SAN FRANCISCO — This time, Carlos Beltran, David Freese and the St. Louis Cardinals took a six-run lead — and held onto it, barely.Beltran and Freese hit two-run homers and these wild, wild-card Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the NLCS.The defending World Series champions took an early 6-0 cushion and made it stand up. Only two nights earlier, the Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit, using a four-run rally in the ninth inning at Washington in the deciding Game 5 of the division series."The way we play the game, we have been in this type of situation before in the regular season," Beltran said. "These guys have this mentality of not panicking."The St. Louis bullpen delivered with 5? scoreless innings after starter Lance Lynn was chased early. Edward Mujica, the fifth St. Louis pitcher, struck out the side in order in the seventh for the win. Jason Motte finished for his second save of the postseason.The Cardinals gave first-year manager Mike Matheny a win against his former club.Matheny's crew hardly looked road-weary after a cross-country trip. The Giants dropped to 0-3 at home so far during these playoffs, outscored 20-6 at AT&T Park.Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night. Chris Carpenter pitches for the Cardinals against Ryan Vogelsong.This is the first time the previous two World Series winners are facing off in the postseason since the 1958 World Series between the Braves and Yankees.Beltran's fourth-inning drive into the seats in left-center chased San Francisco starter Madison Bumgarner.It was Beltran's 14th career postseason homer and third this October."Right now I'm really enjoying myself," Beltran said. "Right now I'm seeing the ball well. I feel like I have a good approach at the plate, I feel like I'm not trying to do too much, and good things are happening."Both teams were well rested a day after a rough night of travel. The Giants barely beat the Cardinals to the Bay Area early Saturday after they were delayed three hours on the tarmac in Cincinnati on Friday night — to refuel and for a mechanical problem after waiting out the Cardinals-Nationals game to know where they were headed next.Matheny stuck with the same winning lineup that he sent out for Game 5, and some of the same faces came through again."They put together some better at-bats than us," Giants center fielder Angel Pagan said. "They hit some homers and were up 6-0. That's a pretty good lead in the playoffs. We tried to battle back. We did our best but it wasn't our night."
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Werth's clout sends Nationals past Cardinals, forces Game 5
WASHINGTON — Joyous, bouncing teammates waiting to greet him at home, the red-clad crowd raucous as can be, Jayson Werth yanked off his red batting helmet with two hands and thrust it four meters overhead.A little less than two years ago, the Washington Nationals showered Werth with millions, persuading him to come show them how to win. On Thursday night, with one swing of his black bat, Werth delivered a game-ending homer to extend his club's surprising season and wipe away whatever disappointments marred his days in D.C.Werth led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a 13-pitch at-bat against reliever Lance Lynn that ended with the ball landing beyond the wall in left field, giving the Nationals a tense 2-1 victory over the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals and forcing a deciding Game 5 in their NL Division Series."That's the way that game should have ended: Jayson Werth hitting a home run," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "He has not hit that many this year. . . . Unbelievable. Great effort on his part."The best-of-five series will end Friday night in Washington, with the winner advancing to face the San Francisco Giants in the NL Championship Series. The starters will provide a rematch of Game 1, which Washington won, with Gio Gonzalez on the mound for the NL East champion Nationals, and Adam Wainwright for the wild-card Cardinals."It's what you play all season for, and what you work out all winter for, and what you get to spring training early for," Werth said. "We have a chance tomorrow to take that next step. I know my teammates will be ready. And the city will, too."The homer was Werth's first of the series, the 14th of his postseason career. He won the 2008 World Series and a string of division titles with the Philadelphia Phillies, then moved to Washington before last season as a free agent on a $126 million, seven-year contract that stunned much of baseball.He managed to hit only five homers and 31 RBIs in 2012, missing 75 games because of a broken left wrist. Last year, his first in Washington, Werth hit only .232 with 58 RBIs, and there was grumbling about his worth.That vanished at dusk Thursday, when Werth circled the bases, raising his right index finger in a "No. 1" gesture, while the announced crowd of 44,392 roared, and the other Nationals raced out of their dugout to greet him."I'm just happy that these fans got to see it, because obviously he had a rough year last year, and he got hurt this year, and I don't think the fans realize how good of a player Jason is," Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "For him to have a moment like this in front of the home fans, and in front of this atmosphere, I couldn't be happier for him. He deserves it."Werth's arrival certainly coincided with a quick turnaround: The Nationals lost 100 games in 2008 and 2009, but led the majors with 98 wins this year.Werth's shot provided a sudden end to a classic postseason contest filled with tremendous pitching. Each team managed only three hits.Lynn, usually a starter for St. Louis but a reliever in these playoffs, was making his third appearance of this series.Drew Storen, who threw the top of the ninth, got the win. Jordan Zimmermann made the first relief appearance of his career in the seventh.Starters Kyle Lohse, who won the wild-card playoff game for St. Louis against Atlanta last week, and Ross Detwiler were both superb. Lohse lasted seven innings, allowing one run and two hits. Detwiler went six, with one unearned run and three hits.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Controversial call helps Cardinals eliminate Braves
ATLANTA — Talk about a wild card.
