The Junction City Blues American Legion team lost to McPherson 9-6 Saturday night in the final game of the Junction City Post 45 Invitational.
McPherson captured first place in the four-team round-robin tournament with a 3-0 record. Junction City finished second with a 2-1 mark.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Rick Porcello pitched seven effective innings, Andrew Benintendi had four hits and scored twice, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-4 on Sunday.
The Red Sox hit .385, 45 for 111, and had 68 base runners in sweeping the three-game series. Boston has won six straight and 13 of 16.
Porcello (11-3) allowed three runs on nine hits before leaving after 111 pitches. He struck out nine, matching his season high, and walked one. Craig Kimbrel got the final two outs for his 27th save in 29 chances.
Benintendi extended his on-base streak to 11 straight — seven hits and four walks — before striking out in the eighth.
Drew Butera singled and Whit Merrifield doubled to lead off the Kansas City seventh, but Porcello stranded them by striking out Jorge Bonifacio and Mike Moustakas and retiring Lucas Duda on a fly ball.
Eduardo Nunez drove in two Boston runs with singles in the fourth and seventh. Mitch Moreland walked with the base loaded in the fifth and singled in a run in the seventh. Xavier Bogaerts also contributed an RBI-double in a three-run seventh.
Merrifield singled in a run in the ninth for his first five-hit game. Bonifacio drove in two KC runs with a third-inning double.
Heath Fillmyer (0-1), who was making his first big league start, allowed four runs, one unearned, on eight hits and three walks. Fillmyer was filling in for Jakob Junis, who went on the disabled list with back tightness.
The Royals, who turned five double plays, lost their ninth straight to match their longest of skid this season and are 4-27 in their last 31 games. They are 38 games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2006 season 62-100.
ROYALS SIGN TEENAGE PITCHER
The Royals signed RHP Kaito Yuki, 16, from Osaka, Japan. He opted to sign a professional contract in lieu of going to high school.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mookie Betts and company jumped all over Jason Hammel.
It was more than enough with Chris Sale on the mound.
Sale struck out 12 in six innings, Betts, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts homered, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 10-5 on Friday night.
Betts’ 100th career homer sparked the AL East leaders to four runs in each of the first two innings. Sale earned his 100th win.
“If you get four runs before you take the mound it’s nice,” he said. “Just go out there and you’re able to pitch and not worry about being too cute or too fine, just throwing strikes.”
Sale also made a nice running catch of Mike Moustakas’ foul popup in front of the Red Sox dugout in the sixth, calling off catcher Sandy Leon and third baseman Eduardo Nunez.
“As pitchers, we don’t get the best rep for being athletes,” Sale said. “It was just fun, run by, scream a little bit and get the guys going.”
Sale’s 16-inning scoreless streak was snapped by Alcides Escobar’s two-out RBI single in the second, but that was it for the skidding Royals against the ace left-hander. Sale (9-4) has allowed one run and 10 hits over 20 innings in his past three starts.
“We take care of him,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Whenever we can save right now is going to benefit him and us in the future. His breaking ball was great. The fastball whenever he wanted to was up to 99 (mph). He was outstanding again.”
Boston stretched its win streak to four with its ninth victory in 11 games overall. It leads the majors with 60 victories and a .674 winning percentage.
Betts drove Hammel’s third pitch over the center-field fence for his fourth leadoff drive this season.
Brock Holt added a two-run single as Boston batted around in a four-run first.
Martinez and Bogaerts each hit a two-run shot in the second. It was Martinez’s major league-leading 27th homer, and Bogaerts improved to 6 for 11 with two homers and seven RBIs versus Hammel (2-11).
“It just wasn’t his night,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I mean he didn’t have anything going for him.”
Hammel was pulled after the second. The veteran right-hander has surrendered 23 runs, 21 earned, and 28 hits in 12 innings in his past three starts. He leads the AL in losses, and his ERA is up to 6.16.
“Probably throwing more angry balls right now than actual pitches so kind of become a thrower instead of a pitcher due to just frustration,” Hammel said. “It’s a tough lineup and if you miss they make you pay which you saw today.”
Moustakas hit a two-run homer in the eighth for Kansas City, which has dropped seven straight and 19 of 22. Burch Smith pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Hammel.
The Royals are 37 games below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2006 season with a 62-100 record. Since June 1, they have been outscored 165-72 while losing 26 of 31.
The Junction City Blues American Legion baseball team defeated Kingman 9-5 and Rossville 4-2 on the opening night of the Junction City Post 45 Invitational Tournament at Rathert Field.
The Blues host McPherson at 7 p.m. Saturday in the tournament.
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The Blues will compete in a postseason zone tournament on Sunday evening at 7 o’clock in Marysville. It will be a seven-team double elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Leavenworth.
Junction City will play Chapman in the first round of the zone tournament.
A key double by Junction City Brigade catcher Rustin Hiebert cleared the bases and helped the West team in the Mid Plains League All Star game to an 11-10 win over the East Team Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
Cecil Aska, Brigade General Manager, said the big hit came with the bases load and the West up by one run. “He hit a ball off the fence and cleared the bases. ” Aska noted that Hiebert had three hits in the game.
