Local Sports

Monticello Uses Big Plays To Hold Off Olympia

Monticello needed just about every big play they could muster Friday night to hold off a persistent Olympia squad as the Sages began the defense of their state title with a 42-32 victory over the Spartans.

 

The Sages set the tone with a double-reverse flea-flicker on the first play of the season as Nic Tackels connected with Chris Brown for the 58-yard touchdown.

 

Leading 21-8 at the intermission, Monticello extended the advantage to 28-6 and forced Olympia to punt. After Hayden Graham returned the punt to the 48-yard line in Olympia territory, a second sideline infraction gave possession back to the Spartans. Following two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, Olympia’s Grant Kessinger romped in from 31 yards out to cut the lead to 28-16.

 

On the ensuing kickoff, Brown pranced his way through traffic and outran the pack for an 88-yard touchdown. 

 

The Spartans cut into the lead again after quarterback Ethan Davis ran one in from 13-yards out, making the score 35-24. 

 

The next possession, Tackels found Spencer Brown for a 60-yard catch and run touchdown to extend the Sages lead to 42-24. 

 

The Spartans got a score on the board with under two minutes after Davis found Ethan Kennedy in the corner of the end zone from 13 yards for the final 42-32 margin.

 

Chris Brown found the end zone three times in total for the Sages. He finished with 70 yards receiving, 70 yards rushing and his 88-yard kick return touchdown.

 

Tackels finished the night 6-for-9 with 182 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Brown did all his damage in the second half, hauling in two touchdowns on three receptions for 97 yards. 

 

Kessinger led the Spartans with 11 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown. Davis finished 4 for 11 with 32 yards and a touchdown. The Sages defense touched up Davis for five sacks in the ballgame. 

 

The Sages will travel to Chillicothe next Friday night to take on IVC. Hear the game on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Maroons Trample Ponies

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the South Fork Ponies by a score of 50-14 on Friday night. The Maroons were led by the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game Garrett Wayne. Wayne was 11 of 17 passing for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 7 carries for 37 yards. Tyrese Petty had 9 carries for 65 yards and 3 touchdowns. Braden Cross had 6 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Ty Berter had a 54-yard touchdown catch. Clayton Welch had 3 catches for 22 yards and a touchdown.

 

The Ponies were led by quarterback Shawn Goebel who was 5 of 16 passing for 35 yards and had 10 carries for 31 yards. Running back Cole Sidwell had 15 carries for 51 yards.

 

The Maroons are off next week in a bye. Their next game is week 3 at Shelbyville on Friday, September 13.

 

You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

 

Other scores:

Arcola vs Argenta (A.-Oreana) 43-6

 

Williamsville vs Athens 27-12

 

Auburn vs New Berlin (Coop) 35-6

 

Bloomington (H.S.) vs Danville (H.S.) 36-0

 

Champaign (Centennial) vs Peoria (H.S.) 14-96

 

Colfax (Ridgeview) [Coop] vs Rockford (R. Christian) 36-7

 

Decatur (D. Lutheran) [Coop] vs Toledo (Cumberland) 46-0

 

Jacksonville (H.S.) vs Decatur (Eisenhower) 59-6

 

Downs (Tri-Valley) vs Decatur (St. Teresa) 0-41

 

El Paso (E.P.-Gridley) vs Heyworth 6-22

 

Elmwood [E.-Brimfield Coop] vs Oneida (ROWVA) [Mid-County Coop] 36-24

 

LeRoy vs Eureka 0-28

 

Rantoul vs Fairbury (Prairie Central) 20-42

 

Farmer City (Blue Ridge) [Coop] vs Martinsville 44-20

 

Toulon (Stark County) vs Farmington 7-28

 

Fisher vs Hoopeston (H. Area) [Coop] 57-0

 

Clifton (Central) vs Georgetown (G.-Ridge Farm) 41-18

 

Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda) vs Gibson City (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) 8-32

 

Gillespie vs Vandalia 12-41

 

Bismarck (B.-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) vs Gilman (Iroquois West) 71-3

 

Momence vs Herscher 0-43

 

Piasa (Southwestern) vs Hillsboro 18-14

 

Lincoln vs Bartonville (Limestone) 0-14

 

Mahomet (M.-Seymour) vs Marion (H.S.) 13-34

 

Milford [Coop] vs Lake Forest (L.F. Academy) 64-32

 

Cerro Gordo [C.G.-Bement Coop] vs Niantic (Sangamon Valley) [Coop] 15-12

 

Normal (Community) vs Peoria (Richwoods) 30-7

 

Oakland [Tri-County Coop] vs Arthur (A.-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond) 13-41

 

Paris vs Newton 13-12

 

Rochelle vs Pekin 35-21

 

Peoria (Manual) vs Peotone 7-35

 

Pleasant Plains vs Petersburg (PORTA) [Coop] 18-19

 

Bloomington (Central Catholic) vs Pontiac 7-8

 

Pittsfield vs Riverton 67-28

 

Springfield (H.S.) vs Decatur (MacArthur) 43-20

 

Normal (University) vs Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 21-59

 

St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) vs Champaign (St. Thomas More) 36-8

 

Stanford (Olympia) [Coop] vs Monticello 32-42

 

Streator (Twp.) vs East Peoria 21-14

 

Taylorville vs Mt. Vernon (H.S.) 28-24

 

Chillicothe (Illinois Valley Central) vs Tolono (Unity) 21-20

 

Tremont vs Mackinaw (Deer Creek-M.) 31-7

 

Villa Grove [V.G.-Heritage Coop] vs Tuscola 14-55

 

Virden (North Mac) vs Maroa (M.-Forsyth) 18-26

 

Warrensburg (W.-Latham) vs Robinson 21-20

 

Watseka vs Fithian (Oakwood) 28-21

 

Moweaqua (Central A & M) vs Westville 41-6

Maroons Hope Offseason Adjustments Lead To More Success

The Clinton Maroons made several adjustments this offseason and Coach Chris Ridgeway hopes it will be enough to get the Maroons back to the postseason.

 

Garrett Wayne will move to the quarterback position and Ty Berger will adjust to an H-back. Additionally, Coach Ridgeway had some JV lineman move up to varsity, work hard in the offseason and because of that he was able to move a few athletes off the line and int oa skill position role.

 

 

Not only were position changes part of  the offseason overhaul, but the Maroons have completely changed the playbook. Coach Ridgeway says it's about adjusting to what the kids do well.

 

 

Coach Ridgeway was able to recruit some new faces to the program and says those new faces are going to play a role on the team this year. 

 

The Maroons open the season tonight at Salt Fork tonight at 7 pm. Hear all the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

The Maroons will not have a week two opponent, and will accept a forfeit as Pawnee at the last minute went to 8-man football. 

Monticello Opens Defense of 3A State Title at Olympia

The Monticello Sages enter a new football season as first time state champions and the second ranked team in the preseaons football Class 2A rankings. 

 

Head Coach Cully Welter will have a lot of new holes to fill from a very talented senior class that has graduated. He says over the summer he wanted to see leadership come from somewhere. While this year's seniors were willing and ready to do step up, he says they still have some work to do.

 

 

Nic Tackels will take over as QB1 for a Sages offense that revolves around good, quick decision making. Monticello has had a long string of very talented and successful quarterbacks the last five years and quarterbacks Coach Chris Jones says Tackels makes good decisions and is very quick.

 

 

The Sages open the season tonight at Olympia. Hear tonight's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Week 1 matchups.... 

 

Illini Prairie

 

Bloomington Central Catholic at Pontiac

Champaign St. Thomas More at St. Joseph-Ogden

Illinois Valley Central at Tolono Unity

Rantoul at Prairie Central

 

Big Twelve

 

Danville at Bloomington

Normal West at Peoria Notre Dame

Peoria at Champaign Centennial

Peoria Richwoods at Normal Community

 

Central State Eight

 

Chatham-Glenwood at Springfield Lanphier

Decatur MacArthur at Springfield

Jacksonville at Decatur Eisenhower

Normal U-High at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Springfield Southeast at Rochester

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Arcola at Argenta-Oreana

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Tri-County

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Sangamon Valley

 

Sangamo

 

Maroa-Forsyth at North Mac

New Berlin at Auburn

Pittsfield at Riverton

Pleasant Plains at Petersburg PORTA

Williamsville at Athens

 

Non-Conference action tonight....

 

Limestone at Lincoln

Cambridge Ridgewood at Peoria Heights

Champaign Central at Metamora

Charleston at Macomb

Decatur St. Teresa at Tri-Valley

Dunlap at Galesburg

East Peoria at Streator

Meridian vs. Oblong

Marion at Mahomet-Seymour

Martinsville at Blue Ridge

Morton at LaSalle-Peru

Central A & M at Westville

Mt. Zion at Highland

Nokomis at Sullivan

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Peotone at Peoria Manual

Robinson at Warrensburg-Latham

Rochelle at Pekin

Rockford Christian at Ridgeview

Shelbyville at Seneca (Sat.)

Urbana at Wheaton Academy

Villa Grove-Heritage at Tuscola

Washington at Sycamore 

Watseka at Fithian-Oakwood

 

Non-conference Heart of Illinois:

 

Heyworth at El Paso-Gridley

LeRoy at Eureka

Dee-Mack at Tremont

Illinois State Opens Season at Northern Illinois

Winners of its last two games against FBS foes, Illinois State will look to extend that streak to three in a row when the Redbirds open the 2019 campaign against the Northern Illinois Huskies in DeKalb. 

 

Despite coming off a 6-5 season and a tough Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule on the docket, media, coaches and FCS pundits still believe in the Redbirds and their chance at success in 2019. Illinois State was selected No. 13 in the FCS Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25. 

 

North Dakota State has been tabbed as the MVFC pre-season favorite for the eighth season in a row. 

 

NIU Quarterback Marcus Childers was recently named to the 2019 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List. Childers led the Huskies to their fifth Mid-American Conference championship is school history last year, when he finished the season with 2,175 yards passing and 531 yards rushing.

 

The Redbirds will look to start the season strong and make their way back to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the fifth time since 2009.

Illinois Looking for Improvements With Season Kickoff Saturday vs Akron

A new quarterback, upgrades throughout the offense and a revamped defense — all of it has led to optimism at Illinois, where coach Lovie Smith heads into his fourth season.

 

A tough Big Ten season will tell how long the bloom remains on the rose.

 

The Illini showed signs of turning things around last year, including flashes of the stout defense Smith is known for. Illinois finished 4-8, and Smith hopes to take advantage of a soft non-conference schedule to aim for a bowl game. 

 

Smith’s teams have shown steady, but slow, improvements while battling a series of debilitating injuries. This year’s version will open the season at home Aug. 31 against Akron.

Standout Mike Epstein is back from an injury and will join Reggie Corbin in the backfield. Corbin rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and is recognized as one of the best running backs in the conference.

 

In camp, there were four promising quarterbacks vying for the starting job: graduate transfer Brandon Peters from Michigan, freshman Isaiah Williams, sophomore Matt Robinson and redshirt freshman Coran Taylor.

 

Highly regarded wide receiver Edwin Carter has been cleared to play following a serious leg injury he suffered early last season. Joining Carter in the mix are USC graduate transfers Josh Imatorbhebhe and Trevon Sidney. Ricky Smalling, Trenard Davis, Dominic Stampley and freshman Kyron Cumby round out the promising group.

 

Former defensive end Bobby Roundtree was a rising star and an emerging leader of a tough defensive squad last season. But Roundtree suffered a severe spinal injury in a swimming accident in May and is currently in a rehabilitation center in Chicago. While his football days are likely over, the plan is for Roundtree to transition back to Champaign as a student, perhaps as early as this year.

 

Smith is looking at several options to replace Roundtree. USC graduate transfer Oluwole Betiku Jr., and juniors Isaiah Gay and Owen Carney Jr. are among possible starters.

 

Besides the Zips, the non-conference slate includes a visit to UConn and a home game against Eastern Michigan. The Big Ten schedule starts with a bang: The Illini host Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin in a four-game span and the fourth game is a trip to Minnesota. Other road trips include Michigan State and Iowa, with the regular-season finale against in-state rival Northwestern at home Nov. 30.

Chattanooga Drops Eastern Illinois

Bryce Nunnelly ran for 100 yards and caught a touchdown pass and Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright earned a win in his debut as the Mocs beat Eastern Illinois 24-10 in a season opener on Thursday night.

 

Nick Tiano accounted for two touchdowns and 17-of-27 passing for 256 yards but threw a pair of interceptions for the Mocs. Ailym Ford added 50 yards rushing and a touchdown.

 

Johnathan Brantley threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Nick Stricker late in the second quarter for the Panthers’ only touchdown.

 

Tiano bulled into the end zone from the 1 in the first quarter and tossed a 59-yard touchdown pass to Nunnelly as the Mocs built a 17-10 halftime lead. Ford added a 1-yard scoring run early in the third quarter.

 

The Panthers punted twice, failed to convert on fourth down and committed two turnovers in the fourth quarter.

 

Wright, a former player and Chattanooga assistant coach, was hired to lead the Mocs on Dec. 19.

Twins Power Past Sox

Jake Cave homered twice, C.J. Cron went deep and the surging Twins set a major league record for home runs on the road in a 10-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

 

Cron doubled and had three RBIs in a three-hit afternoon, and Nelson Cruz drove in in three runs. In sweeping a three-game series with sliding Chicago, Minnesota (82-51) moved to 31 games above .500 for the first time since September 2010.

 

Staked to an early lead, José Berrios (11-7) cruised to his first victory in nearly a month. The All-Star right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight in six innings. In four previous starts, Berrios was 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA.

 

José Abreu had four hits for the White Sox, who fell behind early as Cease struggled in his 10th major league start. The rookie allowed eight runs on 10 hits and walk in two-plus innings.

 

Iván Nova (9-10, 4.37) takes the mound against the Braves’ Max Fried (14-4, 4.03) in Atlanta on Friday.

 

The NL East leaders have won Fried’s last seven starts, and he’s 5-0 with a 3.35 ERA in that span.

Cubs Sweep Mets

Victor Caratini homered twice off Mets ace Jacob deGrom, including a tiebreaking, three-run drive in the seventh inning as Chicago left Citi Field with three straight wins.

 

Jon Lester pitched six effective innings to help Chicago increase its lead for the second NL wild-card spot to 2 1/2 games over Philadelphia.

 

The Mets lost their sixth in a row, all at home. Full of hope a week ago, they dropped five games behind Chicago.

 

Kris Bryant hit a one-out single off shortstop Amed Rosario’s glove, and Javier Baez grounded a single up the middle. Caratini fell behind 1-2, fouled off two pitches and then pulled a line drive into the second deck in right field.

 

J.D. Davis homered for the third straight game in the series and Wilson Ramos doubled, singled and extended his hitting streak to 22 games, the longest in the majors this season.

 

Lester (11-9) limited the Mets to five hits. After Tyler Chatwood and Brandon Kintzler each threw a scoreless inning, Craig Kimbrel closed for his 13th save in 15 chances.

 

A short turnaround for an afternoon start at Wrigley Field, with LHP Jose Quintana (11-8, 4.05 ERA) vs. Milwaukee RHP Chase Anderson (6-3, 4.34). Quintana is 1-2 with a 7.08 ERA in four starts against the Brewers this year. Milwaukee is four games behind Chicago.

Defending State Champions, Monticello Ranked No. 2 in 3A Preseason Poll

The defending state champion Monticello Sages are ranked second in the Class 3A preseason AP high school football poll.

 

Monticello beat Byron in Champaign last November to take home the school's first state title in football. Byron checks in at No. 1 in 3A.

 

Eureka out of the Heart of Illinois Conference checks in at No. 3, Williamsville and Carlinville round out the top 5 in 3A.

 

In Class 4A, Taylorville in the Apollo Conference is ranked 8th in the preseason. 

 

Defending 2A two-time champions, GCMS is the top ranked team in 2A, followed by Maroa-Forsyth, who GCMS has beat in DeKalb then Champaign in back-to-back years. 

 

Decatur St. Teresa checks in at 4th in 2A while Tri-Valley is ranked 9th.

 

In 1A, a couple Central Illinois Conference teams are in the top 5. Tuscola ties with Lena-Winslow at second while Central A&M comes in ranked fourth in the preseason poll.

 

The high school football season kicks off tomorrow night.

Blue Ridge Looking to Continue To Build Up Football Program

The Blue Ridge Knights are coming off a 3-6 campaign and Coach Bob Sutton is hopeful good buy-in from the summer will pay off this season.

 

Coach Sutton thought the work accomplished by his team this off-season was as good as he's had it and notes they shouldn't face too many of the challenges of years past, primarily surrounding eligibility issues.

 

 

Last year, Blue Ridge implemented a new offense. Coach Sutton says his seniors have stepped up and taken on a leadership role to bring players to the program and to perfect the playbook.

 

 

Sutton says he has worked to get momentum in the JFL program to help continue maintaining numbers at the high school level. He feels things are going well at the lower levels. 

 

The Knights open the season hosting Martinsville before road games at Oblong and Tri-County. They'll open the conference slate with a home matchup against Toledo-Cumberland. Of their six conference games, Blue Ridge plays four at home. 

EIU Opens Season at Chattanooga

Eastern Illinois opens its 2019 season Thursday night as the Panthers kickoff the season at Chattanooga.

 

Adam Cushing was hired as the 25th head coach in EIU football history in December.