Early bird: Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitches against the Braves during the NL Wild-Card game on Friday. APThis one was just plain wild.Chipper Jones played his final game. The Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap after a disputed infield fly. And the St. Louis Cardinals did what they always seem to do in October.Celebrated another postseason triumph.Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals rallied from an early deficit, taking advantage of three Atlanta throwing errors — the most crucial of them by the retiring Jones — to beat the Braves 6-3 in a winner-take-all wild-card playoff Friday.In the eighth inning, there was more crazy throwing, this time by an irate crowd that littered the field to protest an umpiring decision that went against the Braves. The Cardinals fled for cover, the Braves protested and the game was halted for 19 minutes while workers cleared up all the beer cups, popcorn holders and other debris.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was asked if he'd ever seen anything like it."Not in the United States," he said.Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre said the protest was denied. St. Louis advanced to face Washington in the best-of-five division round, beginning Sunday at Busch Stadium.The Braves are done for this season, the recipients of another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.The 40-year-old Jones is all done, period. He managed an infield hit in his final at-bat but threw away a double play ball in the fourth, which led to a three-run inning that wiped out Atlanta's 2-0 lead behind Kris Medlen."Ultimately, I feel I'm the one to blame," Jones said.But this one-and-done game will be remembered for the eighth, when a disputed call on a fly ball that dropped in short left field cost the Braves a chance at extending Jones' career.Atlanta thought it had the bases loaded with one out after the ball fell between two fielders. But left-field umpire Sam Holbrook called Andrelton Simmons out under the infield fly rule — even though the ball landed at least 15 meters beyond the dirt. When the sellout crowd of 52,631 realized what had happened, and a second out went up on the scoreboard, they littered the field with whatever they could get their hands on."It was scary," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.Holbrook defended the call, even after looking at the replay."Once that fielder established himself, he got ordinary effort," he said, referring to shortstop Pete Kozma calling for the ball, then veering away at the last moment as left fielder Holliday drifted in. "That's when the call was made."Atlanta president John Schuerholz apologized for the actions of the crowd, saying a "small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." The barrage left Holbrook fearing for his safety."When cans are flying past your head, yeah, a little bit," Holbrook said.The stoppage only delayed the inevitable. When play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases but Michael Bourn struck out to end the threat. Dan Uggla grounded out with two aboard in the ninth to finish it, leading to one more wave of trash throwing as the umps scurried off the field — probably feeling a lot like those replacement NFL refs who caught so much grief.The infield fly is a complicated rule, designed to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping a popup with more than one runner on base and perhaps get an extra out.No one could ever remember it being applied like this. And, after past postseasons dotted by contested calls, this play will certainly lead to another slew of October cries for more instant replay."I was under it," Kozma said. "I should have made the play. I took my eyes off it. I was camped under it."This is what some fans feared about a one-game playoff — a disputed call determining a team's fate for an entire season, even with two extra umpires added for postseason games.Jones refused to pin this loss on the umps."That one play didn't cost us the game. Three errors cost us the game," he said. "We just dug ourselves too big a hole."Holliday homered in the sixth off Medlen, who had been baseball's most dominant starter over the final two months. The Braves had not lost a start by the diminutive right-hander since 2010 — a streak of 23 games, the longest in modern baseball history.
