KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez put himself in the company of some Hall of Famers at his position.

Perez and Jorge Bonifacio hit back-to-back homers during a four-run sixth inning, Heath Fillmyer pitched into the eighth and the Kansas City Royals held on for a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

The loss by the Twins, who occupy second place in the woeful AL Central, reduced the division-leading Cleveland Indians’ magic number to two.

Perez’s 420-foot drive to left field was his 25th homer. He became the first AL catcher with back-to-back seasons of at least 25 home runs since Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, who did it three straight years from 1999-2001. Another Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza, had eight consecutive seasons of 30 or more homers, ending in 2002.

Perez hit a career-high 27 homers last year.

Abilene swept Fort Riley Middle School in a pair of football games on Thursday. Abilene won the 7th grade game 28-26 and the 8th grade game 38-22.

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior offensive lineman Dalton Risner is one of 22 student-athletes nationally and 11 from FBS institutions named to the 2018 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team, Allstate Insurance Company and the AFCA announced Thursday. The award recognizes student-athletes for their unparalleled commitment to their communities.

 

A product of Wiggins, Colorado, Risner is the third Wildcat all-time to be named to the team, joining former quarterback and current Co-Offensive Coordinator Collin Klein(2012) along with fullback Victor Mann (2005).

 

Aside from his work on the field as one of the top offensive linemen in the country, Risner has made it a priority in his life to positively affect others both in the Manhattan community and across the country. He has started the Rise Up Foundation in both a blog and vlog form on Facebook Live. The goal is to “encourage everyone to RISE above the evil and sin in this world and be a positive shining light in the lives of others.”

 

Risner has taken this goal to heart as he visits Buttonwood Special Needs Home on a regular basis and has bonded with one particular resident, as he and Mike spend time together both at the house and various places in the community. Risner has also been a Big Brother to a boy named Kaden, who was diagnosed with leukemia but has since gone into remission. Risner and Kaden have spent time together playing sports, and Risner has taught Kaden how to play football.

 

A speaker through schools both in the community and his hometown of Wiggins, Risner shares his story of football, faith and community service, and his speeches center around dreaming big and accomplishing goals. He has also taken the time to send messages and signed memorabilia to people – both young and old – battling various difficulties in life.

 

“It goes without saying how excited we are to recognize this diverse group of student-athletes and honorary head coach for their unwavering commitment to serving others and making a difference in their communities,” Dave Prendergast, president of the Eastern Territory at Allstate Insurance Company and Good Works Team voting member, said. “Our goal for this program is to shed light on the often unnoticed and unrewarded acts of kindness off the field. Whether it’s serving as a mentor for local youth or donating time and energy to raising awareness of social issues, these young men are setting an outstanding example in the football community and beyond.”

 

The AFCA Good Works Team has played a prominent role in collegiate sports for more than 25 years, celebrating student-athletes and the honorary head coach for their extraordinary commitment to making a lasting impact off the field.

 

The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be invited to New Orleans to participate in a special community service project ahead of the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl where the entire team will also be recognized on the field during a halftime presentation.

 

“Football programs across the country do an excellent job of giving back to their local communities and helping those in need,” AFCA Executive Director Todd Berry said. “The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team honors those select few student-athletes and one head coach who go above and beyond in the service of others.”

 

Risner is also a candidate for this year’s Wuerffel Trophy, which honors players for their community-service efforts, while he was the 2017-18 Big 12 Male Sportsperson of the Year.

 

Kansas State closes out its regular season non-conference slate with a visit from UTSA on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The annual Fort Riley Day game kicks off at 3 p.m., and the contest will be televised by FSN.

 

– k-statesports.com –

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tim Anderson kept the White Sox in the game with his glove before he won it with his bat.

Anderson hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning, and Chicago beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Anderson’s blast off Burch Smith (1-5), the sixth Royals pitcher, landed just beyond the fence in left-center. It was his 19th homer this season.

“It was a good way to cap off the night,” Anderson said. “I was looking fastball. The at-bat before that, they started me off with a slider. The first pitch was a fastball up, and I had a feeling that he would throw me another one. I was able to jump on it.”

