwing error by Royals catcher Brayan Pena.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jonathan Broxton hit Jonny Gomes on the first pitch he threw with the bases loaded in the 12th inning, forcing Jamile Weeks home for the winning run in the Oakland Athletics' 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Moments earlier, Broxton (0-1) plunked new As cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes on the first pitch to load the bases and the closer received a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Eiland.
It marked the third time the As won on a game-ending hit by pitch in Oakland history and first since Olmedo Saenz on July 20, 2002, against Texas.
Coco Crisp's RBI groundout earlier in the 12th tied it at 4 after Billy Butler doubled home the go-ahead run in top half of the inning against Andrew Carignan (1-1).
A day after rain shortened the Royals' 3-0 win following seven-plus innings, fans got their share of baseball in the finale.
Kansas City heads home for the first time since the start of spring training in mid-February at 3-3, but without the same momentum it would have had with a second winning road series after taking two of three at Los Angeles.
Oakland closer Grant Balfour pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th. He allowed Alcides Escobar's leadoff single in the 10th and a two-out walk to Jeff Francoeur on
four pitches before striking out Mike Moustakas.
The AS now head out for their first real road trip — a sevengamer — considering the two matchups with the Mariners in Tokyo two weeks ago counted as Oakland home games.
Kansas City's Alex Gordon hit a tying home run off Brian Fuentes in the seventh.
Jose Mijares hit Josh Reddick with a breaking ball in the right shoulder area leading off the
eighth, but the ball appeared to ricochet into Reddick's helmet and he went down for a couple of minutes before leaving the game. Coco Crisp came in to run and Greg Holland relieved Mijares, but the A's couldn't capitalize.
Gomes hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the A's ahead and starter Brandon McCarthy in position for his first victory of the season before Fuentes gave it up.
Cespedes doubled, swiped third for his first steal and scored on
catcher Brayan Pena's throwing error to make it 1-0 Oakland in the second. Pena threw wildly into left field trying to get Cespedes at third on his steal.
Cespedes hit his first career single in the 11th after his initial five hits went for extra bases. The Cuban rookie wrapped up his first homeand 4 for 16 with two home runs and eight strikeouts.
Gordon also singled in a run in the third for the Royals, who squandered a chance when they
left the bases loaded in the fifth.
McCarthy allowed two runs and six hits in six innings. Oakland's opening-day starter also struck out four and walked two in his third appearance in the team's first seven games.
The lanky right-hander retired his first seven batters and looked more in sync than he did in going only five innings his last time out, a 7-3 loss to Seattle in the A's home opener last Friday.
Mitch Maier started in center
need for the Royals as manager Ned Yost had planned. Maier entered Tuesday's game as an injury replacement for Lorenzo Cain, who left with a strained left groin following a double play in the second.
Cain already was slated to sit out the day game, and the Royals listed him as day to day with the hope he would be ready for the club's home opener Friday against Cleveland.
BASKETBALI
Granger puts up 23 points to maintain No.3 position
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Pacers, clinging to the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, outscored the Cavs 10-4 in OT.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Danny Granger scored 23 points, five in overtime, and George Hill made a dagger 3-pointer in the extra session, lifting the Indiana Pacers to a 104-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Antawan Jamison scored 21 and Lester Hudson 19 for the Cavs, a league-worst 0-5 in overtime games. The Cavs were just 2 of 9 in the extra five minutes.
David West added 19 points. Hill had 17 and Roy Hibbert finished with 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks for Indiana, 6-1 in its last seven.
The Pacers should have put the Cavs away in regulation but Hill, starting in place of the injured Darren Collison, missed three free throws in the last 21 seconds.
West opened overtime with a bucket for the Pacers, who went without a field goal for a 6:41 stretch of the fourth that allowed the Cavs to overcome a 10-point deficit and open a seven-point lead.
Granger then nailed a 3-pointer, and after Hudson scored for Cleveland, Indiana's leading scorer
made an 18-foot jumper to put the Pacers ahead 101-96. After Jamison misfired, Hill put the Cavs away with his 3, making it 104-96 with 53 seconds left.
It was some vindication for Hill, whose three missed free throws gave the Cavs late life and they tied it when Hudson, the D-League castoff who came in averaging 24.7 points in his past three games, dropped a sweet floater in the lane over West with 1.2 seconds to go.
The Pacers had one last chance in regulation, and Hibbert nearly made an impossible shot, arching an attempt from behind the backboard that bounced off the front of the rim.
Indiana improved to 17-14 on the road, the club's first winning record outside Indiana in eight years.
With the loss, the Cavs were officially eliminated from the playoffs.
Cleveland played its fifth straight game without rookie Kyrie Irving, who has a sprained right shoulder.
The Cavs were down 78-68 after Dahntay Jones dropped a 3-pointer for Indiana.
wing. Hudson scored six points during the improbable run, which the Pacers helped by making four turnovers and missing four shots.
But Hudson heated up and the Cavs responded with an 18-1 run, taking an 86-79 lead on Omri Casspi's 3-pointer from the left
Indiana ended up going nearly seven minutes between field goals, with Hill's 3-pointer with 4:19 pulling the Pacers within 88-85.
Hill then converted on two drives and after Hibbert dunked, the Pacers appeared on their way to a win, leading 93-89 with 30 seconds left.
Hill, though, failed to put the game away at the line and the Pacers had to work an extra five minutes to hold onto their playoff seed.
The Pacers began the third quarter looking to include Hibbert in their offense. The 7-foot-2 center, who scored just two points but had four assists in the first half, scored four quick ones as Indiana opened the third with an 11-2 spurt capped by Granger's three-point play to lead 57-48.
The Cavs didn't fold and closed within 59-58 after Jamison scored six points in a row. Granger and Leandro Barbosa then dropped 3-pointers in an 11-4 run and Barbosa added another 3 as the Pacers took a 73-66 lead in the fourth.
HOCKEY
Flyers make overtime run beat Penguins in quarterfinals
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jakub Voracek beat Marc-Andre Fleury from in close 2:23 into overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Fleury stopped Matt Read's shot from the corner, but Voracek pounced on the rebound to cap a furious rally from a 3-0 deficit. Daniel Briere scored twice, and Brayden Schenn added a goal in his playoff debut. Ilya Brzygalov settled down after a shaky start to finish with 25 saves.
Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis scored for the Penguins, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 shots, but Pittsburgh struggled after dominating the first period.
Game 2 is Friday night in Pittsburgh.
The rivals delivered on their promise to play "whistle-to-whistle" and leave out the rough stuff that highlighted their six regular-season meetings. The game featured only a handful of penalties and little of the typical animosity.
Crosby missed the playoffs last season while dealing with
concussion-like symptoms and the memory of watching from the rafters as the Penguins lost to Tampa Bay in seven games remains fresh.
The former MVP wasted little time making up for lost time. He gave Pittsburgh the lead on his second shift, shaking off a hit Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn in the corner then bouncing to his feet and flipping a rebound over Bryzgalov's glove 3:43 into the first period.
Kennedy made it 2-0 just over 4 minutes later, his wrist shot from the left circle beating Bryzgalov over his stick.
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