 

Eastern Illinois will open with three of its first four games on the road and the Panthers have the sixth toughest schedule in FCS as rated by HeroSports.  Four teams on the EIU schedule are ranked in the preseason FCS Top 25 with Thursday's opponent, Chattanooga, ranked 30th in the FCS Coaches poll.  EIU will also face Big Ten member Indiana in week two.  

 

Eastern Illinois returns only two starters on offense from last year in second team All-OVC selection James Sheehan and All-OVC Newcomer Team selection Johnathan Brantley.  Sheehan ranked first in the OVC for receptions and yards for a tight end.  Brantley set the OVC & EIU record for consecutive passes thrown without an interception at 230.

 

Hear tonight's action at 6 pm on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Cubs Hold Off Mets

Kyle Schwarber hit one of Chicago's three homers against a stunned Noah Syndergaard, and the Cubs jumped to an early nine-run advantage before closer Craig Kimbrel held off the Mets in the ninth inning for a 10-7 victory.

 

Nicholas Castellanos and Ian Happ also took Syndergaard (9-7) deep in the worst start of the 2016 All-Star's career. Syndergaard allowed 10 runs and three homers - both his most in the majors - and was pulled after three miserable innings the day before his 27th birthday.

 

Chicago stayed two games ahead of Philadelphia for the second NL wild card and stretched its lead over the Mets to four. The Cubs also pulled within two games of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

 

Jeff McNeil ended a rare 0-for-9 slide with a two-run homer, going back-to-back with J.D. Davis in the fifth. Those shots sparked a five-run inning that chased Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. McNeil had three hits and was a triple shy of the cycle.

 

Anthony Rizzo sat out again because of tightness in his back and thought it was unlikely he'd return Thursday. Rizzo was pulled from a game Saturday and hasn't played since.

 

Jacob DeGrom (8-7, 2.56 ERA) and Cubs LHP Jon Lester (10-9, 4.49) are set to pitch the series finale. DeGrom struck out 13 over seven innings and homered in his last start but New York lost 2-1 to Atlanta in 14 innings. He's the first pitcher since at least 1900 to homer and strike out 13 or more in the same game twice in one season.

Brewers Drop Cardinals

Keston Hiura homered and drove in three runs, Jordan Lyles turned in another strong start and Milwaukee snapped St. Louis' six-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory Wednesday.

 

The Cardinals had won 15 of 18, including two at Miller Park this week in matching their longest winning string of the season.

 

The Brewers ended a three-game skid. Third in the division, they trail the Cardinals by 5 1/2 games.

Milwaukee got off to a fast start against Jack Flaherty (8-7), who had given up a total of just one run in his previous five starts.

 

Trent Grisham led off the first inning with a single, went to third on a throwing error by second baseman Kolten Wong and scored on a groundout by Hiura. Milwaukee made it 2-0 in the second when Ryan Braun doubled and later scored on Orlando Arcia's sacrifice fly.

 

Hiura hit a solo home run in the fourth, sending a 3-0 fastball from Flaherty into the left-field seats. Hiura added an RBI double in the eighth.

 

Lyles (9-8), acquired from Pittsburgh in a trade on July 29, set the tone for Milwaukee. The right-hander, who had held Arizona hitless in a six-inning outing in his last start, struck out five of the first seven Cardinals he faced. He fanned nine in 5 1/3 innings.

 

Yadier Molina hit two singles and went 7 for 11 in the series. 

 

Wong hit his 10th homer, connecting in the sixth off Lyles. He also doubled and singled.

 

Christian Yelich singled and walked in four plate appearances. The reigning NL MVP hasn't hit a home run in 10 games, his longest drought of the season for Milwaukee.

 

A three-day, four-game series against the Reds starts Friday in St. Louis. Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson (13-6, 3.47 ERA) faces Reds RHP Trevor Bauer (10-11, 4.34 ERA) in the opener. Saturday features a day-night double-header.

Twins Smash Sox

Jonathan Schoop hit two homers and drove in four runs, Mitch Garver also connected and the slugging Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.

 

The AL Central leaders are 30 games over .500 (81-51) for the first time since Sept. 25, 2010, when they were 92-62. Minnesota has won a season-high six straight games on the road.

 

ose Abreu and Matt Skole each drove a run for Chicago.

 

Jake Odorizzi (14-6) allowed two runs and five hits in six effective innings. He walked two and struck out eight.

 

Ross Detwiler (2-4) gave up five runs and six hits in four innings.

 

Jose Berrios (10-7, 3.53 ERA) starts the series finale Thursday afternoon looking to avoid a winless August. He is 0-2 with an ERA of 8.44 in four starts this month. Chicago rookie RHP Dylan Cease (3-6, 5.76) looks to win a second straight start after striking out a career-high nine against Texas last week.

Cubs Down Mets

Yu Darvish pitched eight masterful innings, Javier Baez homered and drove in three runs, and the Cubs topped the New York Mets 5-2 Tuesday night to take the opener of a pivotal three-game series in the National League wild-card race.

 

Baez and Addison Russell each hit a two-run homer off Marcus Stroman, helping the Cubs improve to 26-39 away from home. Both middle infielders finished with three hits.

 

Pete Alonso hit his 42nd home run for the Mets, becoming the first rookie in 81 years to break his team's season record. J.D. Davis went deep with two outs in the ninth against Brandon Kintzler.

 

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 3.20 ERA) pitches Wednesday night against Noah Syndergaard (9-6, 3.71 ERA). Both threw shutout ball to win last time out. Hendricks is 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three career starts against the Mets, though he hasn't faced them since July 2016. Syndergaard has posted a career-best eight consecutive quality starts.

Maroa-Forsyth Football Program Not Shaken By Three Consecutive State Finals Losses

Since 2010, Maroa-Forsyth has advanced to the state semifinal game seven times with a state title in the mix.

 

Coach Josh Jostes says his guys won't be shaken by three straight empty state title appearances, falling to Heart of Illinois Conference opponents, Dee-Mack and GCMS twice. He says it's they expect to play a 14 game schedule.

 

 

Maroa-Forsyth will bring back four starters from their offense and defense last year but Coach Jostes says the beauty of the success of their program is the amount of extra practice time they get.

 

 

Coach Jostes feels like his team is athletic and quick and adds he has guys with a lot of big-game experience. 

 

The Trojans start the year on the road at North Mac before a home game with New Berlin. An interesting wrinkle in the schedule is three straight road games starting at Pittsfield in week 3, a road game at Williamsville in week four and then at Pleasant Plains in week 5 before three of the last four games in Maroa to finish out the year. 

Cardinals Double Up Brewers

Yadier Molina hit two home runs and the NL Central-leading Cardinals matched a season high with their sixth straight win Tuesday night, weathering a weird delay to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3.

 

St. Louis right fielder Dexter Fowler preserved the win by jumping at the wall to catch a drive by Perez with two on for the final out.

 

Miles Mikolas (8-13) struck out 10 for the Cardinals, who have won 15 of 18 and are a season-best 15 games above .500. They held their three-game lead over Chicago in the division while the Brewers dropped 6 1/2 back.

 

Molina also doubled in going 3 for 3 with a walk, driving in three runs and scoring three. He has seven homers this season, including three in the first two games of the series.

 

The Brewers cut the lead to 4-3 in the eighth on Yasmani Grandal's two-run homer to deep left-center off Andrew Miller. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the ninth on run-scoring singles by Harrison Bader and Kolton Wong.

 

Carlos Martinez got five outs to record his 16th save in 19 chances, with help from Fowler.

 

Jack Flaherty (8-6, 3.32 ERA) takes the mound in the three-game series finale Wednesday afternoon. Flaherty is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA in eight career starts against the Brewers.

 

Jordan Lyles (8-8, 4.69) will make his sixth start with Milwaukee after being acquired from the Pirates last month. He tossed six hitless innings in his last start on Friday against Arizona.

Twins Drop White Sox

Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop hit solo homers in the second inning, Michael Pineda pitched five sharp innings to help the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Tuesday night.

 

Eddie Rosario knocked in an insurance run in the eighth as the AL Central-leading Twins won their third straight to remain 3 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland. Minnesota (80-51) moved to 29 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 26, 2010.

 

Tim Anderson's 14th homer accounted for the only run off Pineda (10-5), who won his third straight start and fourth straight decision. The right-hander allowed four hits and walked one while striking out eight, but was replaced by Sam Dyson to start the sixth after 89 pitches.

 

Tyler Duffey, Sergio Romo and Taylor Rogers followed as Minnesota's bullpen finished with four scoreless innings. Rogers pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save.

 

Jake Odorizzi (13-6, 3.57) faces White Sox LHP Ross Detwiler (2-3, 5.51) on Wednesday night.

Tri-Valley Looking for Another Big Year on Gridiron

A 5-4 Tri-Valley team went all the way to the quarterfinals in the Class 2A IHSA postseason last year and with experience sprinkled in almost every area of the squad, there's reason to be optimistic for another big year in Downs.

 

Coach Josh Roop attributed the strength of the Heart of Illinois Conference to their trip to the quarterfinals as a team that was just 5-4 and a 12-seed. He says they return some key players from last year's squad.

 

 

The kids returning from last year's team have worked hard. Coach Roop says it could be one of his better defensive teams.

 

 

Tri-Valley will host Decatur St. Teresa to start their season. Coach Roop says that will be a great challenge for them right out of the gate and will give them a good idea of where they are at. 

The Vikings get five home games this year, playing three of their final five at home. 

LeRoy Enters 2019 Looking to Defend Small Division Heart of Illinois Title

Despite getting knocked out of the first round of the playoffs last year, LeRoy is looking to continue the momentum of last year's squad to defend their Small Division Heart of Illinois Conference title. 

 

Coach BJ Zeleznik credits last year's seniors for setting the tone to get back to the postseason after getting missing out in 2017. He says this year, the focus is there and the kids are so far, continuing what was established last year.

 

 

As week 1 approaches, Coach Zeleznik says the summer was used to set a foundation of what they want to do. He says because they are replacing so much upfront, they needed to put in place what they wanted to do. 

 

 

The last four 2A state champions are on a gauntlet of a schedule for the Panthers plus Eureka, the Heart of Illinois Conference big division favorite. Zeleznik says the small division games are big because a loss could wreck your season. 

 

The Panthers open the season at Eureka and Ridgeview before returning home for a home matchup with Dee-Mack. Weeks 4 through 9, the Panthers alternate home and road games. 

Cardinals Crush Brewers

Marcell Ozuna's bases-loaded double keyed a six-run second inning and St. Louis pounded out a 12-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

 

The Cardinals, who have won five straight, jumped on starter Gio Gonzalez (2-2) for eight runs in the first two innings en route to their 14th victory in 17 games.

 

Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong each homered and drove in three runs for St. Louis, which moved to a season-high 14 games above .500. The Cardinals extended their lead in the N.L. Central to three games over idle Chicago. The third-place Brewers dropped 5 1/2 back.

 

Despite being staked to a 9-1 lead, starter Adam Wainwright lasted just 3 2-3 innings, throwing 90 pitches. He allowed two runs on six hits with three walks.

 

Miles Mikolas (7-13, 4.43 ERA) is 0-3 in his last five starts. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 22 innings in his last three outings.

 

Adrian Houser (6-5, 3.62 ERA) is 2-5 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 starts, and 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA in 17 relief appearances. He won his last start, allowing one earned run in 5 1-3 innings in a 5-3 victory over the Cardinals.

Clinton Football To Take Forfeit in Week 2, Use As Bye Week

The decision has been made for the Clinton football program to take the forfeit in week 2 of the season and use it as a bye week.

 

Athletic Director Matt Koeppel to Regional Radio News Monday morning on the WHOW Morning Show they felt that decision was the best for them. Pawnee went to 8-man football early in the summer leaving the Maroons without a week two opponent, and Koeppel just wanted to make the best of a bad situation.

 

 

The next best option for the program was to play Decatur St. Teresa in week 2, who also was looking for an opponent that week. Koeppel says though, it didn't make a lot of sense to him, to play St. T twice in a month.

 

 

Not only was week 2 of this season in flux, but now next season's week 2 game is uncertain. Koeppel says their scheduled opponent dropped football and now they are looking for a game for next year as well.

 

 

Week 2 was supposed to be the JFL recognition night at Clinton High School. That event, for the time being, has been canceled. Koeppel hopes he can put something together as a community event but the extent of what he has planned he would not elaborate on because he did not have any details set. 

 

The Maroons open the season Friday night at Salt Fork. Hear the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

HS FB: Warrensburg-Latham Working With Young Group

Developing a young group will be the goal for Aaron Fricke in his second year at Warrensburg-Latham High School as the head football coach.

 

Coach Fricke says he graduated a very big group that made a nice run in the Class 2A State playoffs last year. This year is about making sure their young kids continue what is becoming a winning tradition at Warrensburg-Latham.

 

 

As the season draw near, Coach Fricke doesn't want to sound like a cliche-ridden coach but he is looking for consistency from his kids in the practices leading up to their first game.

 

 

The Cardinals start their 2019 campaign hosting Robinson and then travel to Fithian-Oakwood before opening Central Illinois Conference action hosting Sullivan. Warrensburg-Latham plays three of their final four games at home. 

Cardinals Route Rockies

Matt Carpenter busted out of a prolonged slump with a homer and two singles as the St. Louis Cardinals cruised to an 11-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies after a long rain delay Sunday.

 

Lane Thomas had a pinch-hit homer for the Cardinals, who moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. It is their largest lead since holding a three-game cushion on May 1.

 

St. Louis, which has won seven of eight and 13 of 16, swept the four-game series by a combined score of 31-12.

 

Carpenter entered in a 4-for-29 skid with 12 strikeouts. But the three-time All-Star broke loose by reaching base in his first four trips to the plate during a 3-for-4 performance.

 

Nolan Arenado and Garrett Hampson homered for the Rockies, who have dropped six of seven.

 

Carpenter batted .257 last season with 36 homers and 81 RBIs. He came into Sunday hitting .212, but raised the mark six points with his first three-hit game since June 17.

 

Tommy Edman had three hits and two RBIs.

 

Ryan Helsley (1-0) picked up his first career win with 2 1/3 innings of relief. He gave up one hit, one unearned run and struck out four.

 

St. Louis starter Michael Wacha allowed six hits and three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings. He tied a season high with seven strikeouts.

 

Antonio Senzatela (8-8) was roughed up for six runs and five hits over 1 2/3 innings in his return from the minors.

 

Dexter Fowler added a two-run double in the fifth and drove in three runs.

 

The start was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 35 minutes.

 

Adam Wainwright (9-9, 4.51) opposes Brewers LHP Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 3.64) in the first of a three-game series at Milwaukee on Monday night. Wainwright is 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA in 19 career starts at Miller Park.

Sox Blank Rangers

Reynaldo Lopez pitched five no-hit innings before leaving with dehydration and flu-like symptoms, and the Chicago went on to beat Texas 2-0 on Sunday.

 

Jose Abreu drove in both White Sox runs to reach 100 RBIs for the fifth time in six seasons. Adam Engel had two of Chicago's five hits.

 

Lopez (8-11) struck out six and allowed four baserunners while throwing 52 of 80 pitches for strikes. 

 

Bummer, Evan Marshall, Jace Fry and Alex Colome followed with a scoreless inning each. Colome worked around a walk in the ninth to earn his 25th save.

 

Lucas Giolito (14-6, 3.20) takes the mound on Tuesday against Twins RHP Michael Pineda (9-5, 4.26) in the opener three game series in Chicago. Giolito shut out the Twins on three hits and struck out 12 at Minneapolis last Wednesday. Pineda is 3-0 in his last four starts.

Nats Sweep Cubs

Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.

 

Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in the three-game series.

 

Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. Cole Hamels pitched two-run ball into the sixth, helped by a couple of strong defensive plays behind him.

 

The Cubs fell four games behind Washington for the top spot in the wild-card standings.

 

Washington grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single to left off Chatwood (5-2).

 

Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two perfect innings for his first win since he was acquired in a July 31 trade with Toronto.

 

The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, who was sidelined by tightness in his back.

 

Kris Bryant hit a tying single off Strasburg in the sixth, but the Nationals responded with three in the seventh. Soto made it 3-2 with a run-scoring single, and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in two more with a base hit to right.

 

Chicago then went to work against Washington's beleaguered bullpen.

 

Caratini homered against Hunter Strickland in the seventh. After Javier Baez walked with two outs in the eighth, Schwarber tied it at 5 with a drive to left-center off Fernando Rodney for his 30th homer.

 

Following an off day, RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series at the New York Mets. Marcus Stroman (7-11, 3.18 ERA) is penciled in for New York, but the right-hander has been dealing with left hamstring tightness.

McIlroy Takes Home Second FedEx Cup

Rory McIlroy closed with a 4-under 66 to finish four shots ahead of Xander Schauffele, joining Tiger Woods as the only players to win the FedEx Cup twice.

 

McIlroy began five shots behind before the tournament started — he wanted to post the lowest score of anyone in the 30-man field.

 

He shot 13-under 267, the best by three shots.

 

The final round turned on the seventh hole with a three-shot swing — McIlroy made a 25-foot birdie, while Koepka lost his tee shot in the trees and made double bogey. There were consecutive two-shot swings on the back nine, and then it was a matter of holding off Schauffele.

