8B SPORTS
MLB
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cincinnati reeds pitcher Homer Bailey throws in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday. The Reds beat the Pirates 12-2.
Votto excels as Reds beat Pirates
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH — Joe Votto went 4 for 5 and scored three runs, Homer Bailey allowed two runs in six innings and the Cincinnati Reds continued the Pittsburgh Pirates' losing ways with a 12-2 win Wednesday night.
Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce, Launch Nix and Corky Miller each had two RBIs for the Reds, who have won seven of nine.
The Pirates are 3-22 in their past 25, having lost five in a row. They have allowed 33 runs the past three games.
Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen had two hits and scored a run.
Since beating the Pirates at PNC Park Aug. 23, Bailey (6-5) is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA — three of those victories coming against Pittsburgh. He allowed four hits and three walks Wednesday, meaning he has allowed only 12 baserunners and two runs in 13 innings.
Votto had two doubles and
two singles and is 7 for 9 during the series. He is hitting .458 in his past 13 games.
Paul Janish scored on a Phillips groundout in the first, and the Reds' three runs in the third came courtesy a Votto RBI ground-rule double, Phillips run-scoring single and a Rolen sacrifice fly.
Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones scored on a Brandon Moss sacrifice fly in the fourth. The Pirates got another run via sacrifice飞 the following inning, this time with Jones driving in McCutchen.
The Reds scored four in the fifth off of Kevin Hart on an RBI single by Rolen, a Bruce two-run single and a Nix RBI groundout.
Hart (4-8) was charged with eight runs on eight hits and three walks in 4 1-3 innings with two strikeouts. The Pirates are 1-8 when he starts, having lost the past six. Hart is 1-7 with a 6.93 ERA since joining Pittsburgh in a July 30 trade with the Chicago Cubs.
The Reds added one in the seventh and three in the ninth off of Virgil Vazquez.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Perry emerges as Tigers' main receiving threat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Wide receiver Jared Perry has had ups and downs during his career at Missouri, but for his senior season, he's emerging as one of the Tigers' biggest threats.
At 6-1 and 175 pounds, Perry has bulked up substantially from the 148-pound who arrived as a freshman.
Through the first three games, Perry leads Missouri (3-0) in receiving yards with 309 and touchdowns with four. He's second on the team with 17 catches, behind Danario Alexander's 20.
"I think my mindset wasn't the same," Perry said as the Tigers prepare to play at Nevada (0-2) on Friday. "I probably thought I made it my freshman year, which I didn't. I should have kept going and it showed on the field."
Perry was named Missouri's top freshman in 2006 after catching 37 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns. But he followed that up with a disappointing 13-catch season in 2007, with no scores.
Part of Perry's sophomore slump had to do with who else was on the field. Between Jeremy Maclin, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman, all of whom are now playing in the NFL, there just wasn't enough football to go around.
"I always want the ball but as long as we were winning I can't get
too mad,” Perry said. “I just put my little piece of the puzzle in”
His upswing began last season, when he caught 41 passes for 567 yards and four touchdowns, though he was still overshadowed by Maclin, Coffman and Tommy Saunders, who combined for more than 3,000 receiving yards.
This season got off to a rocky start when Perry dropped two balls in the preseason scrimmage and dropped to No. 2 on the depth chart. It didn't keep him down.
"I just had a bad scrimmage" Perry said. "I knew I had to reevaluate myself and go out there the next day of practice and show them the mistake that they made by moving me down."
Alexander, who has had his fair share of struggles, too, talked to Perry during that period.
"He knew that he had to step up and I just told him to keep his head up," Alexander said. "He knew he had to come back and work hard to get his spot back."
"What doesn't break you makes you stronger," Perry said. "Having those seasons made me better."
So far, so good.
Alexander agreed.
"Me and J.P. have been through a lot here coming in as receivers together," he said. "For us to both excel on the field, it means a great deal to us."
Missouri receiver Jared Perry, left, celebrates with teammate Wes Kemp, right, after Perry scored a touchdown during the first quarter against Furman Saturday. The loss of standout players such as Jeremy Maclin and Cochase Faffin have given more opportunities to Perry.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MLB
Ethier's error costly in Dodgers loss to Nationals
WASHINGTON — Andre Ethier booted pinch-hitter Pete Orr's fly to right field in the ninth inning, allowing Justin Maxwell to score, and the Washington Nationals averted their 100th loss of the season with a 5-4 victory over the
Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
Maxwell started the decisive rally with a single down the left-field line off James McDonald (5-5) to open the ninth. Alberto Gonzalez bunted Maxwell to second and Maxwell stole third before Jorge Padailla walked.
