10B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF IAHRY KANSAN
MLB
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009
Rangers shoot down Royals with Young's walk-off home run
After leading 5-3, Kansas City relievers give up three runs, chance for sweep
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Texas — Michael Young was just trying to put the ball in play. He did a lot more than that, and seconds later the Texas Rangers were celebrating a comeback victory.
Texas Rangers' Michael Young, center, leaps on home plate of front teammates after hitting a walk off home run off Kansas City Royals pitcher Kyle Farnsworth in the ninth inning on Sunday. With the loss, Farnsworth is now 0-3 with an 18.90 ERA.
Young hit a ninth-inning leadoff homer off reliever Kyle Farnsworth and the Rangers rallied from two runs down to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Sunday.
Young ripped Farnsworth's 1-0
pitch 427 feet into the seats in leftcenter for his first career gamewinning homer. Young leaped into the air as he approached home plate, diving into a group of teammates there to greet him.
"It felt good. Hitting a home run was the last thing on my mind."
"It felt good," Young said. "Hitting a home run was the last thing on my mind, facing a guy who's got really good stuff. I was just thinking contact, get on base, and set the table for the guys behind me. It was cool ... when it helps the team out, it's always a good feeling."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Rangers were searching for somethingpositive after losing seven of their previous eight and dropping the first two games to the Royals by a combined score of 14-3.
MICHAEL YOUNG Rangers third baseman
"We needed it," Young said. "Fortunately we got some breaks there in the eighth and tied it up. Hopefully we can get some momentum out of this win and take it on the road."
Blalock went to second and Chris Davis followed with a pinch-hit
The Rangers trailed 5-3 when
Andruw Jones doubled off reliever
Ron Mahay in the eighth. Jones went to third when Royals first baseman Mike Jacobs booted Hank Blalock's grounder, and he scored on Nelson Cruz's ground out off Jamey Wright to make it 5-4.
single, with Blalock scoring when Davis' sharp grounder glanced off the glove of second baseman Alberto Callaspo. Callaspo recovered the ball and threw home, but Blalock's slide avoided the tag from catcher John Buck
Frank Francisco (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.
Ian Kinsler, who homered and went 2-for-4, was standing next to Davis on the top step of the Rangers' dugout when Farnsworth threw the second pitch to Young. Davis and Kinsler grabbed each other as the ball sailed into the seats, then sprinted onto the field to await Young's arrival.
"You don't like getting behind in the count. You have to throw a fastball and that's what he wants."
"The most fun is waiting for him to get to the plate because after that it's just chaos," Davis said.
KYLE FARNSWORTH Royals reliever
Farnsworth said missing the strike zone with his first pitch proved disastrous.
"You don't like getting behind in the count," Farnsworth said. "You have to throw a fastball and that's what he wants."
Farnsworth has
struggled early as the losing pitcher in three of the Royals' five losses.
"He hasn't gotten off to a good start," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said. "He's made improvements to his delivery. But he's had more tough outings than positives. We've seen some good things out
of him, but to do what we want to do, Kyle Farnsworth has got to perform for us."
Royals starter Kyle Davies recovered from a four-walk first inning to pitch three-hit ball over six innings, leaving with a 5-3 lead before the bullpen faltered.
Davies fell behind 2-0 in a shaky first but righted himself to allow three runs, strike out eight and walk five.
Jacobs and David De Jesus homered and drove in two runs each for the Royals, who had won five of six entering Sunday's game.
Texas starter Vicente Padilla allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Davies had trouble finding the strike zone in the first, walking four
with Kinsler and Young executing a double steal. Blalock's sacrifice fly and David Murphy's bases-loaded walk gave Texas a 2-0 lead.
"I tried pounding the fastball but I just couldn't locate it." Davies said. "I should have gone to the breaking ball. I needed to make the adjustment a little sooner. It went a little too far in the first inning."
Jacobs' two-run homer in the second tied it at 2-2.
Kinsler's homer in the second put Texas ahead 3-2, but DeJesus' RBI single in the third tied it at 3.
Buck's RBI single in the fourth gave the Royals a 4-3 lead, and DeJesus' solo homer in the fifth made it 5-3.
Meanwhile, Davies settled in after Kinsler's homer, retiring 14 of the next 16 batters.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals' Kyle Davies pitches in the first inning against the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Davies left in line for the victory, but Kansas City ballpen blew the lead.
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THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
April 20, 2009
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Applications are now available for the following leadership positions for the 2009-2010 Board of Class Officers.
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If interested, please E-mail boco@ku.edu or grab an application at the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, Room 400 of the Kansas Union. Applications will be due back to boco@ku.edu or to SILC by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 17. Results will be announced by Friday, April 24.
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