 

McIlroy was four shots ahead until back-to-back bogeys, and he was on the verge of watching his lead shrink to one when he holed an 8-foot par putt on the 16th. Schauffele had to settle for pars, and McIlroy finished with a flourish.

 

Schauffele closed with a 70 to finish alone in second, which paid out $5 million.

 

Justin Thomas, the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup who started with a two-shot lead, lost his way Sunday morning in the conclusion of the third round when he took triple bogey on the 16th hole with a 9-iron from the fairway. He fell four behind and never caught up. Thomas finished with two birdies for a 68 and tied for third with Koepka, who ended another big year with a pedestrian closing round of 72.

 

They each earned $3.5 million.

 

The marathon final day — 31 holes for McIlroy and contenders — began with big promise for a wild chase for the $15 million prize. Four players took turns atop the leaderboard in the first 35 minutes of golf Sunday morning, which included Schauffele’s first hole-in-one of his career with a 5-iron on the 240-yard ninth hole.

 

The third round had been suspended Saturday after lightning struck a tree and injured six spectators huddled nearby. Police said they were treated and released from medical attention later that night.

Decatur LSA First Year Coach Hitting the Ground Running

Jordan Hopman knew in February he would be replacing some big shoes at Decatur LSA and didn't waste any time becoming familiar with his players and getting to know them.

 

Coach Hopman says he quickly got to work getting in contact with his players, getting the materials they would need for the new season and then getting down to central Illinois and getting started.

 

 

Being a program with not a great deal of numbers, Coach Hopman says they want to be a ball-control offense. It is important to him they take pride in their special teams play. 

 

 

The Lions went 5-4 last year. They'll open the season at home against Toledo-Cumberland. 

GCMS Looks To Create New Identity

GCMS comes into the new football season the two-time defending Class 2A state champions but they will be defending their titles without some monster talents to fall back on.

 

Head Coach Mike Allen says this group is eager to leave their own mark on the program.

 

 

What has impressed Coach Allen about this year's group is their commitment. He saw kids out playing during the down week before practice. He doesn't push the kids during the summer so they don't get burned out but was pleased with the way they have taken initiative to keep working to get better. 

 

 

Coach Allen feels he'll have a better feel for where his team is at after their first game. The Falcons open the season hosting Paxton-Buckley-Loda in a non-conference game and then open Heart of Illinois play with conference favorite Eureka at home. 

Cubs Blank Giants

Kyle Hendricks pitched seven sharp innings and Chicago won despite getting only two hits, edging the San Francisco Giants 1-0 Thursday for its fifth straight victory.

 

Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI single to help the NL Central leaders complete a three-game sweep. The Giants lost their fourth in a row.

 

Hendricks (9-9) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none. He has a 1.79 ERA in 11 home starts this season.

 

Relievers Brandon Kintzler, Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick each got two outs to complete the four-hitter. Wick finished for his second save.

 

Cubs pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts without a walk.

 

Jon Lester (10-8, 4.23 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at home against the Nationals on Friday afternoon. RHP Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 3.99) goes for Washington.

Moncada Returns to Lineup With Bang

Yoan Moncada lined a two-run homer his return from the injured list, Ross Detwiler struck out a career-high eight and Chicago beat the Texas Rangers 6-1 Thursday night. James McCann hit a solo shot and doubled, and Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Matt Skole each had an RBI as Chicago won for the third time in four games.

 

Out since July 31 with a strained right hamstring, Moncada batted cleanup and made an immediate impact with his 21st homer as the White Sox jumped to an early five-run lead. He also doubled in the fifth, but gave the club a scare when he fell awkwardly exiting the batter's box as he grounded out to end the seventh.

 

Moncada was tended to by a trainer and manager Rick Renteria, but was fine and remained in the game.

 

Elvis Andrus' solo homer accounted for the only run against Detwiler (2-3) and was one of only three hits off the left-hander, who walked none over six innings. The 33-year-old earned his second win this season - and only his second in the majors over nearly three years.

 

Jimmy Cordero followed with two scoreless relief innings, and Kelvin Herrera tossed the ninth to complete a three-hitter.

 

Ariel Jurado (6-10) allowed six runs and 10 hits in eight innings as he lost his fourth straight start. He gave his bullpen a break after the Rangers arrived in Chicago at 3 a.m. following an 8-7 win over the Angels in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday night.

 

Moncada and McCann went deep back-to-back as the White Sox scored four runs in the third.

 

Lance Lynn (14-8, 3.60) takes the mound against White Sox rookie RHP Dylan Cease (2-6, 5.93) on Friday night. Lynn is 0-2 in his last three outings. Cease makes his ninth career start.

Cardinals Power Past Rockies

Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong and Fowler each hit two-run homers, and the St. Louis Cardinals came back to beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Thursday night.

 

Fowler's 15th home run of the season, off of a 97 mph fastball from Yency Almonte (0-1) in the seventh, capped the rally. Molina had his hands in the air as the pitch left Almonte's hand.

 

Matt Carpenter set it up by working a walk in an eight-pitch, pinch-hitting appearance to lead off the frame.

 

Dominic Leone (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis before the game, got the win. Giovanny Gallegos and Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless eighth and Carlos Martinez picked up his 15th save in 18 opportunities.

 

It was the third straight start in which Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas gave up five earned runs. 

German Marquez allowed four runs in six innings, on six hits, a pair of walks and four strikeouts as the Rockies lost for the third time in their last four tries.

 

Nolan Arenado broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the fifth. Marquez and Charlie Blackmon, who extended his hitting streak to seven games, hit safely ahead of him.

 

Ryan McMahon singled home a run and Tony Wolters drove in another with a sacrifice fly to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead in the second.

 

The Rockies will send RHP Peter Lambert (2-3, 6.55 ERA) to the mound in the second game of the four-game series against the Cardinals and RHP Jack Flaherty (7-6, 3.46 ERA).

Loaded Leaderboard at Tour Championship

Xander Schauffele didn’t come seriously close to a bogey in a 6-under 64 that was the best score of the opening round by two shots. It was only worth a share of the lead with Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka in a Tour Championship where players started with better scores to par than others depending on their place in the FedEx Cup.

 

Thomas, who started at 10-under par and a two-shot lead as the No. 1 seed, still led despite having trouble finding the fairway. That was the least of his problems on the back nine. He hit pitching wedge into the water for double bogey and missed a pair of 3-foot putts for a 70.

 

Instead of being six shots behind Schauffele, who started at 4 under as the No. 8 seed, Thomas was tied for the lead. Koepka, the No. 3 seed who started three shots behind, birdied three of his last four holes for a 67 to join them at 10 under.

 

Rory McIlroy, five shots behind at the start as the No. 5 seed, had a 66 and was one shot behind at 9 under going into the second round.

 

Patrick Cantlay, the No. 2 seed who began two shots behind, shared the lead briefly until two bogeys over the last five holes for a 70. It wasn’t a good day, yet he still was only two shots behind.v

 

Thomas missed a 3-foot par putt on No. 12. On the par-3 15th, which played 60 yards shorter than usual, his wedge was right all the way and found the water. And on the 17th, he hit wedge to 3 feet only to see his birdie putt spin 270 degrees around and out of the cup.

 

He salvaged the day with a good drive — only his sixth fairway of the round — that set up a two-putt birdie.

 

Schauffele won the Tour Championship two years ago in a situation that led to this change in format. FedEx Cup points accrued during the regular season and quadrupled in the postseason were reset to give everyone a chance. The top five players only had to win the tournament to capture the FedEx Cup, and odds of winning the bonus were higher as the position in the standings got lower.

 

Schauffele, a rookie in 2017, was the No. 26 seed when he won the tournament. The FedEx Cup went to Thomas, who was the No. 2 seed and finished one shot behind.

 

There were two winners that day and mixed emotions. Thomas had never been so irritated winning $10 million.

 

Now, the reward for a good season and two playoff events is a lower score under par to start the Tour Championship, and the lowest score to par at the end of the week wins $15 million.

Mt. Zion to Rely on Returning Skill Players in 2019

Mt. Zion will return a group of skill position players that were underclassmen in 2018, part of a team that jumped to 5A and finished 6-4.

 

Head Coach Patrick Etherton calls the jump to 5A a good experience for the team. With a lot of their skill players returning, they do have some voids to fill on their offensive line.

 

 

As week 1 approaches, Coach Etherton says he wants to see consistency from his team. The return of their skill positions has allowed them to add to what they did last year and he says they are much farther ahead now than they were last year.

 

 

The Braves start the season with non-conference road matchups at Highland and Dunlap with their home opener against Charleston. Mt. Zion finishes their regular season with three of their final four games at home, and their lone road game at Lincoln. 

Cubs Outslug Giants

Kris Bryant hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Cubs a 12-11 comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants in a wild, back-and-forth game Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

 

Nicholas Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber also connected for Chicago, which has won four straight. The Cubs moved back into first place in the NL Central by a half-game over St. Louis, which lost to Milwaukee in a rain-shortened game.

 

Evan Longoria, Mike Yastrzemski, Stephen Vogt and Kevin Pillar homered for San Francisco, which has dropped three in a row.

 

Castellanos led off the eighth with an infield single to set the stage for Bryant, who stroked a 1-1 pitch from Reyes Moronta (3-7) into the left field bleachers.

 

Brandon Kintzler (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning and Craig Kimbrel worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save.

 

Chicago led 6-2 heading into the fifth on Wednesday. This time, Yu Darvish coughed up the lead himself.

 

After retiring 12 straight batters, he gave up a double to Brandon Crawford with one out in the fifth. One out later, Yastrzemski homered to make it 6-4.

 

Darvish allowed seven runs (six earned) and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts and walked none for a career-high fifth straight start.

 

Jeff Samardzija (9-9, 3.54 ERA) faces his former team in the finale of the three-game series Thursday afternoon. Samardzija is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three starts against Chicago. RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 3.37) pitches for the Cubs.

Brewers Down Cardinals in Rain Shortened Game

Mike Moustakas homered and Keston Hiura drove in a pair of runs to lead the reeling Brewers to just their third win in the last nine, 5-3 over the Cardinals on Wednesday night.

 

The game was stopped after 7 1/2 innings and made official following a rain delay of 66 minutes.

 

Milwaukee broke a six-game losing streak against the Cardinals, who were knocked out of first place in the NL Central - falling one-half game behind the Cubs. Chicago beat San Francisco 12-11.

 

The Brewers are in third, 3 1/2 behind the Cubs.

 

Milwaukee lost four of the first five in the six-game trip including the opening two of the three-game set to the Cardinals.

 

Adrian Houser (6-5) gave up three runs - one earned - and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. 

 

Junior Guerra got the last out in the bottom of the seventh and earned his third save.

 

Moustakas, who also walked three times, hit a three-run homer in the first off Adam Wainwright (9-9) to highlight a four-run outburst. Hiura had run-scoring hits in the first and fourth innings for a 5-0 lead.

 

Wainwright gave up five runs and eight hits over five innings.

 

St. Louis capitalized on a pair of errors to climb to 5-2 in the fifth. Yadier Molina's double brought the Cardinals to 5-3 in the sixth.

 

Miles Mikolas (7-13) squares off against Colorado RHP German Marquez (12-5, 4.71 ERA) on Thursday in the first of a four-game set in St. Louis. Mikolas is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in four career appearances vs the Rockies.

Former Bears First Rounder Released by Cardinals

Kevin White is again a free agent, and for the second time in 2019. 

 

The former first-round pick spent his entirety of his four-year rookie contract with the Chicago Bears, but never remotely came to proving his value as a seventh-overall selection. 

 

The 27-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 with the hopes of finally making an impact at the professional level, but that dream has ended before it truly got started.

 

White has been released by the Cardinals, and with two preseason games remaining. Now rehabbed from the hamstring injury, White's career continues muddling through the dark fog of injury.

 

The former first-team All-Big 12 wide receiver missed his entire rookie year with the Bears due to a fractured leg that required surgical insertion of a steel rod, and the same leg was again fractured after playing in only four games in 2016 -- landing him on injured reserve and ending his sophomore season. 

 

In 2017, he fractured a shoulder blade in the season opener, and landed on injured reserve for a third time in three seasons. 

The Bears chose to decline White's fifth-year option for 2019, and allowed him to play out his contract -- one that saw him total just five starts with zero touchdowns.

Heyworth's Derek Logue Looking For Progress in Year Two

 Now that he has a year under his belt in Heyworth, second-year coach Derek Logue is looking optimistically on his second year.

 

Coach Logue is now more comfortable with the kids and he feels they are more comfortable with him which is allowing them to expand on what they did last year.

 

 

Coach Logue says his team this year should be athletic. Even upfront, they have some speed and athleticism.

 

 

Heyworth was just 1-8 last year but Coach Logue says one thing that has stood out since he arrived in Heyworth is the commitment to getting better by their kids. They'll open the season on the road at El-Paso Gridley and then at Monmouth United before their home opener against the defending Class 2A state champions, GCMS. 

Illinois Names Michigan Grad Transfer Peters Starting QB

Former Michigan quarterback Brandon Peters has been named the starter for the season opener Aug. 31 at home against Akron.

 

Peters, a graduate transfer, is a former Mr. Football in Indiana who played 10 games with four starts at Michigan, passing for 680 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 58 of 110 passes in his first two seasons, including a career-high 20 completions for 186 yards in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina.

 

He beat out freshman Isaiah Williams, sophomore Matt Robinson and redshirt freshman Coran Taylor for the starting job.

 

Peters transferred to Illinois this summer with two years of eligibility remaining.

Cardinals Pull Away From Brewers

Dexter Fowler hit a bases-loaded double and drove in four runs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals past the Milwaukee Brewers 9-4 on Tuesday night in the second game of the series between NL Central contenders.

 

Tyler Webb (1-1) earned his first major-league victory with one-third inning of work in his 79th career game. He struck out pitch-hitter Ben Gamel on four pitches. Six Cardinals combined to throw 170 pitches in the game.

 

The Cardinals have won nine of their last 11 games, while the Brewers have lost six of their last eight. St. Louis remained in first place by a half-game over the Chicago Cubs, who beat San Francisco 5-3. Third-place Milwaukee is four games back.

 

St. Louis broke the game open with a four-run sixth against three Milwaukee relievers. Jeremy Jeffress (3-4) loaded the bases. Alex Claudio came in and struck out Kolten Wong. Junior Guerra entered and walked Harrison Bader, who was recalled earlier in the day. After striking out pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter, Fowler hit a 3-2 pitch into short left field that fell between three Brewers for a double and a 5-2 lead.

 

Wong hit a two-run single in the seventh, making it 7-2. The Cardinals added two more runs when Fowler and Tommy Edman drew bases-loaded walks.

 

Wacha struck out five, allowing three hits and a walk in throwing 73 pitches.

 

Adrian Houser (5-5, 3.76) Houser is 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA in three career games against St. Louis. His April 22 start this season in St. Louis resulted in a 13-5 in which Houser went four innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, including two home runs.

 

Adam Wainwright (9-8, 4.33) has nine career home victories over the Brewers are his most against any opponent and his 16 wins overall against Milwaukee are tied for tied for first (with Cubs) for his most wins against any opponent.

Cubs Top Giants

Cole Hamels pitched six innings for his first win in two months, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

 

Anthony Rizzo homered twice for Chicago, and Nicholas Castellanos also went deep. Jonathan Lucroy contributed a key run-scoring single after Chicago won a replay challenge.

 

The Cubs (67-58) earned their third straight win and stayed a half-game back of NL Central-leading St. Louis, which posted a 9-4 win over Milwaukee.

 

Hamels (7-4) permitted three runs and five hits in his first win since June 12 at Colorado. The left-hander went 0-2 with a 6.12 ERA in his previous six starts, including a shaky performance at Philadelphia last week.

 

San Francisco dropped to 3-2 on a nine-game trip. Austin Slater hit a two-run homer for the Giants (63-63), and Kevin Pillar added a solo drive.

 

Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick each got three outs before Craig Kimbrel finished for his 10th save in 12 chances. It was Kimbrel's first save opportunity since he returned Sunday after being sidelined by right knee inflammation.

 

Rizzo went 3 for 3 and scored three times in his first multihomer game this season. Castellanos hit his seventh homer in 18 games since he was acquired in a July 31 trade with Detroit.

 

Right-handers Dereck Rodriguez and Yu Darvish pitch Wednesday night. 

Twins Crush White Sox

Nelson Cruz homered and drove in three runs on four hits in his second game back from a wrist injury, yet another powerful performance at the plate by the 39-year-old for the Twins in a 14-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

 

Max Kepler hit a two-run homer to stay one ahead of Cruz for the team lead, starting pitcher Michael Pineda (9-5) stayed strong for seven innings, and the Twins raised their lead on Cleveland in the AL Central race to three games. That's the biggest it's been in two weeks.

 

Jose Abreu, whose three-run home run the game before lifted the White Sox to a 6-4 win, took Pineda deep for a two-run shot after Tim Anderson's RBI double for a 3-0 lead in the third. Anderson homered in the sixth inning, too, but the damage against Reynaldo Lopez (7-11) was already done by then.

 

Cruz tied the game with his home run in the fourth. Then he drilled a two-run double off the wall in right field with the bases loaded in the fifth, and Eddie Rosario followed with a two-run single for a 7-3 lead. Lopez has allowed 27 homers in 26 starts this year, a career-high.