Orr hit a fly to medium right and the ball bounced off the Eth
ier's glove as he backtracked and Maxwell scored. Orr was credited with a sacrifice fly and Ethier was given an error on the play.
The Dodgers' magic number to clinch a spot in the postseason remained at two. Any combination of Los Angeles victories and Colorado losses totaling seven will give the Dodgers the NL West title for a second straight
season, a feat last accomplished in 1977-78.
Saul Rivera (1-3) got two outs for the victory after the Dodgers had tied it 4-all against Nationals closer Mike MacDougal.
Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley had a no-hitter for 52-3 innings before Ryan Zimmerman hit a tying three-run homer.
MLB
Associated Press
Home run ensures Brewers victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder hits a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday. The home run was Fielder's 42nd of the season. The Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-2.
MILWAUKEE — Prince Fielder hit his 42nd homer to give him a majors-best 131 RBIs and rookie Chris Narveston struck out 10 for his first win as a starter, helping the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Wednesday night.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jody Gerut homered for the Brewers, who avoided a three-game sweep but had been eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday. Chicago is still mathematically alive since St. Louis lost 3-0 to Houston, but the Cardinals clinched at least a tie for the NL central title and now have a magic number of one.
The Cubs dealt with the Milton Bradley distraction for another day.
The suspended outfielder released a statement apologizing for his behavior, but Chicago has been better off without him with three wins in four games since he was banished for the season.
Narveson (2-0) was designated for assignment by the Brewers in
July, but returned last month and was sharp into the sixth inning in his third career start. Narveson's only mistake came when Cubs
After a single by Ryan Thieriot, Narveson outstretched to Tyler Colvin and the surging Derrek Lee to end his night. Lee, who is hitting .387 in September, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts against the Brewers after coming in of 6 of 8 with two homers and six RBIs.
Bobby Scales' pinch-hit RBI double off reliever David Weathers in the seventh cut Milwaukee's lead
starter Jeff Samardzija (1-3) led off the sixth inning with a homer, his first career hit.
Gerut's homer off Samardzija made it 3-1 in the sixth and Samardzija, making his second career start, was chased by Ryan Braun followed with a single.
to 3-2, but Claudio Vargas pitched the eighth and Trevor Hoffman worked around a one-out single by Jeff Baker in the ninth for his 35th save.
Fielder's opposite-field homer in the fourth off Samardzija gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.
Cardinals unable to clinch division
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — Bud Norris and the Houston Astros put the St. Louis Cardinals' celebration on ice.
The Astros' 24-year-old rookie shut out the Cardinals for the second time and St. Louis missed a chance to capture the NL Central in a 3-0 loss to the Astros on Wednesday night.
The magic number for St. Louis dropped **1** one when the Cubs lost in Milwaukee before this game ended. But Norris (6-3) pitched six shutout innings and Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save.
The Cardinals had 25 cases of champagne waiting in the clubhouse, but the bottles will remain corked for at least another day.
St. Louis can clinch the division from their hotel in Colorado on Thursday, a day off, if the Cubs lose the opener of a weekend series in San Francisco. The Cardinals open a series against the Rockies on Friday.
Carlos Lee drove in two runs for the Astros, who snapped a nine-game streak.
John Smoltz (1-2) gave up two runs on five hits. The Cardinals mustered only seven hits after reaching 15 in the first two games in Houston.
Norris gave up four hits and two walks in the first three innings,
but the Cardinals stranded all six runners.
Kazuo Matsui led off the Houston half of the third with a double to the left-field corner. Matsui advanced on Norris' bunt and scored on Miguel Tejada's two-out single for a 1-0 lead.
The Astros ended the fourth and sixth innings with double plays as the Cardinals continue to have problems with Norris. The right-hander won his major league debut in St. Louis on Aug. 2, allowing two hits in seven shut-out innings.
Tejada doubled in the Astros' sixth, took third on Lance Berkman's flyout and came home on Lee's sacrifice fly to deep left to make it 2-0.
St. Louis had the tyring run at the plate after Colby Rusmus beat out an infield single with one in the eighth against LaTroy Hawkins. Albert Pujols lined out and Matt Holliday grounded into a fielder's choice.
Dennys Reyes walked the speedy Michael Bourn with no outs in the eighth and Ryan Franklin relieved.
Franklin struck out Tejada, but then threw a wild pitch to Berkman, allowing Bourn to take second.
Berkman was intentionally walked before Lee bloomed an RBI single to center.
www.lenahaneyedoc.com