8B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
MLB
Royals attempt a comeback, fall 3-2 to Rangers
Padilla strikes out competition
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)
Kansas City Royals Tony Pena jumps over Texas Rangers Brad Wilkerson as he steals second base Wednesday during the second inning of the baseball game in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won the game 3-2.
Vicente Padilla pitched two-hit shutout ball for six innings, Hank Blalock had two hits and two RBIs, and the Texas Rangers hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Wednesday night.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michael Young added two hits, and Frank Catalanotto reached base three times to help the Rangers win for the ninth time in their last 11 games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kyle Davies watches his pitch during the second inning of the baseball game against the Texas Rangers. Davies pitched his seventh start since transferring to the Royals.
Padilla (5-9) struck out five and walked two as the Royals got only one runner as far as third base against him.
Joquin Benoit, the Rangers' fifth pitcher, pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in seven chances.
Padilla began the season as the Rangers' No. 2 starter, but he lost his six of his first seven decisions and then was out from June 25 to Aug. 14 due to right triceps irritation.
He was sharp from the outset in this one, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced, allowing only a first-inning walk until Mark Grudzielanek singled leading off the fourth.
Royals starter Kyle Davies (2-4) allowed two runs — one earned — and three hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked four.
Davies was making his seventh start since he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves for reliever Octavio Dotel on July 31. He was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 starts for the Braves.
Blalock's RBI double in the second got Texas on the board, and Young singled in a run in the
fifth to make it 2-0.
Kansas City loaded the bases with two out in the sixth, but Padilla retired Alex Gordon on a called third strike to preserve a 2-0 lead.
Blalock's run-scoring single in the sixth off John Bale made it 3-0.
John Buck's two-run homer off Wes Littleton in the seventh drew the Royals within 3-2. It was Buck's 18th home run of the year.
NOTES
The teams met for the final
time this season with Kansas City holding a 4-4 edge.
The Royals need one more win to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season.
Padilla hit Kansas City's Mike Sweeney on the right wrist with a pitch in the sixth but Sweeney remained in the game.
The crowd of 17,232 was the smallest at home for the Rangers this season.
Rangers LHP Bill White made his major league debut in the seventh.
>> NFL
Drunken driving arrests earn Allen two-week suspension
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Football figures to be a lonely experience for Jared Allen the next couple of weeks.
"It'll be tough," Allen said.
"Because nobody loves playing football more than me."
Kansas City's suspended defensive end can be on the practice field. But only by himself. He'll be no different from millions of other football fans who are watching the action but wishing they could strap on the pads and play.
While the rest of the Chiefs are running through plays and getting ready for their season opener at Houston on Sunday, Allen, according to terms of his suspension for multiple drunken-driving arrests, must not be anywhere around.
He's allowed to attend team meetings but not practice.
He can work out with strength and conditioning coaches and use team facilities the next two weeks. But he can't travel with the team or stay at the team hotel when they go to Houston and Chicago for the first two games.
Before and after each game, he's barred from the locker room.
It could be worse — much worse
It could be worse — much worse — for both Allen and the Chiefs. His off-the-field misplays first drew a four-game suspension. But taking everyone by surprise, including Allen and team officials, commissioner Roger Goodell rewarded the player's improved behavior and vow to stay sober by slicing the penalty in half.
"He's the only suspended player in the NFL that had his suspension reduced," said Chiefs president Carl Peterson. "As of this week, there were 19 players who had been suspended by the commissioner for
this year and I think Jared Allen's is the only two-game suspension."
In the meantime, Kansas City named its three captains on Wednesday — guard Brian Waters on offense, linebacker Donnie Edwards on defense and safety Jon McGraw on special teams.
Each position group voted separately on its own leader. The captains will have the option of wearing patches on their game uniforms.
“It's up to them,” said head coach Herm Edwards. “When you think about it, it's a great honor to be a captain of your football team.”
Edwards also said left tackle Damion McIntosh, who has not played since injuring a knee on Aug. 1, went through a full practice.
One player not in practice was defensive lineman Ron Edwards.
I told him, 'Relax. You can't come to practice. You're OK.' He be fine!
Allen, at the Chiefs' urging, will be at every team meeting during his two-week suspension.
"I'm going to prepare as if I'm starting week one," he said. "My routine for the next two weeks isn't going to be any different than it absolutely has to be. I'm going to treat these next two weeks as though I'm preparing to play."
"Ron Edwards just had a little boy this morning," said Edwards. "He was stuttering and all nervous.