 

Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer in a seven-run eighth, one of six extra-base hits in the inning alone and 10 in the game for the Twins, who lead the major leagues in home runs and are third in doubles. The Twins have at least one extra-base hit in 80 straight games, their fourth-longest streak in team history.

 

Abreu has 28 homers and 94 RBIs, zeroing in on becoming the fourth White Sox player with at least four seasons of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs. Frank Thomas had eight, Paul Konerko five and Magglio Ordonez four.

 

White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (13-6, 3.41 ERA) and Twins RHP Jake Odorizzi (13-5, 3.50 ERA) each take the mound on Wednesday afternoon for the series finale in a matchup of All-Stars.

Former Big Leaguers Linked to Drug Ring

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel and cited ex-infielder Luis Castillo for their alleged links to a drug-trafficking and money-laundering ring, officials said Tuesday.

 

Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez said police are also actively pursuing the alleged leader of the ring, César Emilio Peralta, also known as “César the Abuser.” Castillo - not the current Cincinnati Reds’ pitcher - has not yet been arrested.

 

He said Peralta created a complicated system of companies to hide the origins of his assets, using members of his family and social circles, “including two sports figures in the Dominican Republic.”

Rodríguez said the U.S. government and police agencies participated in the investigation.

 

Dominican officials say a 1,050-kilogram shipment of drugs heading from South America to Puerto Rico was one of several seizures attributed to this ring.

 

On his Instagram account, Castillo denied any ties to drugs.

 

Castillo was a three-time All-Star, won three Gold Gloves and was a member of the 2003 Florida Marlins team that won the World Series.

 

There was no immediate comment from Dotel, who set a record for playing on more MLB teams than any other player. The teams were: the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros and New York Mets. Right-hander Edwin Jackson broke Dotel’s mark earlier this season by playing for his 14th franchise.

Clemson Sophomore Phenom Trevor Lawrence Headlines AP All-Americans

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence headlines The Associated Press preseason All-America team, and he has two teammates from the top-ranked Tigers with him on the first team.

 

Lawrence, the first freshman to quarterback to lead a team to a national championship in more than 30 years, was joined on the first-team offense by Clemson running back Travis Etienne in the list released Tuesday and presented by Regions Bank. Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons was a first-team selection on defense. Clemson and No. 2 Alabama tied for the most first-team selections with three.

Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, an All-American last season, was selected to the preseason first team, along with defensive lineman Raekwon Davis and linebacker Dylan Moses.

 

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, was selected to the second team.

 

Led by Alabama, the Southeastern Conference placed eight players on the first team, one more than the Big Ten.

Argenta-Oreana Football Looking to Build on Success of Years Past

The Argenta-Oreana football program is looking to build on an appearance in the Class 2A playoff semifinals as they enter 2019.

 

Head Coach Steve Kirk says his team has a lot to replace upfront but doesn't view that as a negative. The Bombers have had a lot of competition to find those replacements.

 

 

As the Bombers get closer to game action next Friday night, Coach Kirk wants his team to continue to improve. He says to find that progress, they do a lot of studying of individuals during practices and that shows them a lot.

 

 

The Bombers open the season at home against Arcola. Coach Kirk says that is going to be a great challenge for them right out of the gate as he feels Arcola may be one of the top teams in the new Lincoln Prairie Conference. 

Top Rated Illini Prospect, Beason, Out For Season

Illinois freshman defensive back Marquez Beason is out for the season with a knee injury.

 

Coach Lovie Smith announced Monday that Beason would have surgery after getting hurt in practice last week. Beason was a consensus four-star recruit from Duncanville, Texas, and the Illini’s top-rated high school recruit in 10 years.

 

Smith said Beason had been one of the highlights of early practices.

 

Beason was the No. 91 overall recruit in the nation by ESPN, No. 108 by 247Sports and No. 108 by Rivals when he signed his letter of intent in December. The Under Armour All-American led Duncanville to a 14-1 record and state runner-up finish in Texas’ largest high school division.

Cardinals Blank Brewers

Hudson and two relievers combined on a one-hit shutout as the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 Monday night in a series opener between NL Central contenders.

 

Yasmani Grandal's ground-rule double with two outs in the eighth inning off Giovanny Gallegos was Milwaukee's only hit. Hudson was lifted with two outs in the seventh after throwing 111 pitches, and Andrew Miller got four outs for his fifth save.

 

Paul DeJong homered for St. Louis, which increased its division lead to a half-game over the idle Chicago Cubs. Third-place Milwaukee is three games back.

 

Hudson (12-6) matched a career high with seven strikeouts and walked four - including his final batter, Eric Thames. Gallegos retired Ben Gamel on a grounder to end the inning.

 

Orlando Arcia reached on an error by DeJong at shortstop to begin the eighth before Gallegos got two outs. Grandal then hooked a 1-2 slider just inside the right field line, and the ball bounced into the stands.

 

Miller relieved and, after an intentional walk to Christian Yelich, got Mike Moustakas to ground out with the bases loaded.

 

Miller then closed it out in the ninth.

 

Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 3.81 ERA) is 3-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 career starts against St. Louis. But he is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts at Busch Stadium.

 

Michael Wacha (6-6, 5.44) is one of three pitchers to have a perfect career winning percentage against Milwaukee with 10 or more starts. He is 6-0 and has held the Brewers to two or fewer runs in each of his last four starts against them.

Sox Down Twins

Jose Abreu hit a towering three-run homer in Chicago's four-run second inning, helping Ivan Nova and the White Sox beat the Twins 6-4 on Monday night.

 

Minnesota returned home after a 5-1 road trip helped re-establish its control of the AL Central. But the loss to Chicago trimmed the Twins' advantage in the division to two games over idle Cleveland.

 

Nova (9-9) allowed 10 hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings, with both runs scoring among Minnesota's first three batters of the game.

 

Nova improved to 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA in his last six starts. Alex Colome worked a rocky ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances.

 

Jorge Polanco hit his 18th homer for Minnesota, which leads the league with 241 homers and has an extra-base hit in 79 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in team history.

 

Gibson (11-6) surrendered five runs in 6 2/3 innings.

 

Eddie Rosario hit an RBI single in the ninth, but Colome struck out Miguel Sano with two runners on to end the game.

 

Reynaldo Lopez (7-10, 5.29 ERA) will start Tuesday evening, looking to keep his strong run intact. Lopez owns a 2.91 ERA (14 earned runs in 43 1/3 innings) in seven starts since the All-Star break.

 

Michael Pineda (8-5, 4.20 ERA) will make his second start since coming off the injured list after being sidelined by a right triceps strain. Pineda gave up three runs in five innings last week against Texas.

Clemson No. 1 in AP Preseason Poll

For the first time, the defending national champion Tigers are No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 presented by Regions Bank. The Tigers won the program’s second national title in three seasons behind freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence in January. Clemson now can claim equal standing with Alabama at the top of the sport.

 

The Crimson Tide, coming off a 44-16 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship, is No. 2. Clemson received 52 first-place votes and Alabama received the other 10 from the media. Clemson snaps a record-tying string of three straight years in which Alabama was preseason No. 1.

Georgia, Alabama’s Southeastern Conference rival, is No. 3, followed by No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State.

 

Clemson and Alabama have split the last four national championships, played in the last four playoffs and are poised to make it five straight. This will be the third time since 2016 the Tigers and Tide have started the season Nos. 1 and 2 in the Top 25. 

 

Ohio State is ranked in the preseason for the 31st consecutive season (1989-2019), the third best all-time streak behind only Penn State (34 years, 1968-2002) and Nebraska (33 years, 1970-2002). The Buckeyes have been ranked in 66 of 70 preseason polls, most of any school. The Buckeyes were unranked in 1966-67, 1979 and 1988.

 

No. 12 Texas A&M and South Carolina will each play the preseason top three.

 

No. 22 Syracuse is in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 1998 when the Orange were No. 17.

 

No. 16 Auburn faces No. 11 Oregon at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. It’s the only Week 1 game with two ranked teams. 

Lincoln Football Looking For Continued Growth

Lincoln High School is hoping bringing back experience all over the field is going to translate into some success for a long-struggling program.

 

Head Coach Matt Silkowski says his team has guys with significant varsity football experience all over the field and as the season approaches, they've done some re-shuffling in places but he feels good about where his guys are at.

 

 

Bringing back their quarterback, Coach Silkowski says their run-first offense can be opened up if need be and he has plenty of guys he has confidence in to make plays.

 

 

Hear Coach Silkowski on the WHOW Morning show this morning at 9:30 am.

 

Lincoln is in their third year in the Apollo Conference. They'll open the season hosting non-conference opponent Limestone. The Railers will play at home four of the final six weeks of the season. 

Cardinals Down Reds

Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer, Tommy Edman added a solo shot among his three hits and the Cardinals held off the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 to split a strange four-game series in which they totaled two runs in their two losses and 23 in a pair of wins.

 

Jack Flaherty's scoreless streak was snapped at 23 innings, but he allowed only one run in five frames as St. Louis remained just ahead of the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central.

 

Carlos Martinez gave up three straight hits and two runs to open the ninth but hung on for his 14th save, striking out Eugenio Suarez to end it. Suarez homered early but also committed a costly error at third base and grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the seventh.

 

Reds rookie Aristides Aquino went 0 for 2 with two walks after hitting 10 home runs in his previous 11 games.

 

Left-hander Alex Wood made his fifth start for the Reds after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a lower back problem. Wood (1-2) gave up eight hits and five runs - four earned - in five innings, with one walk and six strikeouts.

 

Dakota Hudson (11-6) pitches Monday night at home against the Brewers in a matchup of NL Central contenders. Milwaukee has roughed up Hudson for 15 hits and 10 runs - nine earned - in eight innings over two starts this season.

Cubs Roll Pirates

Jose Quintana pitched seven crisp innings, Rizzo hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Sunday night in the MLB Little League Classic.

 

Quintana (11-7) allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked none. The left-hander improved to 7-0 in nine starts since his last loss June 22.

 

Nicholas Castellanos and Jason Heyward also connected as Chicago earned its second straight win since consecutive heartbreaking losses to the Phillies and Pirates.

 

The Cubs took two of three in the unusual weekend set and remain in a virtual tie with St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central. It was the first road series win for Chicago since May 17-19 against Washington.

 

Starling Marte had three hits for Pittsburgh, including his 21st homer in the ninth against Craig Kimbrel.

 

Kimbrel, who was activated from the 10-day injured list before the game, got the first two outs in the ninth in his first game since Aug. 3. He gave up Marte's homer and hit Cole Tucker before striking out two.

 

Following an off day, LHP Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.69 ERA) starts Tuesday against San Francisco after allowing a season-high eight runs Aug. 14 at Philadelphia.

Angels Power Past Sox

Canning had perhaps the best start of his career, going seven innings and allowing just one run, and Anthony Bemboom hit his first homer in the majors to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 9-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

 

Shohei Ohtani, Kole Calhoun and Matt Thaiss also homered to back Canning (5-6), who went seven innings for only the second time.

 

Ohtani hit his first home run since July 27 and just his second since the All-Star break. He has a nine-game hit streak, the longest of his young career.

 

The Angels have won four of five, including three of the four games in the weekend series.

 

Canning struck out eight and walked one while mixing his slider, curveball, changeup and fastball.

 

Thaiss hit a three-run homer in the second inning off White Sox starter Dylan Cease (2-6). He was 3 for 4 with a career-high four RBIs and one run scored.

 

Eloy Jimenez homered and tripled for the White Sox.

 

Cease allowed five runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out six, walked one and hit one.

Ivan Nova (8-9, 4.51 ERA) is 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA over his last five starts (since July 22), the best ERA in the majors during that stretch. He'll start Monday at Minnesota.

Former Bears RB Cedric Benson Dies in Motorcycle Accident

ormer NFL running back Cedric Benson, one of the most prolific rushers in NCAA and University of Texas history, has died in a motorcycle accident in Texas. He was 36.

 

Benson’s attorney, Sam Bassett, said Austin law enforcement told him that Benson was killed in the wreck Saturday night. He had no details about the accident.

 

Benson was a key player in the Longhorns’ resurgence under coach Mack Brown, who said Sunday that Benson’s death has left him grief-stricken.

 

Benson was one of the top high school recruits out of the West Texas town of Midland. According to Texas Football magazine, he is eighth on the career rushing list for Texas high schools. He led Midland Lee to three straight state championships, the only three in school history, from 1998-2000.

 

Benson played at Texas from 2001-2004 and his 5,540 yards ranks second at the university and ninth in NCAA history. He scored 64 career touchdowns with the Longhorns and won the Doak Walker award, given to the nation’s top running back, in 2004.

 

He was the only player in school history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in four seasons and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Honor in 2014.

 

Benson was drafted No. 4 overall by the Bears in 2005 and helped Chicago reach the playoffs the following season. He had his finest years with Cincinnati from 2008-11, taking over as the featured back on a team that made the playoffs twice but lost in the first round each time.

 

Benson ran for a career-high 1,251 yards while leading a playoff push in 2009, the first of three straight 1,000-yard seasons. He also led the Bengals to the playoffs in 2011, when Andy Dalton and A.J. Green arrived as rookies.

 

Benson played one season with Green Bay, where he started the first five games in 2012 before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in Indianapolis on Oct. 17.

 

Benson finished his NFL career with 6,017 yards rushing and 33 total touchdowns.

Justin Thomas Holds Off Patrick Cantlay for BMW Championship

In a span of three holes around the turn at Medinah, Justin Thomas' six-shot lead shrunk to two.

 

Thomas answered with two clutch wedge shots, two big putts and sailed to a 4-under 68 to secure a three-shot victory at the BMW Championship over Patrick Cantlay, who gave him a battle to the end with a 65.

 

His first victory since the World Golf Championship at Firestone last year moved him to the top of the FedEx Cup going into the Tour Championship, where he will start the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead under the new scoring format as the final 30 players chase a $15 million first prize.

 

Cantlay, who made four straight birdies around the turn, secured the No. 2 position and will start at 8 under. Brooks Koepka will be 7 under, a staggered start all the way down to even par for the final five players.

 

The Championship field will not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, the defending champion.

Woods was a long shot going into the final round to crack the top 30, and he closed with a 72. East Lake was his first victory in five years, capping his return from four back surgeries, a special moment replaced some six months later by his Masters victory.

 

Hideki Matsuyama took the 36-hole lead with a 63 until falling back with a 73. He responded with another 63 to finish alone in third, making him one of three players who moved into the top 30 to reach East Lake. The other was Jason Kokrak, but only after J.T. Poston made bogey on his final hole.

 

The final day to earn the eight automatic spots on the Presidents Cup changed nothing for either team.

 

Bryson DeChambeau held onto the final spot for the Americans when Tony Finau, who needed to finish alone in third, closed with a 69 and finished fourth. Jason Day failed to work his way into an automatic spot for the International side.

Hamlin Holds Off DiBenedetto At Bristol

Denny Hamlin has raced to his fourth victory of the season by holding off Matt DiBenedetto at Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

DiBenedetto finished a career-best second just days after learning Leavine Family Racing would not bring him back for a second season. A win would have earned him an automatic berth into the playoffs.

 

Instead, Hamlin chased him down in the closing laps to spoil the upset.

 

Hamlin won from the pole and overcame early damage to his Toyota and a loose wheel to win at Bristol for the second time in his career.

 

Busch cycled into the lead by not pitting under caution right before the final push to end the stage.

It was a rough stage for Hamlin, who started from the pole but had contact with Jimmie Johnson while leading, then later developed a loose wheel that forced an unscheduled stop. He was 18th at the end of the second stage.

 

Playoff contender Aric Almirola hit the wall and damaged his Ford when he developed a tire rub. He had to stop to repair the damage and later wrecked again.

 

Clint Bowyer also took a brief hit in his playoff push when he was turned by Reed Sorenson after passing Sorenson but not leaving enough room before dipping below the lapped the car. The spin happened inches in front of teammate Daniel Suarez but the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers did not make contact.

 

During the pit stop brought out by Bowyer’s spin, Kevin Harvick’s transmission broke in what was a rocky sequence of events for the SHR cars.

Reds Edge Cardinals

Sonny Gray struck out 10 while pitching five scoreless innings, and the Reds held off the St. Louis Cardinals for a 2-1 victory Thursday night.

 

St. Louis had won five in a row to move into a virtual tie with Chicago for the NL Central lead. The Cubs had a chance to move in front again, but they lost 7-5 at Philadelphia on Bryce Harper's game-ending grand slam.

 

The Cardinals wasted a prime scoring opportunity in the third when Paul Goldschmidt struck out looking with the bases loaded and two out. Gray, Robert Stephenson, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias combined for a two-hitter.

 

Iglesias surrendered Kolten Wong's check-swing RBI double in the ninth before retiring pinch-hitter Matt Wieters on a fly ball to center to finish his 24th save.

 

Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez each drove in a run for Cincinnati, which stopped a four-game slide.

 

Dexter Fowler had St. Louis' first hit, a two-out single in the fifth. Gray then struck out Matt Carpenter to extend his scoreless streak to a career-high 18 innings.

 

Adam Wainwright (8-8) allowed nine hits and seven runs in 3 1/3 innings in his last start against Cincinnati on July 19, a 12-11 St. Louis win.

 

Luis Castillo (11-4) has allowed seven hits and two runs over 12 innings in two starts against St. Louis this season. Cincinnati won both games.