Early bird: Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitches against the Braves during the NL Wild-Card game on Friday. APThis one was just plain wild.Chipper Jones played his final game. The Atlanta fans turned Turner Field into a trash heap after a disputed infield fly. And the St. Louis Cardinals did what they always seem to do in October.Celebrated another postseason triumph.Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals rallied from an early deficit, taking advantage of three Atlanta throwing errors — the most crucial of them by the retiring Jones — to beat the Braves 6-3 in a winner-take-all wild-card playoff Friday.In the eighth inning, there was more crazy throwing, this time by an irate crowd that littered the field to protest an umpiring decision that went against the Braves. The Cardinals fled for cover, the Braves protested and the game was halted for 19 minutes while workers cleared up all the beer cups, popcorn holders and other debris.St. Louis manager Mike Matheny was asked if he'd ever seen anything like it."Not in the United States," he said.Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre said the protest was denied. St. Louis advanced to face Washington in the best-of-five division round, beginning Sunday at Busch Stadium.The Braves are done for this season, the recipients of another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs.The 40-year-old Jones is all done, period. He managed an infield hit in his final at-bat but threw away a double play ball in the fourth, which led to a three-run inning that wiped out Atlanta's 2-0 lead behind Kris Medlen."Ultimately, I feel I'm the one to blame," Jones said.But this one-and-done game will be remembered for the eighth, when a disputed call on a fly ball that dropped in short left field cost the Braves a chance at extending Jones' career.Atlanta thought it had the bases loaded with one out after the ball fell between two fielders. But left-field umpire Sam Holbrook called Andrelton Simmons out under the infield fly rule — even though the ball landed at least 15 meters beyond the dirt. When the sellout crowd of 52,631 realized what had happened, and a second out went up on the scoreboard, they littered the field with whatever they could get their hands on."It was scary," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.Holbrook defended the call, even after looking at the replay."Once that fielder established himself, he got ordinary effort," he said, referring to shortstop Pete Kozma calling for the ball, then veering away at the last moment as left fielder Holliday drifted in. "That's when the call was made."Atlanta president John Schuerholz apologized for the actions of the crowd, saying a "small group of those fans acted in a manner that was uncharacteristic and unacceptable." The barrage left Holbrook fearing for his safety."When cans are flying past your head, yeah, a little bit," Holbrook said.The stoppage only delayed the inevitable. When play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases but Michael Bourn struck out to end the threat. Dan Uggla grounded out with two aboard in the ninth to finish it, leading to one more wave of trash throwing as the umps scurried off the field — probably feeling a lot like those replacement NFL refs who caught so much grief.The infield fly is a complicated rule, designed to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping a popup with more than one runner on base and perhaps get an extra out.No one could ever remember it being applied like this. And, after past postseasons dotted by contested calls, this play will certainly lead to another slew of October cries for more instant replay."I was under it," Kozma said. "I should have made the play. I took my eyes off it. I was camped under it."This is what some fans feared about a one-game playoff — a disputed call determining a team's fate for an entire season, even with two extra umpires added for postseason games.Jones refused to pin this loss on the umps."That one play didn't cost us the game. Three errors cost us the game," he said. "We just dug ourselves too big a hole."Holliday homered in the sixth off Medlen, who had been baseball's most dominant starter over the final two months. The Braves had not lost a start by the diminutive right-hander since 2010 — a streak of 23 games, the longest in modern baseball history.Sunday, September 23, 2012
Cubs rally late, beat Cardinals