The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder led the NFL with six fumble recoveries last year and shows all the signs of a young player about to break into stardom. With 27.5 sacks his first three seasons, he's already in Kansas City's all-time top 10. He came into camp this year trimmed down and in top condition, and his production showed it.
"I feel great. I'm in a rhythm right now," he said. "I really wish I didn't have to miss these two games."
--sunflower (913) 662-7099
BROADBAND
15510 STATE AVE, SUITE 1
BASEHOR, KANSAS 66007
You never know when youre going to be on TV!
Thankfully with DVR from Sunflower Broadband, you can watch your favorite shows on your schedule. or replay the big calls and the unforgettable plays. Plus, with HD, you will have the sharpest images on your screen. Call today so you don't miss your chance at catching yourself on tv!
(785) 841-2100
1 RIVERFRONT PLAZA, SUITE 301
LAWRENCE, KARASK 68044
MLB
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka looks at the scoreboard while leaving the game in the seventh innings of baseball action against the New York Yankees Tuesday at Yankee Stadium in New York. The red Sox lost the game 5-3.
Dice-K finally gets run support in win Pitcher wins for first time in a month
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Before winning his first game in more than a month on Monday —
BOSTON — The $103 million man has a 7.61 ERA in his last four starts.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is struggling at a bad time for the Boston Red Sox. They have baseball's best record and want to build momentum as the pennant race heats up. Lately, Matsuzaka has been a momentum stopper.
he answered seven
nits in that one
— the righthand-
hand had lost
his three previous
starts. Those
losses ended a
pair of two-game
winning streaks
and one four-game
surge.
That's not quite what the
"There have been a few games in a row where I haven't been happy about my pitching."
"I felt that I could pitch well enough to cover those bad breaks." Matsuzaka said through a translator. "I felt that my stuff was better compared to my last start."
DAISUKE MATSUZAKA Boston Red Sox pitcher
Matsuzaka started the inning by putting the first three runners on, but two reached on a bloop single and an infield hopper off his glove.
In that one, he gave up five runs in 61-3 innings and lost to the New York Yankees 5-3. He lost the game when he allowed Johnny Damon's tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning.
For much of the season, he hasn't had much help. The Red Sox have scored two runs or less while he was in the game in 12 of his prior 17 starts before Monday's slugfest. After he left that game with one out in the sixth, reliever Javier Lopez allowed two of the runners Matsuzaka put on base, to score.
Red Sox hoped for when they paid $51.11 million just for the right to negotiate with his Japanese team, and then gave the celebrated rookie a six-year, $52 million contract before he had thrown a single pitch in the majors.
"I thought his pitches were crisp all along," Francona said. "That inning got away from us in a hurry."
"There have been a few games in a row where I haven't been happy about my pitching." Dice-K said after his 13-10 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays gave him a 14-11 record.
Boston manager Terry Francona said Matsuzaka pitched well Monday.
Perhaps he's wearing down.
Matsuzaka was victimized by the long ball again, a three-run homer by Troy Glaus in that eight-run sixth that turned a 10-1 rout into a 10-9 squeaker. It was the 21st horen off Matsuzaka this season. Only 10 AL pitchers have allowed more.
In his eight seasons in lapan, he had more than his current 28 starts just once. With 181 2-3 innings, he's
on pace to pass 200 for just the third time in his pro career.
But he clearly benefits from more rest.
"I personally don't think it's a problem," Matsuzaka said.
One reason Boston signed him is last year's performance with the Seibu Lions — 200 strikeouts, 34 walks, a 17-5 record and a 2.13 ERA in 186 1-3 innings.
He was fifth in the AL with 177 strikeouts after Monday's game, but he struck out just five in his last two starts combined. And his 67 walks were seventh most in the league.
In Japan, he pitched in a six-
Catcher Jason Varitek, whose knowledge of the hitters has been a big boost for Matsuzaka's first year in the majors, didn't sound worried.
man rotation and had five days off between starts. With the Red Sox, Matsuzaka is 5-6 with a 4.56 ERA with four days rest, 8-4 with a 4.01 ERA with five days rest and 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA with six or more days rest.
Other than an Aug. 15 outing against Tampa Bay in which he allowed six runs in six innings, Matsuzaka "has thrown the ball well," recently, Varitek said. "He's throwing the ball better than his results. So quality starts are all we're looking for and Dice has done that over and over for us."
Big innings have hurt Matsuzaka all year. He's given up four or more runs in an inning seven times, accounting for 32 of the 83 runs he's allowed all season.
So Monday's outing wasn't unusual — five strong innings followed by a bad one.
---