Phillies Slam Cubs

Bryce Harper blasted a grand slam with one out in the ninth inning, capping a six-run rally that sent the Philadelphia Phillies over the Chicago Cubs 7-5 Thursday night for a three-game sweep.

 

Cubs starter Yu Darvish struck out 10, silencing Philadelphia's bats for seven innings a night after the Phillies scored 11 runs in former manager Charlie Manuel's debut as hitting coach.

 

But the Phillies rallied against Chicago's bullpen and moved within one game of the Cubs for the second wild-card spot in the NL.

 

Pinch-hitter Brad Miller chased Rowan Wick with an RBI single in the ninth that cut it to 5-2 and Roman Quinn greeted Pedro Strop with an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Strop (2-5) hit Rhys Hoskins to load the bases with one out.

 

Derek Holland entered to face Harper and got ahead 0-2 in the count. Harper fouled off a 2-2 pitch before launching his 25th homer way out to right.

 

Harper has seven homers and 15 RBIs in the last 12 games.

 

Ranger Suarez (4-1) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win.

 

Anthony Rizzo, batting leadoff after the original lineup had him in his usual cleanup spot, gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the third when he hit his 22nd homer.

 

Ian Happ led off the fourth with a triple and scored on David Bote's double. Albert Almora Jr. hit an RBI single with two outs, went to second on the throw home and advanced to third on shortstop Jean Segura's fielding error. Rizzo's single made it 4-0.

 

Kyle Schwarber slammed his 100th career homer and team-high 28th this season into the bushes in center field to put the Cubs ahead 5-0 in the fifth.

 

Corey Dickerson hit an RBI single with two outs in the eighth off Wick, but right fielder Nicholas Castellanos threw out Hoskins trying to score from second on the play to end the inning.

Drew Smyly gave up five runs in five innings. 

 

Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 4.38 ERA) faces the Pirates in the start of a three game series that will conclude a 10-game road trip.

Angels Hold Off White Sox

Mike Trout went 4 for 4, scored four runs and hit his AL-leading 40th homer, and Andrew Heaney pitched seven innings of four-hit ball in the Los Angeles Angels' 8-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

 

Trout turned a good, low pitch from Reynaldo Lopez (7-10) into a homer in the third inning, and he kept pace with the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger for the overall major league homers lead.

 

He also reached another franchise milestone: The two-time AL MVP became the fastest player to 40 homers in Angels history and the fifth-fastest in the majors in this century by reaching the mark in 123 games - 13 fewer than Troy Glaus needed for the Halos in 2000.

 

Jose Abreu hit two homers for Chicago, and Justin Upton had a three-run shot for the Angels.

 

But Trout reached base five times, emphatically snapping an 0-for-11 mini-slump with four consecutive hits before drawing a four-pitch walk in the eighth.

 

Trout's career high is 41 homers, and the Angels' single-season franchise record is 47 by Glaus in 2000. Both are easily reachable for the majors' leader in on-base percentage and the AL leader in slugging percentage and OPS.

 

The Angels took an 8-3 lead into the ninth, but nearly blew it by allowing five hits. James McCann had an RBI triple off Trevor Cahill before Welington Castillo hit a two-run homer off Hansel Robles.

 

Robles gave up another one-out single, but struck out Ryan Goins with a runner on second to earn his 17th save in the opener of a four-game weekend series between two big-city AL clubs sitting well outside the playoff race in mid-August.

 

Upton drove in four runs and David Fletcher hit a tiebreaking two-run single as the Angels earned their fourth win in six games.

 

Heaney (2-3) yielded three runs in his first victory since June, striking out six and walking none in his second start back from a shoulder injury. He retired the first 10 White Sox, followed by eight more in a row.

 

Lopez yielded nine hits and five runs while pitching into the sixth inning of his first loss in four starts.

All-Star Lucas Giolito (12-6, 3.42 ERA) looks for his second win in eight starts for the White Sox. He faces Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 5.59 ERA), who makes his third career start for the Halos.

Earnhardt Jr, Wife Survive Plane Crash

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the weekend off from broadcasting to be with his wife and daughter after the three were in a plane crash landing Thursday near Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 44-year-old television analyst and retired driver was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash in east Tennessee. Earnhardt was with wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, a dog and two pilots.

 

Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport at 3:40 p.m. Thursday. FAA officials said the preliminary indication is that two pilots and three passengers were aboard the jet.

 

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it’s sending two representatives to Elizabethton to begin investigating the crash.

 

Carter County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Gray confirmed Earnhardt was aboard but said he wasn’t one of the pilots.

 

Earnhardt retired as a full-time driver in 2017 and has been working as an analyst for NBC. He is part of the scheduled broadcast team for Saturday night’s Cup Series event in Bristol, Tennessee.

 

This incident comes 26 years after former driver and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash while on his way to the spring race at Bristol from a promotional appearance in Knoxville, Tennessee. That crash at Tri-City Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee, killed a total of four people.

Justin Thomas Leads After 18 at BMW Championship

On the range, Justin Thomas had no idea where the ball was going. Some five hours later, he had a share of the course record at Medinah.

 

Ultimately, all that mattered Thursday in the BMW Championship was taking a good step toward an important goal. Thomas already is set for the Tour Championship next week and the chase for FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize.

 

He made his first birdie after hitting a tree on the fourth hole, leaving him a 5-iron he hit to 2 feet. His last birdie was a putt from about 60 feet on the fringe from the back of the 16th green. He did enough right in between for a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak.

 

One week after he withdrew with a mild oblique strain at Liberty National, Tiger Woods could only manage a 71 that felt feeble compared with everyone else. All but two players in the 69-man field were at par or better on a Medinah course that was soft from bursts of rain earlier in the week.

 

Woods is projected to need a top 10 this week to advance to East Lake, where he is defending champion. After one round, he was tied for 50th.

 

Kokrak played the par 5s in 5 under — including an eagle on No. 10 when he holed a 30-yard shot from the rough — and made only one bogey.

 

Kokrak, who has never won in 207 starts as a pro on the PGA Tour, is No. 32 in the FedEx Cup. The top 30 after this week advance to the Tour Championship, where there will be a staggered start based on par for the final event.

White Sox Outslug Astros

James McCann hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the eighth inning and Chicago outlasted the Houston Astros 13-9 Wednesday to win the season series from the runaway AL West leaders.

 

McCann lined his 13th homer on an 0-2 pitch from Ryan Pressly (2-3) with two outs into the right field bullpen to end a 16-game stretch without going deep. The All-Star catcher's first homer since July 22 was his fourth career grand slam and lifted Chicago to a wild victory after the Astros rallied late to tie it.

 

Rookie Eloy Jimenez hit his 20th homer and doubled, and Tim Anderson doubled twice among four hits for the White Sox.

 

Following a doubleheader split on Tuesday, Chicago (54-65) took two of three games from the Astros in a little over 24 hours and finished 4-3 against them this year. Houston has lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.

 

Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer off Evan Marshall in the Astros eighth to tie it at 9.

 

Chicago also overcame a pair of solo shots by Yuli Gurriel and a four-hit day by Michael Brantley that included two doubles. Alex Bregman drove in three runs for Houston after missing Tuesday's twinbill with a sore shoulder.

 

Jose Abreu and Welington Castillo each had two RBIs for the White Sox.

 

Alex Colome (4-2), the fifth Chicago reliever, finished the game with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Houston starter Wade Miley allowed seven runs (three earned) on nine hits and hurt himself in the field.

 

Chicago starter Ross Detwiler allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings and left with a 7-4 lead.

 

Reynaldo Lopez (7-9, 5.16) takes the mound at Anaheim against Angels LHP Andrew Heaney (1-2, 4.89) on Thursday. Lopez tries for his third straight win and is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA in his last six starts.

Cardinals Blank Royals

Dakota Hudson twirled six innings of five-hit ball, and the Cardinals bullpen finished off a 6-0 victory Wednesday night for their second consecutive shutout of their cross-state rival and their eighth straight victory at Kauffman Stadium.

 

Hudson (11-6) allowed runners to reach every inning but the third, but he kept his poise and continued to get timely double-plays, groundballs and fly outs. Hudson struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals won for the 13th time in his last 16 starts.

 

Keller (7-13) issued three walks and was victimized by an early error but didn't allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna's sharp single leading off the seventh. It began a run of five consecutive base hits that not only knocked Keller from the game but ultimately resulted in a five-run frame. 

 

The Royals, who were blanked 2-0 on Tuesday night, never got a runner past second base. Cheslor Cuthbert grounded out to strand two in the first, Nicky Lopez stranded runners in the second and fifth, and Bubba Starling grounded out to leave Ryan O'Hearn standing on second base in the fourth.

 

The Cardinals were following a similar roadmap until Ozuna's single in the seventh.

 

DeJong and Matt Carpenter followed with hits to send Keller to the showers, and Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong followed with singles of their own. By the time Randy Arozarena singled for his first major league hit and Dexter Fowler hit a sacrifice fly, the Cardinals had taken a 5-0 lead.

 

DeJong added his mammoth homer in the eighth inning to put an exclamation mark on the win.

 

The Cardinals send Michael Wacha (6-5, 5.54 ERA) to the mound in the opener of a four-game series in Cincinnati on Thursday night. The Royals get the day off before Mike Montgomery starts against the New York Mets in the opener of a three-game set Friday night.

Phillies Blast Cubs

J.T. Realmuto hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper went deep twice and the Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in Charlie Manuel's first game as hitting coach, ruining Cole Hamels' return Wednesday night.

 

Hamels, the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP with Manuel's Phillies, was roughed up in his first game in Philadelphia since he was traded to Texas in July 2015. Hamels (6-4) gave up eight runs and nine hits in two-plus innings.

 

Aaron Nola (11-3) benefited from the offense's rare outburst. He allowed three hits, including Kris Bryant's homer, and struck out seven in seven innings.

 

Harper drove an opposite-field homer out to left-center to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the first. His solo shot landed in the second deck in right field in the sixth. Harper has six homers and 11 RBIs in the last 11 games. He's up to 24 homers and 83 RBIs. 

 

Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA) goes for the Cubs and LHP Drew Smyly (2-6, 6.96) starts for the Phillies on Thursday night.

White Sox, Astros Split Doubleheader

Zack Greinke tossed six solid innings in his second start with the Astros, George Springer and Jose Altuve hit solo home runs, and Houston topped the Chicago White Sox 6-2 in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.

 

Greinke (12-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in winning for the second time since Houston acquired him from Arizona in a deal at the trade deadline. The 35-year-old struck out six, walked two and hit a batter in a 102-pitch outing that was sharper than his Astros debut last week when he allowed five runs in six innings to Colorado.

 

Springer connected on the first pitch of the day as the AL West-leading Astros won for the ninth time in 10 games. He also threw out a runner at the plate from right field.

 

Will Harris, Ryan Pressly and Collin McHugh each followed Greinke with a perfect inning.

Robinson Chirinos drove in two runs late with a pair of singles.

 

Eloy Jimenez and Jose Abreu drove in runs with doubles as Chicago came back to tie it from an early 2-0 deficit.

 

The Astros took the lead for good in the sixth when Yordan Alvarez scored an unearned run on the first of three passed balls charged to Welington Castillo.

 

Jake Marisnick scored from third in the seventh to make it 4-2 when Castillo failed to catch a high pitch to Alvarez.

 

Making his seventh start, Cease (2-5) allowed four runs - two earned - in six-plus innings. The rookie right-hander yielded five hits and walked five.

 

Ivan Nova tossed a four-hitter and the Chicago White Sox took advantage of an injury to Cole, one of Houston's aces, for a 4-1 win and split of their doubleheader on Tuesday.

 

Cole, 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA, was listed on the lineup for the nightcap, but the right-hander didn't start after experiencing right hamstring discomfort while he warmed up. He was set to try for his 11th straight win. Instead righty Chris Devenski (2-1) took the mound and lasted just two innings in taking the loss.

 

Nova (8-9) limited high-scoring Houston to one unearned run and walked none in his second complete game this season and 10th of his career as he improved to 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA in his last five starts. After hitting Carlos Correa with a pitch in the fourth, the right hander retired 16 straight batters.

 

Ryan Goins drove in two runs with a single to cap Chicago's three-run second inning. Ryan Cordell doubled in a run and Adam Engel added an RBI single.

 

Devenski allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits in his first start of the season and seventh of his career. His error on Cordell's grounder down the first-base line in the second helped set up Chicago's rally.

 

Three Astros releivers - Joe Biagini, Hector Rondon and Joe Smith - followed and allowed one run the rest of the way.

 

Springer drove in the lone run for the Astros in the second game.

 

Alex Bregman didn't start either game due to a sore shoulder suffered when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday.

 

Leury Garcia (bruised finger on right hand) sat out both games.

 

Manager Rick Renteria said 3B Yoan Moncada (strained right hamstring) is progressing as he works out with the team, but there's no timetable for his return.

 

Astros LHP Wade Miley (11-4, 2.99) faces White Sox LHP Ross Detwiler (1-3, 5.35) in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Miley has wins in five straight decisions with a 2.11 ERA in an seven-game span, and has won three straight starts.

Phillies Double Up Cubs

JT Realmuto homered and drove in the tiebreaking run with an RBI double in the seventh inning to lift the Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

 

The Phillies will have a familiar face in the dugout Wednesday when new hitting coach Charlie Manuel arrives. The franchise icon was hired to replace John Mallee as hitting coach earlier in the day.

 

Jason Vargas allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. Blake Parker (2-2) and Mike Morin each tossed a hitless inning and Hector Neris finished for his 21st save in 25 tries. Neris retired Jason Heyward on a grounder to end the game with two runners on.

 

Cubs starter Jose Quintana had a career-best 14 strikeouts in six innings, allowing two runs - one earned - and five hits. Chicago fell to 23-36 on the road. No other first-place team has a losing record away from home.

 

Pinch-hitter Andrew Knapp led off the bottom of the seventh with a single off Kyle Ryan (3-2) and scored from first when Realmuto hit a sharp grounder down the left-field line with two outs.

 

Quinn's RBI triple with two outs in the eighth gave Philadelphia an insurance run.

 

The Phillies entered the game hitting .229 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Realmuto hit his 16th homer the opposite way to right to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the fifth.

 

Nicholas Castellanos led off the sixth with his 16th homer to left to tie it at 2-2.

 

Scott Kingery's sacrifice fly gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the third. Castellanos singled leading off the fourth and later scored on Javier Baez's sac fly.

 

Cole Hamels (6-3, 3.09 ERA) makes his first start against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Wednesday. RHP Aaron Nola (10-3, 3.67) pitches for the Phillies. Hamels, the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP, was traded from Philadelphia to Texas in July 2015.

Cardinals Blank Royals

Jack Flaherty tossed seven innings of three-hit ball in yet another dominant performance Tuesday night, and Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt drove in the only runs as St. Louis edged Kansas City 2-0 to open a two-game series between the cross-state rivals.

 

Flaherty (6-6) struck out seven with a lone walk in his sixth stingy start, though he has just two wins to show for them. He's allowed 20 hits with 50 strikeouts and 0.70 ERA over that span.

 

Andrew Miller worked around a single in the eighth and retired Alex Gordon in the ninth, and Carlos Martinez got the final two outs, completing the four-hitter while earning his 13th save.

 

Glenn Sparkman (3-8) did everything the Royals asked over six sharp innings. He allowed two runs, one of them earned, but still hasn't won since a July 16 shutout of the White Sox.

 

Both Cardinals runs were scored in scrappy fashion. The first came when Dexter Fowler reached on an error in the first, advanced on a groundout and scored on Goldschmidt's sacrifice fly, and the second came on Edman's single in the third - just before he was caught between bases to end the inning.

 

The Cardinals placed outfielder Jose Martinez on the injured list after he collided with the wall in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Martinez sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder.

 

St. Louis fired assistant hitting coach Mark Budaska during the day off Monday and promoted Memphis hitting coach Jobel Jimenez to the big league club. ''I ultimately made the decision,'' said Mike Shildt, who cited ''philosophical differences'' in making the move.

 

The Cardinals send Dakota Hudson (10-6, 4.01 ERA) to the mound to face fellow right-hander Brad Keller (7-12, 4.09) and the Royals as the clubs wrap up their two-game set Wednesday night.

More Injuries Holding Up Colts' Luck

The Indianapolis Colts believe lingering pain in Andrew Luck’s lower left leg will likely force their starting quarterback to miss the rest of the preseason.

 

They’re still unsure about his availability for the Sept. 8 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.

 

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday additional testing revealed Luck appears to be suffering from an injury near the front of his ankle, something his previously diagnosed strained left calf might have exacerbated.

 

The injury kept Luck out of all of the team’s offseason workouts and all but three training camp practices. He still has not participated in full team drills.

 

Ballard and coach Frank Reich initially described the injury as a strained calf, but when Luck continued to complain about soreness, team officials started digging deeper to get answers.

 

On Monday, Colts owner Jim Irsay told SiriusXM radio the team believed Luck had an injury to the os trigonum, a small, accessory bone near the back of the ankle.

 

But new tests, Ballard said, determined the soreness was coming from the front of the ankle.

 

Luck did participate in individual work and some seven-on-seven drills during the first week of camp, but has been limited to working on his own and running walkthroughs since July 29.

 

Without Luck, Jacoby Brissett has been working with a starting offense that has struggled. Indy’s defense has outplayed the offense consistently at camp and in Thursday’s loss at Buffalo, the Colts generated only two first downs on their first seven series.