CHICAGO — It was all going so well for St. Louis. Chris Carpenter had a solid 2012 debut and Pete Kozma swiped home for the go-ahead run, putting the Cardinals in position to extend their timely winning streak.Then it all fell apart in a hurry.Darwin Barney connected for a tying two-run homer off Fernando Salas with two outs in the ninth inning and David DeJesus hit a game-ending single in the 11th to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory on Friday.DeJesus came to the plate with two out and lined an 0-2 pitch from Joe Kelly (5-6) into right field to score pinch runner Brett Jackson.Alberto Cabrera (1-1) struck out two in a perfect 11th to earn his first career victory.St. Louis had won four in a row and entered Friday with a 2?-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for the second NL wild card."We got to a two-run lead with two strikes in the ninth, but wouldn't finish it off," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.Carpenter threw five effective innings and was in line for the win until Barney drove a 1-2 pitch from Salas into the left-field bleachers. Salas allowed a single to DeJesus with two outs and nobody on after getting two strikes on him, too."I made the pitches I wanted to make," Salas said. "It was a fastball in to DeJesus and a soft hit and then Barney was bad luck. He made good contact."The Cardinals' regular closer, Jason Motte, was unavailable after pitching three days in a row and four out of the last five."He's been very, very good for us lately and he's been in that situation before so it's a good fit," Matheny said of Salas. "You can look at a pitch now and say it should have been somewhere else, but it's easy to do now."Carpenter threw 77 pitches, with a light rain falling throughout the game. The 37-year-old allowed two runs and five hits, struck out two and walked one."My stuff wasn't as sharp as I'd like and it wasn't as sharp as it's been in the simulated games," Carpenter said. "But I tried to get as many outs as I could and give us a chance. . . . Hopefully my stuff will get better and sharper as I get out there more often."Carpenter went 4-0 in the 2011 postseason, but hadn't pitched since winning Game 7 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers. He had surgery July 19 to relieve a nerve ailment that caused numbness up and down the right side of his body.Phillies 6, Braves 2In Philadelphia, Kevin Frandsen hit one of the Phillies' four solo homers to back Kyle Kendrick, and the hosts inched closer in the NL playoff race with a victory over Atlanta.Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley also went deep for the resurgent Phillies.Brewers 4, Nationals 2In Washington, Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez had consecutive RBI hits in the ninth off Nationals closer Tyler Clippard and Milwaukee extended its season-high winning streak to six games with a win over the hosts.Held to one run over eight innings against Washington starter Edwin Jackson, the Brewers scored three against Clippard (2-6).In the ninth, Norichika Aoki's bunt single initiated the Brewers' rally and later scored. He finished 1-for-4.Dodgers 3, Reds 1 (10)In Cincinnati, Matt Kemp's two-out single with the bases loaded in the 10th sent Los Angeles to a victory that denied the Reds' first chance to clinch the NL Central.Mets 7, Marlins 3In New York, the Mets managed to avoid falling into last place in the NL East, beating cellar-dwelling Miami behind Scott Hairston' two-hit, three-RBI performance.New York had lost nine straight at home since beating Houston on Aug. 26.Astros 7, Pirates 1In Houston, Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer and Justin Maxwell and Brett Wallace added solo shots to help the Astros coast to a win over Pittsburgh, further dampening the Pirates already dim postseason hopes.Diamondbacks 15, Rockies 5In Denver, rookie Wade Miley pitched six innings for his 16th win, Chris Johnson homered among his three hits and drove in three runs, and Arizona beat slumping Colorado.Miguel Montero had three hits and three RBIs, and Adam Eaton added a home run for the Diamondbacks, who set season-highs with 15 runs and 19 hits.Miley (16-10) is the second rookie NL pitcher since 1986 to win 16 games. Jason Jennings also won 16 for Colorado in 2002 when he was named the NL Rookie of the Year.Giants 5, Padres 1In San Francisco, Buster Posey hit a tiebreaking RBI single on the night he received a prestigious award and the Giants reduced their magic number for clinching the NL West to two with a victory over the Padres.Posey was honored in a pregame ceremony with the "Willie Mac" award as the most inspirational player on the team. He then delivered another big hit when he drove in Marco Scutaro with a single off Casey Kelly (2-2) that gave San Francisco a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Jay comes through late for Cardinals
LOS ANGELES — Jon Jay was having a miserable time at the plate until the 12th inning, when he hit a clutch RBI double that made he and his teammates forget all the ugly at-bats that preceded it.
