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THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013
RAINED OUT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chicago police officers walk a beat outside Wrigley Field before an interleague baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers Tuesday, April 16 in Chicago.
Rangers and Cubs to face off despite rainy weather
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — The Texas Rangers are getting accustomed to this cold, damp weather.
The game between the Rangers and Chicago Cubs scheduled for Wednesday night was rained out. It was postponed two hours before it was supposed to start at Wrigley Field.
No makeup date was announced. The teams are set to play Thursday afternoon.
("Tuesday) night wasn't bad,
just a little chilly but we're in Chicago and we're going to have to put up with that," first baseman Mitch Moreland said. "We've kind of dealt with the last few games anyways."
It might be been more than "a little chilly." The gametine temperature Tuesday night was 39 degrees with the wind blowing in off nearby Lake Michigan.
Rangers manager Ron Washington said it was worse the conditions he's felt crosstown at U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox.
Texas opened the interleague series with a 4-2 win.
I can tell you what, we've been on the south side when it's cold, but it's not the same cold on the north side," Washington said.
Before Wednesday, the Rangers had played their last five games with the temperatures below 50 degrees, including four at Seattle's Safeco Field. So, for a warm-weather team, Texas is rather well-versed in ways to beat low temperatures and tough conditions.
The Rangers will skip Wednesday's scheduled starter, Justin Grimm, in favor of Alexi Ogando on Thursday.
Yu Darvish will pitch Friday against Seattle regardless of Thursday's weather. Grimm will pitch Sunday and Tuesday's winner, Derek Holland, will open the Rangers' set Monday with the Los Angeles Angels.
And if the Chicago weather continues to be a problem, there are a few Rangers who know how to deal with the raw conditions.
The Rangers have former Chi-
caago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, along with ex-Cubs Geovany Soto and Jeff Baker. The three spent parts of a combined 20 years in Chicago, and certainly experienced some miserable April days.
"The thing you keep coming back to is that both teams are playing in it," said Baker, who spent parts of four years with the Cubs. "Yeah, you're probably not going to have your great individual performance that day but at the same time all that matters is beating that other team and go out there and scoring more runs."
Moreland said he was told to expect what the Rangers are getting.
"That's the way it is in Chicago this time of the year," Moreland said. "That's part of it."
That isn't to say the conditions are pleasant at Wrigley. Baker remembered that last season he didn't wear short sleeves under his iersey until June at Wrigley.
His mindset, however, never changed. It was always about winning and trying to block out the raw weather.
M1R
Royals victory ends Atlanta's ten-game winning streak
I ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Wade Davis pitched five-hit ball for seven innings, jeff Francoeur had a fourth-inning RBI single and the Kansas City Royals stopped Atlanta's 10-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory Wednesday.
Davis (2-0) didn't walk anyone and struck out seven, and the Braves couldn't get a runner past first base until Jason Heyward's two-out double in the sixth. Their only serious scoring chance came in the seventh, when Juan Francisco was thrown out trying to score from first on a pop down the right-field line.
Mike Minor (2-1) had another strong outing for the Braves, allowing just five hits and the lone run in six innings. The left-hand-
The Braves were seeking their first 13-1 start since 1994, but the powerful Atlanta offense — which honered five times off the Royals on Tuesday — finally was stifled.
Greg Holland worked a scoreless ninth for his third save in four chances.
er's ERA over three starts is 0.95.
Neither team had gotten a runner as far as second base until the fourth, when the Royals caught a couple of breaks before Francoeur's two-out hit.
Alcides Escobar led off with a single to right, breaking an 0-for-15 slump, but it appeared he wouldn't be on base for long when he got stranded between first and second after a pitch. Catcher Evan Gattis tried to run at Escobar but held the ball for too long, allowing the runner to slide back into first just ahead of the throw.
Gattis pumped his fists and screamed at himself under his mask for letting Escobar off the hook.
That turned out to be a crucial play. With two outs, Lorenzo Cain hit a little dribble down the third-base line for an infield hit, then Francoeur came through on an 0-2 pitch, singling to left field when Minor left a ball in the strike zone against a free-swinging batter who is prone to chase bad pitches.
In the seventh, Atlanta put together its best scoring chance against Davis, Francisco, who homered twice against the Royals on Tuesday, singled to right with two outs for his second hit of the game. Then, Chris Johnson lofted a popup that down the right-field line that landed about a foot fair, just out of the grasp of diving second baseman Chris Getz.
But Getz hustled to his feet, tracked down the ball alongside the rolled up tarp, and alertly spotted that Francisco was trying to score all the way from first. The throw to the plate was easily in time to get the lumbering runner.
Escobar had an error in the first, throwing high after fielding a grounder by leadoff hitter B.J. Upton, but the Royals shortstop came up with a couple of nifty defensive plays — one a barehanded grab on a grounder in the hole, another a diving stop on a wickedly hit ball by Chris Johnson to set up a double play.
BASEBALL
Athletics sweep Astros over three-game series
OAKLAND, Calif. — Bartolo Colon pitched six crisp innings, Josh Reddick doubled in two runs during a six-run first and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 7-5 on Wednesday to complete another three-game sweep.
The Athletics swept a three-game series at Houston during the first week of the season.
Seth Smith had three hits and Jed Lowie added two for the A's, who improved to an AL-best 12-4. Oakland outscored Houston 22-10 in the series.
The As sent 11 batts to the plate and chased Astros starter Bud Norris in
the first inning, then won behind Colon (2-0) and three relievers.
Jose Altuve had three hits and Carlos Pena homered for the second straight day for Houston. Pinch-titter Rick Ankiel also homered for the Astros.
Colon beat Houston for the second time this season.
Chris Carter reached on an RBI grounder in the first, then was picked off by the 39-year-old Colon to end the inning.
Colon retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced. He gave up four hits, struck out three and only allowed one runner past first base — Jose Altuve, who singled and scored Houston's first run.
Colon, who has not walked a batter in 19 innings this season, lowered his ERA to 3.32.
It was also the second time in three games Houston's starting pitcher failed to get out of the first. Eric Bedard retired just one batter and gave up six runs in Monday's 11-2 loss to the A's in the shortest outing of his career.
Norris (2-2) lasted only slightly longer, sticking around to get a second out when leadoff hitter John Jaso grounded out in his second at-bat of the first.
Reddick broke out of 4-for-39 slump with a double to highlight Oakland's big inning.
Associated Press
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