Tiger To Give BMW Try

The mild oblique strain that Tiger Woods cited when he withdrew after one round of FedEx Cup playoffs was feeling good enough that he flew to the Chicago area Tuesday to give it a try in the BMW Championship.

 

Woods arrived mid-afternoon, did some media with partner Golf TV, had treatment and then headed to the putting green.

 

He won the PGA Championship twice at Medinah, in 1999 and 2006. His last event here was the 2012 Ryder Cup, where he and Steve Stricker lost all three of their matches, and Woods halved with Francesco Molinari in a singles match that gave Europe an outright victory.

 

At stake this week is a chance to return to East Lake, where he won last year for the first piece of his comeback from four back surgeries. Having to withdraw last week did not help the cause. By earning no points — at a time when points count four times as much — Woods slipped from No. 28 to No. 38 in the FedEx Cup.

 

Only the top 30 advance to the Tour Championship next week at East Lake.

 

The PGA Tour is projecting that Woods will need to finish 11th to have a realistic chance of advancing, but that will depend on what everyone else does, particularly those behind him in the standings. A week ago, Patrick Reed went from No. 50 to No. 2 by winning at Liberty National, while Harold Varner III went from No. 102 all the way to No. 29 with a two-way tie for third.

 

Woods has one other involvement this week, though it’s tough to think this is a priority of his. As captain of the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup, this is the final week for players to earn one of the eight automatic spots.

 

Reed moved from No. 17 to No. 12 and would have to win to have any chance of getting one of the eight spots. Patrick Cantlay is holding down the eighth spot over U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, though Woodland likely would need something around fifth place to get past him, depending on what Cantlay does.

 

Woods is No. 13 and even winning might not be enough.

 

Phil Mickelson is No. 15 and in jeopardy of missing his first team event since the 1993 Ryder Cup. Woods will have four captain’s picks after the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, which ends the first weekend in November.

 

The Presidents Cup is Dec. 12-15 in Australia. 

Sox, Astros Washed Out

Zack Greinke's second start with the Houston Astros has been postponed by rain.

 

The Astros were scheduled to begin a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, but the rain started to pick up in the afternoon and the game was quickly called.

 

The teams will play a traditional doubleheader Tuesday. Greinke and Gerrit Cole will pitch for Houston, and rookie Dylan Cease and Ivan Nova are the scheduled starters for Chicago.

 

The 35-year-old Greinke was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Arizona on July 31, giving Houston another ace for its rotation. The six-time All-Star got the win in his Astros debut, pitching six innings of five-run ball in an 11-6 victory over Colorado on Tuesday.

 

Houston has won 12 of 15 to open a 10-game lead in the AL West. It looked as if it was headed for its ninth straight win Sunday in Baltimore, but Roberto Osuna surrendered a two-run homer to Rio Ruiz with two out in the ninth inning of the Orioles' 8-7 victory.

 

Houston's pitching staff could get a lift when Brad Peacock returns after being sidelined by right shoulder discomfort. He made two rehab appearances for Triple-A Round Rock over the weekend, but he failed to record an out Sunday and was charged with four runs.

 

Chicago dropped two of three against Oakland over the weekend. Lucas Giolito struck out a career-high 13 in six innings Sunday, but Matt Olson homered for the Athletics and the White Sox were shut down by Chris Bassitt in a 2-0 loss.

 

The 23-year-old Cease was slated to get the ball on Monday. The right-hander had dropped four consecutive starts before he pitched five effective innings in a 5-3 win at Detroit last week.

 

The Astros are closing in on their third consecutive playoff appearance. They are among the favorites to win the World Series after taking home the title in 2017, and Renteria said his young ballclub can learn from how the Astros play.

Cowboys' Prescott Reportedly Turns Down Contract Extension

When the Dallas Cowboys finally approached Dak Prescott to broach the topic of his inevitable contract extension, they did so with an initial offer in hand. While, officially, it's unknown what their first offer was, there's a new report that suggests the latest offer from the team involves an average annual salary of around $30 million -- per Michael Lombardi of The Athletic -- which lends to a recent proclamation by team exec Stephen Jones that Prescott, Amari Cooper, and Ezekiel Elliott all have "top-5" deals in front of them.

 

In April, the Seattle Seahawks reset the QB market by awarding Russell Wilson a historic four-year, $140 million extension that includes $107 million in guaranteed money and, two months later, the Philadelphia Eagles raised the floor by granting Carson Wentz a four-year, $128 million extension that quietly exceeds Wilson's guaranteed metric with $107.87 million. That realistically puts the window for negotiation between $32 million AAS (average annual salary) and $35 million AAS, because Prescott isn't apt to accept less money than Wentz, and for good reason.

 

Despite Wentz having been a No. 2 overall draft pick, and Prescott a fourth-round compensatory selection, it's the latter having bested the former in nearly every category across the board -- from wins to passing yards to completion percentage to yards per attempt to game-winning drives to fourth-quarter comebacks, so forth and so on. It's also in the most important category of them all that Prescott owns the throne, having not missed a single game since ascending to the NFL ranks. Wentz, however, has played only one complete season in three years, and many are concerned about his longterm durability.

 

Despite all of this, Prescott's rookie contract maxes at $2.7 million -- ten times less than the $27 million Wentz was set to earn on his initial deal -- by virtue of the predetermined rookie wage scale.

First Year Clinton High School Volleyball Coach Excited About New Chapter

Andi Hardwick comes to the Clinton school district to coach High School volleyball from a very successful tenure in Heyworth and as practices start today, she is ready to get to work with a new group of high schoolers.

 

Hardwich indicates she has seen some of the players already through some summer leagues but is looking forward to getting to know the whole team as practices open Monday.

 

 

Even though she has spent a small amount of time with the players, Coach Hardwick feels like she understands where the team needs to go and looks forward to getting after it.

 

 

Coach Hardwick wants to instill a sense of teamwork and be a team that is effective at communicating. 

 

The Lady Maroons open their season August 27 hosting Tri-Valley and then open Central Illinois Conference action Thursday, September 19 at home against Tuscola. 

Cubs Double Up Reds

Kris Bryant capped Chicago's four-run seventh with a three-run homer, and the Cubs beat the Reds 6-3 on Sunday for a split of their four-game series.

 

Ian Happ added a solo drive in the eighth as the NL Central leaders recovered after falling behind 3-0 in the fifth. David Phelps (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win, and Pedro Strop got three outs for his 10th save.

 

Bryant, Happ, Jason Heyward and Nicholas Castellanos each had two hits for the Cubs, who improved to 7-9 against the Reds this year after losing 10-1 on Saturday.

 

Cincinnati had won five of six to stay on the fringe of the NL wild-card race and was hoping to close the gap in the division by taking the series. Instead, the Reds finished with the same seven-game deficit in the Central that they had when the series started.

 

Eugenio Suarez homered for the third straight game and rookie sensation Aristides Aquino had a run-scoring single, but the Reds bullpen faltered after Castillo was pulled in the seventh. He threw 100 pitches, 67 for strikes.

 

Tony Kemp drove in Happ with a grounder and Heyward singled with two out before Michael Lorenzen (0-3) came in. Castellanos singled to left and Bryant gave Chicago a 5-3 lead when he drove Lorenzen's next pitch deep to left-center for his 23rd homer.

 

Bryant's homer handed a no-decision to Jon Lester, who dropped his previous two starts. The left-hander allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked three in five innings.

 

Following an off day, LHP Jose Quintana (10-7, 4.23 ERA) gets the ball Tuesday at Philadelphia. He is 6-0 with a 3.67 ERA in his last seven starts.

Cardinals Outslug Pirates

Lane Thomas ripped a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning, Paul Goldschmidt and Dexter Fowler also homered, and St. Louis beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 Sunday.

 

The Cardinals rallied from an 8-4 deficit to sweep the three-game series and move into second place in the NL Central, two games behind the Chicago Cubs.

 

Josh Bell had two homers and four RBIs for Pittsburgh, which has lost eight straight. Pablo Reyes added a solo shot in the ninth.

 

Thomas, playing his 21st game, drove in five runs. His first career slam came off Kyle Crick (3-7) and put the Cardinals ahead 9-8. He also had an RBI triple in the fourth.

 

Thomas' five RBI performance ties him for second among NL rookies this season behind Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who drove in six against Washington on July 17.

 

John Gant (8-0) tossed a scoreless seventh to pick up the win. Andrew Miller recorded up his fourth save in six tries.

 

Goldschmidt hit his team-high 26th homer in the first inning and started the five-run seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single. Marcell Ozuna followed with a single, and Crick hit back-to-back batters to set the stage for Thomas' third homer of the season.

 

Fowler hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Geoff Hartlieb.

 

Bell hit two-run homers in the first and fifth innings. It was the fifth multihomer game of his career, all this season. The homers, his 28th and 29th, were his first since July 5. He has an NL-leading 68 extra-base hits.

 

Pittsburgh starter Steven Brault gave up four earned runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three. Brault had a seven-game hitting streak halted with an 0-for-2 performance. He came into the contest on an 8-for-10 run.

 

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas surrendered five earned runs and seven hits over five innings. He gave up both home runs to Bell.

 

St. Louis outfielder Jose Martinez left the game in the fifth with right shoulder discomfort. He will undergo tests on Monday and is considered day-to-day.

 

Jack Flaherty (5-6 3.72) will take on Kansas City RHP Glenn Sparkman (3-7, 5.71) in the first of a two-game series on Tuesday in Kansas City. Flaherty struck out 10 batters in seven innings of a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.

A's Blank White Sox

Chris Bassitt threw seven sharp innings against his first major league team and Matt Olson homered, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 2-0 victory over Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox.

 

The 30-year-old Bassitt was drafted by Chicago in 2011 and made his debut with the White Sox in 2014 before he was traded to Oakland in the Jeff Samardzija deal.

 

Bassitt (8-5) permitted four hits, struck out seven and walked two. Olson, Robbie Grossman and Chad Pinder had two hits apiece for the Athletics, who are fighting for position in the AL wild-card race.

 

Giolito (12-6) struck out a career-high 13 in six innings. The All-Star right-hander allowed two runs and five hits.

 

The White Sox had won five of seven.

 

Liam Hendriks struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save in 17 opportunities.

 

Dylan Cease (2-4, 6.00 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game home series Monday against Houston. RHP Zack Greinke is expected to start for the Astros.

Patrick Reed Takes FedEx Cups Playoffs Opener

Patrick Reed delivered key shots on three straight holes on the back nine at Liberty National — two for birdie, one for par — to overtake Jon Rahm, hold off Abraham Ancer, close with a 2-under 69 and win the FedEx Cup opener.

 

It was his first victory in 16 months over 41 tournaments worldwide dating to the 2018 Masters.

Points are quadrupled in the PGA Tour postseason, so the victory vaulted Reed from No. 50 to No. 2. His place in the Tour Championship is secure. His odds of the $15 million prize are greatly increased.

 

It still wasn’t enough for him to get in the top eight qualifiers for the Presidents Cup, to be decided after next week. Reed went to No. 12 and he would have to win the BMW Championship next week to qualify.

 

Even so, it was the kind of victory to at least get the attention of U.S. captain Tiger Woods.

 

Reed finished at 16-under 268 and won for the seventh time in his career on the PGA Tour.

 

Ancer felt like a winner when it was over. He also played bogey-free over the final 12 holes, and his birdie on the 17th gave him hope. But his approach to the 18th came down below a ridge, and his long birdie putt to force a playoff went some 6 feet by the cup. He made that to finish alone in second, his best PGA Tour finish.

 

That was enough to send him from No. 67 to No. 8, with more perks than he could count.

 

Ancer is a lock to make it to the Tour Championship in two weeks, meaning he earns his first spot in the Masters. He wrapped up a spot on the International Team for the Presidents Cup, making him the first Mexican in the event.

 

Rahm made a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 12 and reached the par-5 13th in two to set up another birdie, giving him a two-shot lead. And then it all fell apart for the Spaniard. He was on the wrong side of the green at the par-3 14th and three-putted for bogey from 50 feet. His tee shot narrowly found a bunker on the 15th, leaving him no shot at reaching the green, and he had to scramble for bogey from the thick grass behind the green.

 

Rahm never caught up, closed with a 69 and tied for third with Harold Varner III.

 

The top 70 in the FedEx Cup advance to the BMW Championship next week at Medinah.

 

Harold Varner might have had the biggest day in that regard. He started the PGA Tour postseason at No. 102, and while he came up two shot of his first PGA Tour victory, his tie for third moved him to No. 29. That not only gets him in the BMW Championship, he has a realistic shot at East Lake.

Harvick Wins At Michigan

Kevin Harvick raced to the 47th NASCAR Cup victory of his career and his second in less than a month Sunday, pulling away from the pack to win at Michigan International Speedway for the second straight year.

 

With just three races before the playoffs, the timing of his latest strong performance may help him win a second championship.

 

Kyle Larson was third, more than 16 seconds behind Harvick. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez and points-leader Kyle Busch.

 

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will have to close the regular season strong to extend his streak of earning a spot in every postseason since the format was created 15 years ago. He started the race tied for the 16th and final spot in the playoffs and slipped to 18th. Johnson had an early setback, making contact with a wall on Lap 15 that damaged his right rear quarter panel and tire, and finished 34th.

 

Johnson was several laps back for much of the race but got a break potentially in the playoff race when Clint Bowyer was knocked out of the race after Paul Menard appeared to bump him. Bowyer began the day 15th in the playoff standings and finished 37th at MIS, putting him in 16th in the race for the final spot.

 

Ryan Newman, who started the day tied with Johnson in the playoff standings, was 12th in the 38-car field and that was good enough to move him up to 15th.

 

Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski was 19th, extending his winless streak to 21 at the track about 70 miles from his hometown in suburban Detroit. Keselowski got off to a strong start and led for a race-high 66 laps, but a flat tire during the second stage set off sparks behind him and was a setback he couldn’t overcome.

 

Joey Logano won at Michigan in June, helping Ford win four straight at the track and bragging rights over Chevrolet and Toyota in a state where the manufacturers have a big presence.

 

Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway is next up on Saturday night.

Cubs Blast Reds

Anthony Rizzo had a pair of hits on his birthday, Nicholas Castellanos added to his Chicago surge with a pair of homers and the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-5 on Thursday night for their biggest NL Central lead of the season.

 

The Cubs' sixth win in seven games gave them a 3 1/2-game margin over the idle Brewers and a sense that things are heading in the right direction.

 

Javier Baez unveiled his left-handed swing in the ninth as Kyle Farmer mopped up for the Reds. The Cubs finished with a season-high 19 hits and their first back-to-back games with at least 10 runs since April.

 

Castellanos had a pair of solo homers among his three hits, the latter breaking a 5-5 tie off Kevin Gausman (3-8) in the fourth inning. He's hit safely in all eight games since the Cubs got him from Detroit.

 

Ian Happ drove in four runs with a single and a two-run homer, his second straight games with four RBIs.

 

Hamels returned to the mound where he strained his left oblique on June 28. In his second start off the injury list, a rusty Hamels let an early four-run lead slip away as Aristides Aquino - Yasiel Puig's replacement - had an RBI double and two-run homer .

 

Aquino's homer was measured at 118.3 mph, tying the Yankees' Gary Sanchez and Mets' Pete Alonso for the hardest-hit homers this season. The International League All-Star was called up to play right field after Puig was traded to Cleveland and has gone 9 for 15 with three homers in his last five games.

 

Tyler Chatwood (5-1) fanned six in three innings as the Cubs pulled away.

 

The Cubs signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy on Thursday to help them get through the loss of All-Star Willson Contreras, sidelined by a strained hamstring. Lucroy had three hits and was called for catcher's interference twice.

 

The Reds fell to eight games out, one shy of their biggest deficit.

 

Manager David Bell returned from a six-game suspension for going after Pirates manager Clint Hurdle during a benches-clearing brawl last week at Great American Ball Park. Reliever Jared Hughes began a three-game suspension Thursday, imposed for purposely hitting Starling Marte with a pitch. Eight Reds and Pirates were suspended in all, including Hurdle.

 

Yu Darvish (4-5) is 3-0 in six career starts against the Reds with a 2.92 ERA.

 

Trevor Bauer (9-8) makes his first start for the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati got him from Cleveland in the three-team deal that included Puig. Bauer lasted only 4 2/3 innings of a 5-4 loss at Atlanta on Saturday.

White Sox, Yankees To Play at Iowa's Field of Dreams Next Year

Major League Baseball is going to build it — and the White Sox and Yankees are coming to Iowa.

 

The Chicago White Sox will play the New York Yankees next summer at the site in eastern Iowa where the movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed, MLB announced Thursday. The game is set for Aug. 13 in Dyersville, which is about 200 miles west of Chicago.

 

A temporary 8,000-seat stadium will be built on the site to accommodate the first major league game played in Iowa.

 

Commissioner Rob Manfred said quote - “As a sport that is proud of its history linking generations, Major League Baseball is excited to bring a regular-season game to the site of ‘Field of Dreams. We look forward to celebrating the movie’s enduring message of how baseball brings people together at this special cornfield in Iowa.”

 

A video tweeted by MLB shows Yankees star Aaron Judge asking Ray Kinsella, Kevin Costner’s character in the 1989 movie, if he was in heaven. Costner replies with one of the movie’s iconic lines — “No, it’s Iowa” — and Judge nods before trotting back into the corn beyond the outfield.