Birds of a feather: John Jay doubles against the Dodgers in the 12th inning on Sunday in Los Angeles. APThe go-ahead hit sparked a three-run rally for the St. Louis Cardinals, who earned a split of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-2 victory Sunday and regained undisputed possession of the second NL wild-card spot."It was a long one and both teams fought hard," Jay said after the 4-hour, 25-minute marathon. "Everyone knows what's at stake right now and we've got our work cut out for us."We haven't been playing too well lately, but we've been playing hard. Today we came up with a win on getaway day and it put us back up again. That's huge. But every game from here on out is our most important game. We've been there before, so we know what we've got to do. It's just a matter of doing it."John Ely (0-2), the ninth of a franchise-record 10 pitchers used by Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, issued a leadoff walk to Matt Carpenter and Jay drove him in from second base with a line drive into the right field corner on an 0-2 changeup."Jon had an uncharacteristic day for himself up to that point, but he's been very good this season and filled a big hole for us in the leadoff spot. And today he came through with one of the biggest hits of our year right now," manager Mike Matheny said. "We had a tough time today. You look at that scoreboard and all those Ks, I mean, we had a lot of strikeouts (15), so we just needed somebody to step up."Braves 5, Nationals 1In Atlanta, Mike Minor pitched six strong innings, Dan Uggla broke it open with a two-run single and Gio Gonzalez was denied his 20th win as the Braves completed a three-game sweep.Diamondbacks 10, Giants 2In Phoenix, rookie Patrick Corbin pitched a career-long eight innings and drove in four runs with a triple and single.The RBIs and the extra-base hit were firsts for Corbin, who entered the game batting .071 (2 for 28).Justin Upton had a solo homer and two-run double as the Diamondbacks averted a three-game Giants sweep.Cubs 13, Pirates 9In Chicago, Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs and drove in six.Rizzo hit a two-run shot in a four-run fifth inning, then capped a five-run sixth with his first career grand slam to seize the lead for Chicago. The six RBIs are a career-high, and it was also the 23-year-old's first multihomer game in the majors.Reds 5, Marlins 4 (11)In Miami, Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead single in the 11th inning to lift Cincinnati to a win.Ludwick, Dioner Navarro, and Didi Gregorius each had three hits for the Reds, who tied a season high with 17 hits.Astros 7, Phillies 6In Houston, Justin Maxwell hit a two-run double and Matt Dominguez added a two-run single in the Astros' four-run seventh inning.Brewers 3, Mets 0In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun hit two home runs and rookie pitcher Wily Peralta gave up two singles in eight innings.Brewers outfielder Norichika Aoki finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk.Padres 12, Rockies 11In San Diego, rookie Yonder Alonso singled in the winning run in the ninth to cap a wild offensive affair.
Birds of a feather: John Jay doubles against the Dodgers in the 12th inning on Sunday in Los Angeles. APThe go-ahead hit sparked a three-run rally for the St. Louis Cardinals, who earned a split of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 5-2 victory Sunday and regained undisputed possession of the second NL wild-card spot."It was a long one and both teams fought hard," Jay said after the 4-hour, 25-minute marathon. "Everyone knows what's at stake right now and we've got our work cut out for us."We haven't been playing too well lately, but we've been playing hard. Today we came up with a win on getaway day and it put us back up again. That's huge. But every game from here on out is our most important game. We've been there before, so we know what we've got to do. It's just a matter of doing it."John Ely (0-2), the ninth of a franchise-record 10 pitchers used by Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, issued a leadoff walk to Matt Carpenter and Jay drove him in from second base with a line drive into the right field corner on an 0-2 changeup."Jon had an uncharacteristic day for himself up to that point, but he's been very good this season and filled a big hole for us in the leadoff spot. And today he came through with one of the biggest hits of our year right now," manager Mike Matheny said. "We had a tough time today. You look at that scoreboard and all those Ks, I mean, we had a lot of strikeouts (15), so we just needed somebody to step up."Braves 5, Nationals 1In Atlanta, Mike Minor pitched six strong innings, Dan Uggla broke it open with a two-run single and Gio Gonzalez was denied his 20th win as the Braves completed a three-game sweep.Diamondbacks 10, Giants 2In Phoenix, rookie Patrick Corbin pitched a career-long eight innings and drove in four runs with a triple and single.The RBIs and the extra-base hit were firsts for Corbin, who entered the game batting .071 (2 for 28).Justin Upton had a solo homer and two-run double as the Diamondbacks averted a three-game Giants sweep.Cubs 13, Pirates 9In Chicago, Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs and drove in six.Rizzo hit a two-run shot in a four-run fifth inning, then capped a five-run sixth with his first career grand slam to seize the lead for Chicago. The six RBIs are a career-high, and it was also the 23-year-old's first multihomer game in the majors.Reds 5, Marlins 4 (11)In Miami, Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead single in the 11th inning to lift Cincinnati to a win.Ludwick, Dioner Navarro, and Didi Gregorius each had three hits for the Reds, who tied a season high with 17 hits.Astros 7, Phillies 6In Houston, Justin Maxwell hit a two-run double and Matt Dominguez added a two-run single in the Astros' four-run seventh inning.Brewers 3, Mets 0In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun hit two home runs and rookie pitcher Wily Peralta gave up two singles in eight innings.Brewers outfielder Norichika Aoki finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk.Padres 12, Rockies 11In San Diego, rookie Yonder Alonso singled in the winning run in the ninth to cap a wild offensive affair.Saturday, December 24, 2011
Beltran agrees to two-year deal with Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — Carlos Beltran and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a two-year contract pending results of a physical, a move that would fortify the team's lineup following the departure of Albert Pujols.
