MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2002
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN * 1QD
Rangers' Rodriguez stays on streak, top of his game
The Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — Alex Rodriguez just might make A MVP voters forget he's on a team headed for its third straight last-place finish.
Despite it that has gone wrong around him, Rodriguez is at the top of his game, becoming just the sixth player in major league history with five straight 40-homer seasons.
"I'm taking extreme pride in finishing the season with a lot of energy and a lot of pride," he said.
Rodriguez hit three home runs in the Texas
Alex Rodriguez
Rangers' 9-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, a night after his ninth-inning shot capped his 4-for-4 effort in a 6-5 win over Toronto.
"I don't know if it's greater to kick it in when you're in a playoff stretch or kick it in when your team is in last place at this point in the season," Texas manager Jerry Nar-
Rodriguez's first-i-ming home Saturday was his 40th of the season.
He added Nos. 41 and 42 later in the game to move within one of the major league lead held by the Cubs' Sammy Sosa, who hit his 43rd Saturday.
Babe Ruth holds the major league record of
seven straight 40-homer seasons, from 1926-32. This is Sosa's fifth straight 40-homer season, and the feat also has been accomplished by Ralph Kiner, Duke Snider and Ken Griffey Jr. Rodriguez's 107 RBs through Saturday led the majors. It's his fifth straight season with at least 100.
"We're playing baseball and he's playing video games, up there pushing buttons and doing whatever he wants," Rangers second baseman Michael Young said.
His average had gone from .311 to .323,
fourth in the AL. Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki leads
the league at 344.
Going into Sunday night's game against Toronto, Rodriguez had hits in eight of his last nine at-bats and a 10-game hitting streak.
Rodriguez led all AL shortstops with a .991 fielding average, making just five errors in his first 559 chances. He had gone 45 straight games without an error.
The pitching-poor Rangers, though, entered Sunday at 53-68, a whopping 20 games behind the first-place Mariners in the four-team AL West.
No player from a last-place team has won an MVP award since Andre Dawson of the Cubs in 1987, when he led the NL in homers and RBIs.
Rodriguez was sixth in the MVP voting last season, when he led the AL with 52 homers while hitting .318 with 135 RBIs for another last-place Rangers team.
He finished second to Juan Gonzalez in 1996.
By Mercedes Parker
The Daily Taxan via U-Wire
University of Texas-Austin
New Longhorns squad shines in scrimmage
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas head coach Mack Brown wasn't looking to game plan in Thursday afternoon's first preseason scrimmage at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. He just wanted to see which of the younger, less experienced players would step up.
"We're just trying to find where everybodyfits," offensive coordinator Greg Davis said.
True freshman running back Selvin Young's stock is definitely rising. Young had a 69 yard run on a counter play behind the first team offense that would set up a touchdown. Young finished with 116 yards on 11 carries.
Several of the players should have turned the coaches heads, as most of the first team players only stayed on the field for 10 to 15 plays.
"I don't even have to tell you about Selvin Young — he is the real deal," quarterback Chris Simms said. "He is quite a player."
Brown said sophomore Tony jeffery is finally starting to get comfortable at his receiver role now after being a quarterback
Here are some of the playmakers in the scrimmage:
"I don't even have to tell you about Selvin Young—he is the real deal. He is quite a player."
in high school. He looked like it with two catches for 43 yards, one an 11-yard touchdown from Simms.
Chris Simms Texas quarterback
Simms didn't stay on the field for long, but he dida complete 3-of-6 passes for 34 yards. Backup quarterback Chance Mock had a productive outing, going 6-for-10 for 60 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sloan Thomas. Brown said he was pleased with Mock's performance.
True freshman defensive lineman Rodrigue Wright had eight tackles, one sack
and one batted-down pass, and Stevie Stigall had five tackles and one batted-down pass. Five other players had at least three tackles.
Freshman quarterback Vince Young went 2-for-3 for 49 yards, and he also picked up a fumble and carried it in for a touchdown.
Robert Timmons, a true freshman wide receiver, caught two passes for 42 yards. Davis said Timmons has the ability to make great plays.