 

A pathway is being built through a cornfield that will take fans to the stadium. It will overlook the site where Costner’s character carved a ballpark out of a field after a mysterious voice told him, “If you build it, he will come.”

 

The right field wall will be broken up by windows to show the cornstalks beyond the wall, and the ballpark’s design will honor old Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox from 1910-1990.

 

The one-off game in Iowa is part of the sport’s recent trend of hosting games outside of traditional ballparks and cities, such as the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and a matchup between Detroit and Kansas City in Omaha in June ahead of the College World Series.

 

The Yankees also took part in a two-game series in London against the rival Red Sox earlier this season.

 

The White Sox will be the home team for the game, which will be played on a Thursday and air nationally on Fox. The clubs will then have Friday off before resuming their series in Chicago.

Troy Merritt Ties Course Record at Northern Trust Open

Troy Merritt isn’t obsessed with his position in the FedEx Cup and what he needs to advance in the PGA Tour’s postseason. He figures the best solution is good golf, and he delivered his best round of the year Thursday in The Northern Trust.

 

Merritt began with a 10-foot par save, followed with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts and took advantage of calm, rain-softened Liberty National by tying the course record with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson.

 

It wasn’t a career low — Merritt twice has shot 61 on the PGA Tour — but it might have been his best round hardly anyone saw.

 

The storm was so fierce on the eve of the FedEx Cup playoffs opener that the public was not allowed in until 10 a.m., nearly three hours after the round began. And when the fans arrived, most of them were watching the action — what little there was — two groups behind him with Tiger Woods.

 

Woods, in only his third round since the U.S. Open, made double bogey on the shortest hole on the course, three-putted from 15 feet and had three bogeys from the fairway in a listless round of 75. Along with being 13 shots out of the lead, he was in danger of missing the cut for the first time in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which also would jeopardize a return to East Lake for the Tour Championship.

Johnson ran off four straight birdies near the end of his round for a 63, a good start in a tournament he already has won twice.

 

Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm were at 64, while the group at 65 included Rory McIlroy and the suddenly hot Webb Simpson, who posted his sixth straight round of 65 or better dating to the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational two weeks ago.

 

The wind arrived in the afternoon, slowing the onslaught of low scores, with no round better than the 66 by Justin Rose.

 

Merritt is No. 72 in the FedEx Cup, with the top 70 advancing next week to the BMW Championship at Medinah. Points are quadrupled in the postseason.

 

Brooks Koepka, who has won four majors in the last three years, still hasn’t found his groove in the FedEx Cup. Koepka is the No. 1 seed. In 15 playoffs events, he has managed only two top 10s — his best is sixth place at the Tour Championship two years ago — and he didn’t get off to a great start at Liberty National with only three birdies in his round of 70. Either way, he’s assured of being in East Lake.

Cubs Slam A's

Ian Happ hit his second career grand slam, Quintana tossed two-hit ball through seven innings to win his sixth straight decision and the Cubs ripped the Oakland Athletics 10-1 on Wednesday.

 

Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run homer, Victor Caratini connected and Javier Baez kept up his latest hot streak with two hits and two RBIs as the Cubs responded with a rout of their own after Oakland pounded them 11-4 on Tuesday night. NL Central-leading Chicago took two of three from the A's and won its fifth in six games.

 

Quintana (10-7) allowed one run, struck out seven and walked none. David Phelps and Pedro Strop each followed with a scoreless inning to wrap up a three-hitter.

 

A's starter Homer Bailey (9-8) set down nine of the first 10 hitters before Chicago scored five runs in the fourth. The right-hander yielded seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his fifth start since arriving in a arriving in a trade from Kansas City on July 14.

 

Baez singled in Chicago's first run in the fourth to tie at 1 before the Cubs loaded the bases with one out. Batting left-handed, the switch-hitting Happ stroked Bailey's first pitch into the left-center bleachers to make it 5-1.

 

Baez singled in another run off Bailey to start Chicago's four-run fifth. With two runners on, Schwarber muscled his 26th homer, an opposite-field shot to left-center, off reliever Lou Trivino to make it 9-1.

 

Caratini homered off Blake Treinen in the eighth.

 

Cole Hamels (6-3), 2.84) looks to stay on track against Reds LHP Alex Wood (1-0, 3.18) at Cincinnati on Thursday. Hamels pitched five shutout innings versus Milwaukee last Saturday in his return from a five-week stint on the IL, and is 2-2 with a 1.07 ERA in his last seven starts.

Sox Pound Tigers

According to Fox Sports Detroit, the White Sox became the first major league team since at least 1974 to put a runner on base in every inning of a four-game series. They scored 26 runs and won three times, including an 8-1 rout on Wednesday.

 

The streak almost came to a halt in the ninth inning when Tigers first baseman Brandon Dixon retired the first two batters before hitting Ryan Cordell with a 60-mph cutter. Leury Garcia followed with an inning-ending groundout.

 

Ivan Nova shut the Tigers out for eight innings, allowing five hits, walking three and striking out one as he picked up his third win in four starts.

 

James McCann had three RBIs, while Tim Anderson reached base five times and scored three runs.

McCann had an RBI double in the first, and Ryan Cordell made it 2-0 with a long homer in the second.

 

Detroit loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Nova got Jody Mercer to ground into a double play.

 

Wellington Castillo had an RBI double in the third, and the White Sox added on in the fifth. Anderson led off with his third hit of the game and scored his third run on Jose Abreu's double. McCann added an RBI single to make it 5-0 and end Alexander's day.

 

Abreu's single off Eduardo Jimenez in the sixth gave the White Sox a 6-0 lead, and Chicago added two more in the eighth. Travis Demeritte provided Detroit's only run with a two-out RBI triple in the ninth.

 

The White Sox start a three-game series at home against the Oakland Athletics on Friday, with Ross Detwiler (1-2, 5.72 ERA) opposing Oakland's Mike Fiers (10-3, 3.46).

Dodgers Walk Off Cardinals

Russell Martin drove a two-run, two-out single up the middle for the Dodgers' 10th walk-off win of the season, and Los Angeles swept the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-1 victory Wednesday.

 

The 36-year-old Martin delivered after a frustrating offensive day for the Dodgers, who have won five straight despite the best efforts of Jack Flaherty. Los Angeles couldn't score during seven brilliant innings of four-hit ball by the Cardinals starter in his hometown ballpark, but the Dodgers still came through against St. Louis' bullpen.

 

Andrew Miller hit Corey Seager with a pitch with one out in the ninth, and Carlos Martinez (2-2) gave up pinch-hitter Will Smith's single. After Martinez threw a wild pitch to move up both runners, Martin bounced a two-strike single through the middle, and Smith sprinted home with the winning run.

 

Casey Sadler (2-0) pitched the ninth for Los Angeles, which avoided its first shutout loss since May 18 with its final swing.

 

Los Angeles improved to 46-15 at home while hitting double digits in walk-off wins and matching the total walk-offs by last season's pennant-winning Dodgers.

 

Marcell Ozuna homered off Dodgers rookie Dustin May in the sixth inning for the Cardinals, who went 0-5 on their California road trip after scoring just two runs in three games at Dodger Stadium.

 

Flaherty struck out 10 with just one walk while dominating for the second time as a pro at Dodger Stadium, where he attended his first game on his mother's lap when he was less than a year old. In his Chavez Ravine debut as a pro last year, Flaherty threw six innings of scoreless one-hit ball for the Cards.

 

The right-hander was born and raised in Burbank, California, just a few miles away on the other side of historic Griffith Park. Flaherty even led Harvard-Westlake School to a state championship at Dodger Stadium six years ago by throwing a shutout and driving in the only run in a 1-0 win in the title game.

May threw 5 2/3 innings of five-hit ball in a strong second career start for the Dodgers, who called up the redheaded power pitcher last week. May had seven strikeouts and held his own with Flaherty, but remained winless in the big leagues.

After a travel day home, Dakota Hudson (10-6, 3.99 ERA) looks for a bounce-back start against Chris Archer (3-8, 5.35 ERA) and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Illinois Senators Want MLB Data on Foul Balls

Illinois’ two senators continued their pressure campaign on Major League Baseball to be more proactive about fan safety at ballparks, urging greater transparency about how often and how seriously fans are hurt by foul balls.

 

Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth said in a letter to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred this week that MLB should “collect and report data about fan injuries.” Durbin and Duckworth have previously called on all 30 major league teams to extend protective netting to the foul poles at their stadiums.

 

The senators wrote in the letter, sent Tuesday, quote - “We currently rely on media coverage about foul ball injuries, which can lead to misinformation and confusion. The creation of an injury registry would help provide the public a better understanding of fan injuries at MLB stadiums and help evaluate the voluntary safety measures that many teams are implementing.”

 

Last month, the Chicago White Sox became the first major league team to extend protective netting from foul pole to foul pole. The safety measure was announced a week after a foul ball at the park sent a woman to the hospital with her head bleeding.

 

Several fans, including a 2-year-old girl in Houston, have been injured by hard-hit foul balls this season, and several teams have said they plan to extend netting or are studying how to do it.

Manfred, however, has resisted mandating that all teams extend netting to the foul poles, saying different ballpark configurations make a blanket rule impossible.

 

In their letter, Durbin and Duckworth cited a 2014 report by Bloomberg News estimating that 1,800 fans are hurt by foul balls each season, a rate of roughly two fans injured for every two games played. They noted the report is five years old and leaves many unanswered questions, such as which areas of ballparks are the safest in which to sit, that MLB could address by disclosing data.

 

Michael Teevan, an MLB spokesman, declined to comment on the letter.

Clemson Football Gets 8 Secondary NCAA Violations

Clemson’s national championship football program was flagged for eight secondary NCAA violations during a yearlong period from July 2018 through this past June.

 

The school’s athletic department released a summary of the infractions Wednesday.

 

None of the violations were considered major and all issues about the penalties have been resolved, according to the school. In all, Clemson self-reported 14 violations in the year ending on June 30.

 

Names of athletes, coaches or staffers involved in the infractions were not in the summary provided to The Associated Press by Clemson. The month and day when the violation occurred was blacked out in the report.

 

The football violations reported by the school included a homeowner paying a player above the going rate for work around the home on three separate occasions. Two violations involved players on social media in a promotional capacity.

 

The other five infractions were committed by football staffers and included reimbursing an athlete for ground transportation expenses above the school’s mileage rate.

 

Others involved the school publicizing the signing of a football recruit before he had signed with the program. Another was for the football staff impermissibly mailing out a printed questionnaire to 221 prospects about life-skills programming before Sept. 1 of their junior years in high school.

 

Perhaps the strangest violation came when staffers wrongly used confetti as part of a photo shoot that took place on a student-athlete’s official visit, the school said.

 

Clemson began fall camp last week and opens the season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.

 

Two of the remaining violations occurred in the men’s basketball program, one for a player using his name to promote a company’s sale of apparel via social media, according to the summary. The other was for the basketball staff providing images and likenesses of two players to an event company who used the images in a “commercial promotion,” the school said.

 

The final four secondary violations were reported by volleyball, men’s soccer and men’s and women’s tennis.

Northern Trust Open Kicks Off FedEx Cup Playoffs

It's hard to look anywhere on The Northern Trust tee sheet and find anything other than a top-shelf pairing. Golfers are grouped in order of their FedEx Cup ranking for this first playoff event, which means we have several loaded up trios.

 

The most obvious place to start is always with Tiger Woods. He's ranked No. 28 in the FedEx Cup standings and grouped with Scott Piercy and J.T. Poston (last week's Wyndham Championship winner) for Round 1.

 

The first three in the standings -- Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Matt Kuchar -- will play together. So will Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Webb Simpson. 

 

You also get fun trios of Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Rose, Marc Leishman and Rickie Fowler. All in all, the way this plays out is more organic (and probably more fun) than normal as the first event of the three-tournament playoff run gets underway at Liberty National on Thursday.

Sox, Tigers Split Double-Header

Dylan Cease pitched five solid innings and Jose Abreu homered and drove in three runs to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader. Welington Castillo also homered for Chicago, and Jake Rogers went deep for Detroit.

 

Cease (2-4) allowed two runs and seven hits, striking out six with one walk. He also beat Detroit on July 3 before losing his next four starts.

 

Three relievers finished for the White Sox. Alex Colome allowed a run in the ninth but held on for his 22nd save in 23 chances.

 

Daniel Norris (3-9) allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

 

Abreu gave Chicago a 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer, his 24th of the season. That opposite-field drive came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat.

 

Adam Engel hit an RBI double in the second before the Tigers rallied. Brandon Dixon tripled and scored for Detroit in the third to make it 2-1, then Rogers tied it with a fourth-inning homer.

 

Abreu put the White Sox up 3-2 with an RBI double in the fifth. Castillo, activated from the family medical emergency leave list before the game, went deep in the sixth to give Chicago a two-run lead again. Castillo was the 26th man for the White Sox for the doubleheader. Reliever Matt Hall was the 26th man for Detroit.

 

The White Sox added another run in the ninth on Abreu's RBI single. Harold Castro hit a run-scoring single of his own for Detroit to make it 5-3.

 

Miguel Cabrera had three hits and scored twice to help the Tigers to a 10-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox and a split of their doubleheader Tuesday. 

 

Drew VerHagen (2-2) allowed one run in five innings for Detroit in the nightcap, then left the game after a 61-minute rain delay.

 

Hector Santiago (1-1) yielded four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. This was his first big league appearance since the White Sox signed him to a minor league deal in June. He pitched for the New York Mets prior to that.

 

Detroit scored two runs in the second, then Cabrera led off the bottom of the third with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dawel Lugo to put the Tigers up 3-0. Cabrera led off the Detroit fifth with a single and eventually came home on a single by Travis Demeritte. Gordon Beckham added an RBI single to make it 5-1, and the rain delay began before the fifth inning ended.

 

Jordy Mercer hit a two-run homer for Detroit in the seventh to make it 7-2. Trevor Rosenthal came on for the Tigers in the eighth, retired only one batter and had three runs charged to him. Jose Abreu came up with two on and the score 7-5, but he hit a weak grounder to third against Buck Farmer.

 

The Tigers then scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

 

Ivan Nova (6-9) takes the mound in the series finale Wednesday. Tyler Alexander (0-2) makes the fifth start of his major league career.

A's Blast Cubs

Jon Lester was tagged for a career high-tying 11 runs in only four innings, with Dustin Garneau and Stephen Piscotty hitting three-run homers that led the A's over the Chicago Cubs 11-4 Tuesday night.

 

Lester (9-8) was roughed up for the second straight start. He allowed 11 runs - 10 of them earned - on 10 hits and three walks to match the worst outing of his 14-year career on July 22, 2012, when he was with Boston and faced Toronto.

 

Garneau's drive to the back row of the bleachers in left field was the big blow in an eight-run, second-inning burst. The A's went on to their seventh win in nine games and remained one-half game behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card.

 

Brett Anderson (10-7) cruised to his first win in month, scattering seven hits over six innings. He also contributed two singles at the plate.

 

Anderson was staked to a big early lead thanks to residual energy in the A's bats.

 

Kris Bryant homered as the NL Central-leading Cubs had their four-game winning streak end in a drubbing that took only 2 hours, 37 minutes.

 

Cubs catcher Taylor Davis pitched a scoreless ninth. Oakland loaded the bases with three singles and none out, but didn't get a run. Davis had entered the game behind the plate in the fifth when starting catcher Victor Caratini replaced Anthony Rizzo at first base.

 

Matt Olson had two RBIs and Mark Canha and Chad Pinder each drove in a run as the A's broke loose early, a night after falling just short with a late rally in a 6-5 loss.

 

Cubs reliever Duane Underwood Jr. struck out all six Oakland batters he faced in the fifth and sixth to tie a team record for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever.

 

Underwood was making his first appearance this season and second of his career after being recalled from Triple-A on Monday when the Cubs put closer Craig Kimbrel on the 10-day injured list.

Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs in the ninth off reliever Wei-Chung Wang.

 

The A's sent 12 batters to the plate in the second and eight of them reached base consecutively - a stretch with five hits, two walks and an error. Chicago had not allowed more than five runs in an inning this season.

 

Garneau made it 4-0 with his homer and Olson singled in two more runs. Canha made it 7-0 on a grounder when Rizzo threw home perfectly, but Caratini couldn't hold on as Mark Chapman slid in. Pinder's RBI groundout completed the rally.

 

Piscotty's three-run homer off Lester in the fourth upped it to 11-0.

 

Homer Bailey (9-7, 5.20) faces Cubs LHP Jose Quintana (9-7, 4.40) in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Bailey has allowed three runs or less in three of four starts arriving in a trade from Kansas City on July 14. Quintana has won five straight decisions.

 

Homer Bailey (9-7, 5.20) faces Cubs LHP Jose Quintana (9-7, 4.40) in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. Bailey has allowed three runs or less in three of four starts arriving in a trade from Kansas City on July 14. Quintana has won five straight decisions.

Dodgers Down Cardinals

Clayton Kershaw struck out nine in seven innings and notched his 11th win of the season as the Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Tuesday night.

 

Kershaw (11-2) - who allowed only one run on four hits - has gone at least six innings in all 20 starts this season. For as strong as that is, what he has done at Dodger Stadium has been even better.

 

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner is unbeaten in 21 straight regular-season starts at home dating to last season, going 10-0 with a 2.28 earned run average during that span.