Welcome to the nest: Carlos Beltran has reached an agreement to join the C ardinals. APThe team disclosed the agreement Thursday night and said it expects to make a formal announcement shortly after the holidays.KMOX, the Cardinals' flagship radio station, reported the deal is for $26 million over two years — the same figure cited by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to AP.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details of the agreement were not announced by the team.The 34-year-old Beltran batted .300 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .385 on-base percentage for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants this year. He likely will be the opening-day right fielder for the Cardinals next season. Lance Berkman is expected to move to first base, taking Pujols' spot.Beltran and Berkman are switch-hitters, giving new manager Mike Matheny lineup flexibility.Earlier this month, St. Louis re-signed shortstop Rafael Furcal to a two-year, $14 million contract and added left-handed reliever J.C. Romero with a one-year, $750,000 deal. The Cardinals appear to need only a few spare parts to finalize the roster.After Pujols signed a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he expected his team's payroll to perhaps exceed this year's total of $110 million.Allen Craig, coming off an impressive postseason, gives the Cardinals another strong option in the outfield but will miss at least the first month of the season while recovering from knee surgery.A six-time All-Star, Beltran began his career with the cross-state Royals in 1998, three years after Kansas City drafted him in the second round.The switch-hitter has a .283 career batting average with 302 home runs and 1,146 RBIs."Beltran is a proven outfielder who obviously has been a tough opponent against the Cardinals for many years," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. "It is going to be nice to have his bat and competitive nature working for us instead of on the other side of the field for the next couple of years."OAKLAND — All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez said Thursday the Oakland Athletics have agreed to trade him to the Washington Nationals, and the deal is nearly finished."It's 99 percent done," Gonzalez said in a phone interview. "It's pending a physical and I'm just waiting to hear from my agent."
Welcome to the nest: Carlos Beltran has reached an agreement to join the C ardinals. APThe team disclosed the agreement Thursday night and said it expects to make a formal announcement shortly after the holidays.KMOX, the Cardinals' flagship radio station, reported the deal is for $26 million over two years — the same figure cited by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to AP.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details of the agreement were not announced by the team.The 34-year-old Beltran batted .300 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .385 on-base percentage for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants this year. He likely will be the opening-day right fielder for the Cardinals next season. Lance Berkman is expected to move to first base, taking Pujols' spot.Beltran and Berkman are switch-hitters, giving new manager Mike Matheny lineup flexibility.Earlier this month, St. Louis re-signed shortstop Rafael Furcal to a two-year, $14 million contract and added left-handed reliever J.C. Romero with a one-year, $750,000 deal. The Cardinals appear to need only a few spare parts to finalize the roster.After Pujols signed a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he expected his team's payroll to perhaps exceed this year's total of $110 million.Allen Craig, coming off an impressive postseason, gives the Cardinals another strong option in the outfield but will miss at least the first month of the season while recovering from knee surgery.A six-time All-Star, Beltran began his career with the cross-state Royals in 1998, three years after Kansas City drafted him in the second round.The switch-hitter has a .283 career batting average with 302 home runs and 1,146 RBIs."Beltran is a proven outfielder who obviously has been a tough opponent against the Cardinals for many years," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. "It is going to be nice to have his bat and competitive nature working for us instead of on the other side of the field for the next couple of years."OAKLAND — All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez said Thursday the Oakland Athletics have agreed to trade him to the Washington Nationals, and the deal is nearly finished."It's 99 percent done," Gonzalez said in a phone interview. "It's pending a physical and I'm just waiting to hear from my agent."
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