"He has the knack, like Roy [Williams], B.J. [Johnson] and Sloan [Thomas], with people close to him to get the ball," Davis said.
"And he's hard to bring down once he gets the ball."
The Longhorns' only blunder in the scrimmage was that they made only 2-of-5 field goals, jcs Fields.
Dusty Mangum made two, from 51 and 37 yards, and he missed another 37-yarder. David Pino had one blocked and also missed one.
Texas will continue two a-day workouts Friday at 8 a.m. and again at 7:35 p.m., both at Frank Denius Athletics Fields. The next scrimmage will be Saturday at 7:45 a.m. and again Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Rockies' Walker slows scorching Braves
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Larry Walker homered twice and Jay Payton had four hits as the Colorado Roekies handed Atlanta consecutive losses for the first time in more than a month, beating the Braves 6-3 Sunday.
Payton homered and tied his career high with four of 15 hits off Greg Maddux, who came in leading the NL with a 2.51 ERA. The four-time Cy Young winner had not given up that many hits in a game since the New York Yankees also had 13 on June 3, 2000.
Walker, who had four RBIs, hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh against Maddux (11-5), a 414-foot shot on an 0-2 pitch. The Rockies slugger added his 25th of the season, a two-run shot in the ninth off Kerry Ligtenberg.
Payton singled three times before hitting his 10th homer in the seventh, giving the Rockies a 4-2 lead.
The Braves, despite baseball's best record, have lost two in a row to the Rockies at Turner Field. It's the first losing streak for Atlanta since it dropped three in a row July 13-15.
On Monday, the finale of the four game series, Colorado will try to become only the second team since early May to beat the Braves in a series.
Rockies starter Jason Jennings (14-5) was hit in the head by a pitch in the second inning, but bounced back to work six solid innings. He allowed five hits and two runs.
Marcus Giles brought the Braves within a run, starting the seventh with a pinch-hit homer off reliever
Kent Mercker. But the Rockies' shaky bullpen stymed Atlanta the rest of the way, with Jose Jimenez working a scoreless ninth for his 3rd save.
Matt Franco tied his career high with three hits, including two doubles, for the Braves.
Colorado set the tone against Maddux in the first inning, stringing together three hits and taking a 1-0 lead. Walker drove in the run with a groundout.
Maddux didn't have his usual pinpoint control, which resulted in a scary moment for Jennings.
A high, inside fastball struck the Colorado pitcher near the bill of his helmet as he batted in the second. Jennings flopped facefirst into the dirt and remained down for several minutes, but he was OK.
In the bottom half, Jennings and both benches were warned when he hit Vinny Castilla in the back with a slow curve to start the inning. The Braves went on to score two runs on Maddux's grounder and Rafael's Furcal RBI single.
Jennings escaped a bases-loaded jam when, on another frightening play, he gloved a liner heading straight for his face off the bat of Chincher Jones.
Colorado strung together three more hits in the fourth, including Brent Butler's RBI single that tied it at 2.
Notes:
■ Giles hit the second pinch-hit homer of the season for the Braves. Keith Lockhart had the first on June 24 against the New York Mets.
game since Sept. 24 of last season against San Diego.
Walker had his first two-homer
*Payton's last four-hit game*
Aug. 6, 2000, for the New York Mets.
Major League roundup
National League
Cardinals 5, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA — Edgar Renteria hit his first career grand slam, leading Matt Morris and the St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-1 Sunday before a crowd of 58,493.
The Phillies honored Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas, and fans got dual bobblehead dolls featuring the popular announcer and Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn.
The first sellout crowd of the season at Veterans Stadium, however, did not get another chance to boo former Philies star Scott Rolen. The third baseman, traded to the Cardinals on July 29, did not play because of a sore left shoulder.
Morris (15-7) scattered eight hits in eight innings en route to his third consecutive win. He walked none and struck out six.
Morris allowed four hits in the first two innings, but worked out of a pair of first-and-second jams. He retired 16 of the next 19 hitters before Bobby Abreu ended the shutout bid in the eighth with his 13th homer of the season.