In the bottom of the 11th, Rosell Herrera lined out to Anderson at shortstop, and he threw to third to double off pinch-runner Brett Phillips.

“It’s a bang-bang play,” he said. “I guess (Phillips) didn’t think I could jump. It was close, but it was a good play to get us out of the jam.”

Juan Minaya (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Hector Santiago, the eighth Chicago pitcher, picked up his second save in as many chances. Jose Rondon also homered for the White Sox, who snapped a seven-game skid, one game short of their season-worst losing streak.

“Tim put a good swing on it,” manager Rick Renteria said. “All the guys in the dugout were hoping he would do something there, and he did.

“Both teams did a good job of protecting the strike zone and limiting the scoring.”

Adalberto Mondesi tied a career high with four hits and drove in both of Kansas City’s runs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brad Keller had another effective outing to keep up his impressive rookie season.

Keller pitched seven strong innings to win for the fourth time in six starts, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 6-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

“He kind of struggled with his mechanics a little bit early, but he’s a kid who doesn’t give in,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He comes right at you with good stuff. … He got pitches to get outs when he needed to.”

Keller (8-6) gave up one run and four hits and two walks while striking out six. He is 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA in his last six starts, lowering his ERA to 3.04 — leading all AL rookies.

Yost isn’t quite ready to talk about Keller in the Rookie Of The Year discussion, but it’s not too far from his mind.

“I haven’t paid attention to who his competition will be,” he said. “I’m very proud and pleased with the year that he’s put together. … He’s only going to get better.”

Keller says it’s an honor to be in the discussion of top rookies, but it’s not his focus.

“I don’t really look at that,” Keller said. “I just try to go out and help the team win. It’s just cool to be in the talks, but that doesn’t matter.”

Whit Merrifield had two hits, two RBIs, and scored two runs for the Royals. He also stole two bases to increase his American League lead to 33 steals, including a league-best 12 of third base.

The aggressiveness on the basepaths, especially since the All-Star break, has been key in the Royals starting to play better at home. They have 47 steals in 48 games since the break.

“We have to force the issue at times,” Merrifield said, “be aggressive and good things happen.”

Wily Peralta picked up his 10th save in 10 chances, despite walking two in 1/3 of an inning.

The Royals have won a season-high seven straight at home — and 10 of 11. After starting 11-35 at home before the All-Star break, the Royals are 16-10 since the break. They need to win three of their final nine games to avoid tying the franchise’s worst home record (1998).

Dylan Covey (5-13) allowed six runs — five earned — and six hits in 4 1/3 innings for the White Sox. He walked three and struck out four. He is now 0-6 with a 9.00 ERA in his last six starts. Over his last 11 outings, he’s 1-9 with an 8.59 ERA.

Covey has struggled against the Royals, falling to 0-7 with a 6.37 ERA in nine career starts.

The White Sox scored a run in the third when Avasail Garcia beat out an infield single, scoring Yolmer Sanchez from third. Garcia rolled it sharply to short, but Adalberto Mondesi appeared to take too long to release the throw to first.

Mondesi made up for his gaffe with an RBI single as part of a three-run third for Kansas City. Merrifield blooped a single to short right field, scoring Brian Goodwin. Mondesi followed with a bunt single that scored Rosell Herrera. A bad throw by catcher Welington Castillo sent Merrifield to third. He scored on Alex Gordon’s sacrifice fly to the wall in right.

The Royals added another run in the fourth. Ryan O’Hearn led off with a triple down the right-field line and scored on Jorge Bonifacio’s ground-rule double to make it 4-1.

Hunter Dozier had a two-run single in the sixth to give the Royals a five-run lead.

The White Sox pulled within three in the ninth against Royals relievers, with Tim Anderson driving in Ryan LaMarre with a single and Yoan Moncada scoring Jose Rondon on a bases-loaded walk.

“We had some opportunities early, didn’t cash them in,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. “And then, we gave them a little scare here in the ninth.”