8B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY APRIL 29,2009
MLB
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Toronto Blue Jays' Vernon Wells slides safely home as Kansas City Royals catcher John Buck loses the ball in the second inning Tuesday in Kansas City. Mo. Wells scored from third on Lyle Overbay's sacrifice fly to left, and Toronto won 8-1.
Blue Jays pick off Royals
After a victory, Kansas City falls back and loses 8-1 to Toronto
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Scott Richmond pitched seven sharp innings, Vernon Wells drove in three runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 8-1 Tuesday night.
Aaron Hill had three more hits to increase his major-leading total to 36 and raise his average to .371. Hill, who had two RBIs, has a hit in all but one game this season.
Richmond (3-0), a rookie right-hander, limited the Royals to one run and five hits over seven innings. The 29-year-old, who pitched three seasons with Edmonton in the independent leagues before signing with the
Blue Jays in November 2007 walked three and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 2.70.
Royals starter Gil Meche left after three 2-3 innings with lower back stiffness and will be evaluated Wednesday. Meche (1-2) gave up five runs on seven hits and five walks. He threw only 43 strikes in 85 pitches.
Toronto added three more runs on five hits in the eighth off relievers Horacio Ramirez and
The Blue Jays batted around in a four-run fourth, which included Wells' two-run single. Lyle Overbay and Rod Barajas hit back-to-back doubles for the first run of the inning. Hill's single scored Barajas with the second run of the inning.
Kyle Farnsworth. Marco Scutaro, Wells and Hill each had RBI singles.
The Blue Jays, who lead the majors with 133 runs, had 14 hits, the most allowed by the Royals this season.
The Royals loaded the bases in the third, but Jose Guillen popped foul to catcher Rod Barajas to end the inning. The Royals were hitless in seven at-bats with two outs and the bases loaded.
David DeJesus' two-out double in the fifth scored Coco Crisp, who had an infield single, for the Kansas City's run.
Alberto Gallaspo went 0-for-3 with a walk, snapping his hitting streak at 10 games, the longest by a Royals player this season.
NBA
Pierce leads Celtics to OT victory
BY JIMMY GOLEN
Associated Press
Paul Pierce, former Jayhawk and current Boston Celtic, goes to the basket past Chicago Bulls Lindsey Hunter during the first half of Game 5 Tuesday. Boston leads the seven game series 3-2.
BOSTON — Paul Pierce made three straight jumps in the final 77 seconds of overtime and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 106-104 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.
Rajon Rondo scored 28 points with 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Kendrick Perkins had 16 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks for the Celtics. It was the third time in five games the teams have needed overtime, a surprising first-round struggle for the defending NBA champions.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ben Gordon scored 26 and Joakim Noah had 11 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, but Brad Miller missed the potential gametying free throws with 2 seconds left in overtime.
The Bulls return home for Game 6 on Thursday night hoping to extend the series. Game 7, if necessary, would be in Boston on Saturday.
Pierce, who scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and overtime, gave Boston a 102-101 lead with 117 left, then hit another with 37 seconds to play to make it 104-101 before Tony Allen fouled Gordon while attempting a 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play. Gordon hit all three free throws to tie it 104-all.
The clock expired and the Boston Garden crowd celebrated, but the referees immediately huddled, called a foul on Rondo and put Miller on the line with 2 seconds left.
Pierce got the ball and dribbled down the clock before hitting a long 2-pointer over John Salmons with 3.4 seconds left. The Bulls called a timeout and got the ball in to Brad Miller, who had a surprisingly clear path to the basket but sailed a lavup wide.
With the building shaking, Miller missed the first, then tried to miss the second on purpose but failed to hit the rim.
It was another close call for
the Celtics — this time with two of the Big Three on the bench. Kevin Garnett is out for what could be the entire playoff run with strained ligaments in his right knee, and Ray Allen — who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2 — fouled out with 5:27 left in regulation.
The Bulls scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to open the first double-digit lead of the game. The Celtics scored nine in a row to make it a one-point game, 83-82, with 4:27 left, but
it was costly because Ray Allen
fouled out 18 seconds after hitting
a key 3-pointer.
Boston tied it 91-all after another block by Perkins sent Rondo off on a fast break, and he found Pierce for the layup with 66 seconds left in regulation. The point guards traded mistakes, then Gordon hit a leaner from the right side to give the Bulls the lead with 16 seconds left.
But Pierce sank a 15-footer to tie it at 93 with 10.5 seconds left and send it into overtime.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS funded by: Student Senate