Five other Brigade players also competed in the game including shortstop Carson Sader, relief pitcher Daniel Bachura. outfielder Joey Winkler, third baseman Aaron Samaniego and pitcher Jacob Uhing. Brigade head coach Derek Francis was an assistant coach for the West team.
A Junction City High School wrestler, Elisa Robinson, has been ranked number nine in the nation in the 180 pound weight class after the national Wrestling Hall of Fame. USA Wrestling and FloWrestling partnered to create national rankings to recognize the top high school girl wrestlers in the nation.
Robinson will be a junior at Junction City High School this fall. She is a member of the Blue Jay wrestling program and a two-time Girls state wrestling champion. In 2017 she won the state championship at 160 pounds, and then in 2018 the state title at 170 pounds.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Trevor Bauer made plenty of quality pitches, but it was Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez who made the best throw of the night.
Bauer pitched effectively into the eighth inning as the Indians beat the skidding Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Wednesday for a three-game sweep.
With the Royals trailing by one in the eighth, Whit Merrifield hit a leadoff double before Perez nabbed him attempting to steal third.
“It was a huge play,” Bauer said.
Merrifield, the 2017 AL stolen base champion, said he got a good jump
“They executed. I executed,” Merrifield said. “They got me this time. It was the right play. If I had a chance to do it again, I’d do it again.”
Perez gave credit to Bauer.
“He was thinking he was going to try and steal,” Perez said. “He called fastball up and in and I thought that was the game right there. That was on Bauer. He hit me right in the chest and I made a strong throw, and (Jose) Ramirez made a good tag on him. I was fired up.”
Michael Brantley had an early RBI double and the Indians scored all their runs in the first three innings on only one hit. Bauer struck out eight and walked one over 7 2/3 innings.
The plummeting Royals have lost six straight and 18 of 21. They have scored four or fewer runs in 25 of their past 26 games and are barely ahead of Baltimore for the worst record in the majors.
After winning on grand slams by Francisco Lindor and Yan Gomes the previous two nights, the Indians managed only four hits — two in the ninth inning.
Bauer (8-6) has struck out eight or more in eight consecutive starts. He allowed seven hits, six of them singles, and is 3-1 in his past four starts.
“It was frustrating in a lot of ways and I was happy the team won,” Bauer said. “I made some good pitches and gave up some weak hits. I had too many two-strike pitches put into play. I need to clean that up.”
Cody Allen worked the ninth to earn his 18th save in 19 chances. It was his 140th career save, breaking a tie with Bob Wickman for the club record.
Lindor walked to start the game, stole second and scored on Brantley’s double. Brantley went to third on Ramirez’s flyout and scored on Edwin Encarnacion’s sacrifice fly.
The Indians manufactured a run without a hit in the second. Jason Kipnis and Tyler Naquin opened the inning with walks. Perez advanced both with a sacrifice bunt, and Greg Allen delivered a sacrifice fly.
Kansas City used a double steal to create a run in the second. Alex Gordon, who was hit by a pitch, and Hunter Dozier, who reached on an infield single, were at the corners with two outs. They pulled off a successful double steal, with Gordon scoring. It was Dozier’s first career steal.
The last Royals player to steal home was Alex Rios on July 20, 2015, against Pittsburgh, also as part of a double steal.
Alcides Escobar singled in the Kansas City fifth and advanced to third on Drew Butera’s one-out single. Escobar scored on Merrifield’s sacrifice fly.
Royals starter Trevor Oaks (0-2), recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take Ian Kennedy’s spot in the rotation, was removed after four innings and 73 pitches. He allowed three runs on two hits and four walks.
“The leadoff walks and not having good command, just really frustrating when I’ve walked like one or two guys an outing and now I’m back to four,” Oaks said.
Oaks had a 0.62 ERA in his last seven Triple-A starts. Kennedy went on the disabled list with a strained left oblique.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver said the key to winning is “pitching, fundamentals and three-run homers.”
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona can go one better: grand slams.
Yan Gomes hit a grand slam in the sixth inning and the Indians rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Tuesday night.
The Indians lead the American League with eight grand slams and it was their second in two nights. Francisco Lindor hit one Monday.
“I’m glad,” Francona said. “I hope we have a ton more opportunities. I’m really happy about that. That’s really good for us.”
Edwin Encarnacion led off the sixth with a walk and Brandon Guyer was hit by Danny Duffy’s pitch. Yonder Alonso’s infield single loaded the bases before Gomes drove Duffy’s 1-0 changeup into the left-field bullpen.
“I hope it’s not contagious, because that means people are going up there looking to hit a grand slam,” Gomes said. “You really just want to get up there and try to keep the line moving. I hope if we get more bases-loaded (situations), we’re just able to drive more guys in, whether that’s a sac fly or a base hit or a grand slam.”
Gomes is 10 for 26 (.385) with three home runs and eight RBIs off Duffy.