J. D. Drew led off with a single and Jim Edmonds reached base when his potential double-play grounder rolled underneath first baseman
The NL Central-leading Cardinals broke up a scoreless game in the sixth against Vicente Padilla (12-8).
Travis Lee's glove for an error.
Albert Pujols delivered a RBI single and Tino Martinez loaded the bases with a single. Renteria, who had struck out the previous two atbats, hit a drive into the right-field bullpen for his ninth homer of the season.
Renteria batted with the bases loaded again in the seventh and flied out to the warning track in left field off reliever Rheal Cormier.
Padilla, who took a NL-best 1.91 home ERA into the game, allowed five runs and six hits in six innings.
The Cardinals threatened in the third when they loaded the bases with one out, Padilla avoided major damage, striking out Edmonds and getting Pujols to fly out to left, where Pat Burrell made a niffy sliding catch.
Notes: Renteria leads all NLs, shortorts with 61 RBs.
Morris hasn't issued a walk in three of his last four starts. ... The Cardinals have hit four grand slams this season. ... The start of the game was delayed 34 minutes because of ceremonies for Kalas.
Expos 9. Padres 2
MONTREAL — Jose Vidro homered twice and Jose Macias hit a three-run shot to lead Tomo Ohka and the Montreal Expos over the San Diego Padres 9-2 Sunday.
Ohka (10-6) pitched his first complete game in 60 career starts, allowing 11 hits. He walked none and struck out three.
Ohka was helped when Ryan Klesko missed first base and was called out on appeal, wiping out what would've been an RBI double
and ending the third inning
The Expos scored five times in the second. Macias hit his three-run homer off Jake Peavy (4-5) after Wil Cordero drew a leadoff walk and Orlando Cabrera singled.
Brian Schneider doubled and two outs later Vidro hit his 14th homer of the season. Vidro added another two-run shot in the fourth for an 8-1 lead.
Dodgers 2, Mets 1
NEWYORK — Marquis Grissom tripled, doubled and scored twice as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat New York 2-1 Sunday, sending the Mets to their 11th straight home loss and eighth in a row overall.
Andy Ashby (9-9) allowed one run on four hits in seven innings to earn just his second victory in 10 decisions.
Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his 43rd save.
Mets starter Steve Trachsel (8-9) allowed both Dodgers runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked three.
Grissom tripped with one out in the third and scored on Adrian Beltré's single. Two innings later, he led off with a double, went to third on another Beltré single, and scored on Shawn Green's sacrifice fly.
Pirates 3, Brewers 2
PITTSBURGH — Adam Hyzdu homered and drove in two runs and Mike Williams set a team record with his 35th save, preserving the Pittsburgh Pirates' 5-2 win Sunday over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Williams pitched a perfect ninth inning to break the club mark of 54
saves set by Jim Gott in 1988.
Bronson Arroyo (1-1) made his second start of the season and allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings. He was followed by five relievers.
Glendon Rusch (6-13) has lost eight of his last nine decisions.
Pokey Reese and Jack Wilson opened the Pirates first with singles and Aramis Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly. Kevin Young walked and Hyzdu's single drove in the second run.
Hyzdu hit his eighth homer in the fourth inning
Tigers 7. Orioles 4
BALTIMORE — Robert Fick snapped out of a dump with three hits and two RBIs, and the Detroit Tigers shook off three homers by the Baltimore Orioles in a 7-4 victory Sunday.
American League
The Orioles trailed 4-1 in the fifth before Mora hit a two-run homer and Chris Richard's solo shot.
the Tigers regained the lead in the sixth against Chris Brock (1-1). With George Lombard at third and Damian Jackson at first, Bobby Higginson lined out to second baseman Jerry Hairston. Seeking the double play, Hairston threw toward first, but the ball hit Jackson's foot and bounced away as Lombard raced home.
Detroit used run-scoring singles by Walbeck and pinch-hitter Hiram Bocachica to make it 7-4 in the seventh.
Adam Bernero (3-7) pitched 2.2-3
scoreless innings and Juan Acevedo
worked the ninth for his 24th save.
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