 

Kershaw allowed the Cardinals to get their leadoff hitter aboard the first three innings and scored first when Matt Carpenter's single drove in Paul DeJong. He settled down though after allowing Dexter Fowler to begin the third with a single, retiring 15 of the last 16 hitters he faced, including 13 straight at one point.

 

Kershaw got some help from his defense in the seventh with the Dodgers hanging on to a 2-1 lead. Joc Pederson made a running catch in right field to rob Andrew Knizner of a possible extra-base hit and potential tying RBI to end the frame.

 

The Dodgers' bullpen pitched shutout ball in the final two innings, but not without some drama. The Cardinals had the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth, but Pedro Baez struck out DeJong.

 

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth to earn his 26th save.

 

Justin Turner had two hits, including a double in the third inning that plated Pederson with what proved to be the go-ahead run in the third inning. Pederson led off the inning with a single.

 

Los Angeles tied it in the bottom of the second when Kristopher Negron's bloop single to center drove in Corey Seager, who started off the frame with a double.

 

Los Angeles extended its lead to 3-1 in the seventh when Max Muncy's single brought in Edwin Rios.

 

Miles Mikolas (7-12) went 6 2/3 innings and surrendered two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. The Cardinals have dropped four straight and five of seven.

 

Burbank native Jack Flaherty (5-6, 3.93 ERA) makes his second career start at Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning last year before it was broken up by a Joc Pederson homer.

 

Dustin May (0-1, 4.76) makes his second major league start. The right-hander went 5 2/3 innings against San Diego on Aug. 2 and allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits.

White Sox Double Up Phillies

Leury Garcia hit a grand slam, Eloy Jimenez added a three-run shot and Tim Anderson also went deep to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 10-5 win over the Phillies on Sunday.

 

Drew Smyly allowed five runs in the second inning, four of them on Garcia's 431-foot blast that landed just shy of the outfield concourse. Garcia's seventh homer of the season was his first career grand slam.

 

Reynaldo Lopez was chased after 5 1/3 innings and the White Sox leading 5-3. Aaron Bummer came out of the bullpen and got Rodriguez to hit into a double play to end the rally. Jimenez sealed the win in the eighth when he went deep off Mike Morin in the eighth for his 18th homer of the year.

 

The White Sox road trip continues in Detroit with RHP Lucas Giolito (11-5, 3.39) taking the ball in the opener of a four-game series.

Cubs Drop Brewers For Series Win

Yu Darvish pitched five effective innings, Jason Heyward drove in three runs and the Cubs beat the slumping Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 on Sunday to sweep their weekend series.

 

Heyward and Kyle Schwarber homered as the NL Central leaders won for the 11th time in 13 games at Wrigley Field. Anthony Rizzo collected four hits.

 

Darvish (4-5) allowed one run and five hits, struck out eight and walked none in the series finale against Milwaukee. He retired 10 straight batters at one point.

 

Since the beginning of July, Darvish has 44 strikeouts and just two walks over six outings. 

 

Christian Yelich hit his major league-best 37th homer for Milwaukee, which has dropped six of seven. The third-place Brewers trail the Cubs by four games after being outscored 17-5 in the series.

 

Milwaukee rookie Trent Grisham picked up his first major league hit in the first and his first homer in the eighth. He went 3 for 4 in his third big league game.

 

Derek Holland pitched a scoreless inning and Tyler Chatwood finished for his second save.

 

Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser (4-5) allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings.

 

Kyle Hendricks (8-8, 3.07 ERA) starts Monday night against Oakland in the opener of a three-game set. RHP Chris Bassitt (7-5, 3.84 ERA) gets the ball for the visiting A's.

A's Double Up Cardinals

Tanner Roark pitched five innings of one-run ball, and the Athletics beat Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday.

 

Jurickson Profar connected for his 15th homer as the A's won for the sixth time in seven games. Dustin Garneau had two hits and two RBIs after he was claimed off waivers Saturday.

 

Roark (7-7) allowed four hits, struck out six and walked two. He pitched out of a pair of jams in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Cincinnati at Wednesday's deadline.

 

The Cardinals twice had two on and two out against Roark but failed to score each time. Ozuna struck out in the third, and Matt Carpenter struck out swinging in the fourth.

 

Roark fanned Marcel Ozuna after a 14-pitch battle against Goldschmidt. The NL Player of the Month for July, Goldschmidt fouled off eight consecutive pitches before drawing a walk.

 

Liam Hendriks retired three batters for his 11th save.

 

St. Louis fell 1 1/2 games back of NL Central-leading Chicago, which swept Milwaukee with a 7-2 victory.

 

Wainwright (7-8) struggled with his command most of the afternoon. The right-hander hit two batters, walked three and allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

 

Paul DeJong homered for the Cardinals, who lost each of their four games against the A's this season.

 

Carpenter was 1 for 5 with two strikeouts in his first game back off the injured list. Carpenter missed 17 games with a bruised right foot.

 

Profar connected in the sixth, belting a towering drive that landed midway up the staircase beyond the wall in right field.

 

Michael Wacha (6-4, 5.15 ERA) returns to the starting rotation against the Dodgers on Monday. Wacha pitched out of the bullpen in his three previous appearances.

Cubs Put Contreras on DL

The Cubs placed All-Star catcher Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Catcher Taylor Davis was recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

 

Contreras was injured during Saturday's game. After hitting a fly ball, he ran two steps toward first base before reaching back and grabbing his right leg.

 

He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday to determine how long he's likely to be sidelined.

 

Kris Bryant is dealing with a sore knee, but Joe Maddon said he was held out of the lineup simply for a day of rest.

PGA Tour Regular Season Wraps Up; FedEx Cup Field Set

JT Poston played a flawless four days of golf at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, as he went bogey-free for 72 straight holes for the first win of his PGA Tour career at the Wyndham Championship. 

 

Poston posted 51 pars, 20 birdies and an eagle to finish at 22 under.

 

Poston backed up his 30 on the front nine on Sunday with a 32 on the back, finished the tournament No. 1 in strokes gained from tee to green and touched off by far the biggest week of his life.

 

Of the top 10 golfers this season in strokes gained, Webb Simpson is the only one who ranks outside the top 60 off the tee, he's 102nd. From fairway to getting your ball in the hole, you could argue nobody's been better in 2019. This was his second straight runner up and his eighth top-11 finish at the Wyndham Championship in 10 tries. Simpson finished T15 in 2013 at The Northern Trust.

 

Viktor Hovland came up short in his bid to win or finish T2 and earn his PGA Tour card for 2019-20, but it was his best showing yet in a year that has included five top 25s in nine starts. Jordan Spieth has seven top 25s in 18 starts. Hovland again did it with driver as he led the field in driving distance and strokes gained off the tee. He'll head to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals with a ton of momentum and a great chance of finishing in the top 25 over the course of the four playoff events on that tour.

Cardinals Blank Cubs

Jack Flaherty struck out nine in seven strong innings and catcher Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer as the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-0 in a matchup of NL Central leaders.

 

The Cardinals won two games in the three-game set and claimed first in the division, a game ahead of Chicago. The Cubs have lost four of six overall and 11 of their last 16 on the road.

 

Flaherty (5-6) allowed just one hit and walked two in recording his first win since May 14, a span of 79 days and 12 starts.

 

Jose Martinez, Kolten Wong and Yairo Muniz had RBI singles for the Cardinals, who are coming off a 16-9 record in July.

 

Lester (9-7) gave up five earned runs on nine hits over five-plus innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

 

Wong and Paul DeJong had three hits apiece.

 

Jose Quintana (8-7, 4.47 ERA) faces off against Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (8-4, 3.56 ERA) on Friday afternoon as the Cubs open up a three-game series at Wrigley Field. Quintana is 6-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 14 lifetime starts against the Brewers.

 

Dakota Hudson (10-5, 3.88 ERA) squares off Saturday against Oakland's Mike Fiers (9-3, 3.54 ERA) in the first of a two-game set in Oakland following a rare Friday night off. Hudson allowed three home runs in his last outing - a 6-2 loss to Houston on Sunday.

Mets Blank Sox

Zack Wheeler tossed seven innings of four-hit ball, Robinson Cano drove in two runs with a homer and double, and New York beat the Chicago White Sox 4-0 on Thursday for its seventh straight win.

 

Wilson Ramos also drove in a run as the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox and won their 13th of 17 overall. New York has its longest winning streak since a nine-game run in early April 2018.

 

Wheeler's fastball reached 98 mph as the right-hander struck out seven and walked none in his second start after a 2 1/2-week stint on injured list with shoulder fatigue. Wheeler (8-6) retired the first 11 hitters before Jose Abreu singled off shortstop Amed Rosario's glove with two outs in the fourth.

 

Luis Avilan and Jeurys Familia completed the four-hitter as Chicago dropped its eighth game in nine and fell to 4-16 since the All-Star break.

 

Rookie Dylan Cease (1-4) allowed four runs, three earned, in seven innings in his fifth and longest start since joining Chicago's rotation. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out six and was throwing 97 mph as late as the sixth, when New York scored three times to break the game open.

 

Cano led off the second with a solo shot just over the left-center field wall. It was his first homer since hitting three in a win over the Padres on July 23.

 

Entering Thursday, Cano was 2 for 30 in seven games since hits outburst against San Diego.

 

Cano's double to the right field wall with two outs in the sixth drove in Jeff McNeil to make it 2-0. Ramos' single to right plated Pete Alonso, and Cano scored on an error by catcher Welington Castillo, who couldn't handle right fielder Leury Garcia's perfect throw.

 

Ivan Nova (6-9, 5.32) takes the mound at Philadelphia against Jason Vargas (6-5, 4.01), who makes his first start since the Phillies acquired him from the Mets on Monday.

College Football Preseason Coaches Poll Dubs Clemson No.1

The calendar has turned to August, which means college football will be played this month. That means that it's time for the ranking season, and the 2019 preseason Coaches Poll was released on Thursday, with defending national champion Clemson chiming in at No. 1. It's the first time in program history that the Tigers have been ranked No. 1 in the preseason Coaches Poll.

 

National runner-up Alabama chimed in at No. 2, with Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State rounding out the top five. Clemson and Alabama are the only two teams that received first-place votes. 

 

One of the most surprising notes from the poll is that the much-maligned Pac-12 landed five teams in the top 25 with Washington being the highest-ranked team at No. 12.

Mets Double Up Sox

Todd Frazier hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, Michael Conforto added a two-run single and the Mets beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 Wednesday night for their season-best sixth straight victory.

 

Mets ace Jacob deGrom struck out 11 in a tight pitching duel with fellow All-Star Lucas Giolito. Both allowed just one run in seven innings.

 

After improving to 12-4 in the last 16 games, New York (52-55) has its longest winning streak since a nine-game run in early April 2018. The latest victory came only hours after the front office decided to hang onto potential trade candidates Frazier, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Edwin Diaz at the deadline.

 

Justin Wilson (2-1) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to get the win. Diaz gave up a solo homer to Leury Garcia but got three outs for his 24th save in 29 chances.

 

White Sox closer Alex Colome (3-2) took the loss. Chicago has dropped seven of eight.

 

With the score tied at 1, Wilson Ramos led off the Mets ninth and reached on an error by shortstop Tim Anderson. Ramos advanced to second on a single by J.D. Davis before pinch-runner Aaron Altherr scored easily on a single to right field by Frazier.


Colome struck out Amed Rosario before walking Adeiny Hechavarria to load the bases. Jeff McNeil also struck out, but Conforto lined a single into right to make it 4-1. All three runs in the inning were unearned.

 

DeGrom gave up five hits in the 39th double-digit strikeout game of his career.

 

Giolito allowed just three hits after being roughed up for seven runs on seven hits last week against Minnesota. The right-hander went winless in five July starts, though.

 

Chicago took advantage of rare control problems by deGrom to go ahead 1-0 in the third. After Yolmer Sanchez and Garcia had back-to-back singles with one out, Ryan Goins drew a walk to load the bases. Jose Abreu drove in Sanchez with a sacrifice fly.

 

The Mets scratched out a run against Giolito in the sixth to tie it. Conforto led off with a walk and one out later advanced to third on a single by Robinson Cano. Ramos followed with a slow grounder to third and Conforto slid headfirst - touching the back of the plate with his left hand - to avoid the tag of catcher James McCann.

 

Wheeler (7-6, 4.71 ERA) faces White Sox rookie Dylan Cease (1-3, 6.86) in the finale of the three-game series Thursday afternoon. Wheeler beat the Pirates last time out after returning from the injured list. Cease dropped his third straight start last Friday against Minnesota.

Cubs Blank Cardinals

Kyle Hendricks struck out seven in seven innings and Ian Happ hit an RBI single in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie as Chicago beat St. Louis 2-0 and moved into a tie with the Cardinals atop the NL Central.

 

The teams have identical 57-50 records. The Cardinals have lost three of their last four.

 

Hendricks (8-8) improved to 8-0 in his last 11 starts against the Cardinals. Chicago has won all 11 of those games. He is 8-2 with a 2.74 ERA in 17 starts against St. Louis over his six-year career.

 

Hendricks allowed seven hits and didn't walk a batter in a 104-pitch effort. He has allowed just one earned run over 23 innings in three starts (0.39) against St. Louis this season.

 

St. Louis catcher Matt Wieters doubled off Hendricks in the third.

 

Closer Craig Kimbrel picked his eighth save in 10 chances. He worked out of a jam in the ninth. With runners at second and third and one out, he got Wieters to ground out before striking out Yairo Munoz.

 

Ian Happ, who was recalled from Triple-A Des Moines on Friday, singled off Miles Mikolas (7-11) and scored Kris Bryant, who had reached on a one-out error by third baseman Tommy Edman. Anthony Rizzo drew a walk, setting the stage for Happ's run-scoring hit.

 

Mikolas did not allow an earned run over 5 2/3 innings. He gave up six hits, struck out three and walked one.

 

Chicago scored an unearned run in the eighth inning. Javier Baez hit a two-out double that was originally ruled foul, but changed on video review. A pick-off throw to second from catcher Wieters skipped into the outfield and allowed Baez to score..

 

St. Louis failed to score despite leadoff doubles in the second, third and fourth innings.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who entered the game with seven homers in his last eight games, had a pair of doubles.

 

Jack Flaherty (4-6, 4.17) will face LHP Jon Lester (9-6, 3.63) in the finale of the three-game series on Thursday. Flaherty has allowed two runs or less in each of his last four starts. Lester is 3-4 with a 4.42 ERA in nine road starts compared to a 6-2, 2.95 ERA in 11 starts at home.

Sox Put IF Moncada On DL

White Sox 3B Yoan Moncada is headed to the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. 

He left Tuesday's series opener against the New York Mets after fielding a grounder to end the top of the first. 

 

''I started feeling some discomfort during BP when I was taking ground balls,'' he said through a translator. ''But it wasn't like a big deal and I thought it would be fine for the game, but that first play I felt it.''

 

Ryan Goins started at third base Wednesday night going 2-for-4 and is hitting .324 in his first big league action since last year. Goins was recalled from Triple-A on July 18.

Cubs Acquire Castellanos from Tigers

The Cubs have acquired Nicholas Castellanos from the Tigers, the clubs have announced. The return to the Tigers is two minor-league pitchers, Paul Richan and Alex Lange.

 

Castellanos was actually in the Tigers' lineup in Anaheim as the deadline hit, but when he was supposed to be on deck, he wasn't anywhere to be seen. 

 

Richan is a 22-year-old right-hander in Class A-Advanced. He's 10-5 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 86 strikeouts in 93 innings. 

 

Lange is a 23-year-old righty who started the season in Class A-Advanced but moved up to Double-A, where he's got a 3.92 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in 39 innings. He had a 7.36 ERA in 47 2/3 innings before moving up. 

 

Castellanos, 27, is hitting .273/.328/.462 (106 OPS+) with 11 homers, 37 RBI, 57 runs and an MLB-best 37 doubles this season. He's a free agent after the year, so this is a rental for the Cubs. He's a sub-par defender in right field, but the Cubs are looking for the big bat here. 

White Sox, Cardinals Make Moves Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline

The 2019 MLB trade deadline was on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. Unlike previous years, there is no waiver period in August, which means deals had to happen ahead of that aforementioned deadline. Some big names changed teams, with Marcus Stroman, Trevor Bauer and Zack Greinke all being part of trades. 

 

The Cubs traded reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to the Padres for left-handed pitcher Brad Wleck. The Cubs also added speed, trading for utility man Tony Kemp from the Astros for the recently acquired Martin Maldanado.

 

Meanwhile, the White Sox traded reliever Nate Jones to the Texas Rangers for Joe Janeski and Ray Castro, both right-handed pitchers. The Rangers also receive international money compensation.

 

Other trade deadlines moves included a blockbuster trade between the Diamondbacks and the Astros. Ace Zack Greinke is headed to the Astros for former first round picks Seth Beer, JB Bukauskas, Corbin Martin and Josh Rojas. 

 

The Astros also struck a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays receive outfielder Derek Fisher for struggling right-hander Aaron Sanches, starting pitcher Joe Biagini and prospect outfielder Cal Stevenson. 

 

The Diamondbacks and the Miami Marlins struck a surprising deal mid-day Wednesday. The Diamondbacks acquire rookie right-hander Zac Gallen for top-100 shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm. Gallen was a high-rising right-hander who dominated Triple-A before his recall in June. 

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