Shane Bieber (4-0) allowed all the Kansas City runs in the first two innings, and remains undefeated in his first five big league starts.
“Things got a little ugly,” Bieber said. “They could have gotten a lot worse. I was trying to go out there and compete and move on to the next pitch.”
Chad Allen got the final four outs for his 17th save in 18 chances and his fifth of more than one inning. He stranded two runners in the ninth after a single and a walk.
Duffy (4-8) yielded six runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batter. He is 0-3 against the Indians this season and has lost eight in a row against them dating to May 6, 2015.
“It was belt high and right out over the plate for him to tattoo and that’s what he did,” Duffy said of the grand slam. “I hate that old song and dance these things happen, bull, but these things do happen. And it’s happened to us a lot lately. It’s really frustrating. I gave up six runs today, which means I didn’t pitch very well.”
It took Duffy 25 pitches to record an out with Lindor, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez opening the game with singles. Ramirez’s single deflected off Duffy’s glove to score Lindor. Alfonso’s fly to center scored Brantley with the second run.
“The first inning was a grind for Danny, 36 pitches, but he really did a pretty good job of limiting the damage there with only two runs and kind of got on a roll,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
Lucas Duda homered with Rosell Herrera, who had three hits, on board to tie it in the bottom of the first.
The Royals forged ahead 4-2 in the second. Whit Merrifield singled home Adalberto Mondesi and scored on Herrera’s two-out double.
The Royals lost for the 24th time in 29 games. They did manage 12 hits, ending a club record of 24 straight games without getting double-figure hits.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Francisco Lindor had an exceptional Monday after a very good Sunday.
Lindor homered twice, including a grand slam, and finished with a career-high seven RBIs as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 9-3 on Monday night.
On Sunday, he had two doubles and a solo homer in Oakland.
Lindor homered in the fourth after Yan Gomes singled and Jakob Junis hit Tyler Naquin and Rajai Davis with pitches. He added a three-run homer in the sixth to finish Junis’ evening.
“One was a changeup and the other one was a slider,” said Lindor, who has 23 home runs. “My approach is hit the ball and if it goes out it goes out. It was a good pitch to hit (on the grand slam). I was just trying to get one guy in. I’m not a power hitter. Just get a good pitch to hit and drive it.”
Lindor has 17 home runs and 54 RBIs in 54 games against the Royals.
“Just a routine day for him, today and yesterday,” Indians starter Corey Kluber said. “He continues to get better, which is kind of scary.”
Kluber (12-4), who failed to make it out of the second inning in his previous start at St. Louis, gave up two runs in the first, but little after that. He allowed three runs and seven hits, walked none and struck out five over six innings.
Davis had three hits and scored three runs.
“I got myself into trouble with a couple of hit batters and good teams are going to take advantage of that,” Junis said.
Junis (5-10) has lost his last seven starts and is tied with teammate Jason Hammel for most losses in the American League. He has yielded a major league-high 24 home runs, including 12 in his last five starts over 27 innings.
“You worry about his confidence more than anything else,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Again, it’s an easy fix. When you’re off the side of the slider, it’s gonna be a cement mixer. He started off good, just didn’t end that good.”
Whit Merrifield homered on Kluber’s third pitch for his fourth career leadoff home run. Salvador Perez singled home Mike Moustakas, who had doubled, in an 11-pitch at-bat for the other Kansas City run in the first.
Jorge Bonifacio logged his first RBI of the season in the Kansas City sixth after being suspended the first 80 games for taking a performance enhancing drug.
The Royals have lost 23 of their last 28 games. They are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the most losses in the majors with 54. They scored four runs or fewer for the 23rd time in the last 24 games.
ROYALS SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK
The Royals signed right-hander Jackson Kowar, a first-round compensation selection and the 33rd overall pick, to a $2.118.700 signing bonus. He went 10-5 with a 3.04 ERA as a Florida junior.
The Junction City Brigade led the Topeka Golden Giants 8-5 going into the bottom of the 6th inning at Rathert Field Saturday night. But then a 45-minute lightning delay occurred.
When the teams resumed play the Golden Giants outscored the Brigade 8-1 over the remaining three and a half innings to capture a 13-9 win. With that victory the Golden Giants captured two out of three wins in the weekend series against the Brigade.
The game had been a see-saw contest earlier with both teams holding the lead before gusty winds moved in and lightning started to occur. No rain ever fell, however, in Junction City.
Tanner Holen and Will Jordan continued their strong hitting for Junction City. Holen had a home run and single, while Jordan registered a home run, double, single and drew one walk.
Junction City, 14-8, will not play again until July 6th, when they travel to play at the Sabetha Lobos.
Six members of the Brigade will be a part of the West Division All Stars for the Mid Plains League All Star game on July 5th at the Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. They include shortstop Carson Sader, relief pitcher Daniel Bachura, outfielder Joey Winkler, pitcher Jacob Uhing, catcher Rustin Hiebert and third baseman Aaron Samaniego. Brigade head coach Derek Francis will serve as an assistant coach for the West team in the All Star Game.
