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.
Showing posts with label helps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helps. Show all posts
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.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sugiuchi helps Giants tame Lions
TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — The interleague-leading Yomiuri Giants improved to 6-0 against the Pacific League this season, when former PL strikeout king Toshiya Sugiuchi pitched eight-plus innings in a 2-0 victory over the Seibu Lions at Seibu Dome on Wednesday.
Birds of a feather: Marines captain Toshiaki Imae (left) and pitcher Seth Greisinger celebrate after Lotte's 5-1 win over Yakult on Wednesday. KYODOYomiuri is 9-0 with three ties since its last loss on May 5.Sugiuchi, who led the PL in strikeouts in 2007 and 2008 before moving to the Central League this season as a free agent, outdueled Lions right-hander Takayuki Kishi, who fell to 4-4 despite a solid eight innings.Two-time CL home run leader Shuichi Murata hit his third homer since joining the Giants over the winter, a leadoff shot in the second that gave Sugiuchi the only run he'd need.The Giants, who had just three hits and no walks, added a run in the eighth on a safety squeeze by former Lion Yoshihito Ishii.Sugiuchi (6-1) allowed four hits and issued four walks, while striking out eight. The lefty left after walking the first two batters he faced in the ninth.Tetsuya Yamaguchi came on and walked the bases loaded before striking out a batter and inducing a game-ending double play.The Giants moved to within one game of the CL-leading Chunichi Dragons, who lost in Sendai.Hawks 6, Carp 3At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Hiroki Kokubo's bid for his 2,000th career hit will have to wait after he went 0-for-3 in Softbank's win over Hiroshima.Seichi Uchikawa opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and Nagisa Arakaki (4-1) allowed three runs in 6? innings.Marines 5, Swallows 1At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Seth Greisinger (5-1) allowed four hits without issuing a walk in seven scoreless innings as PL-leading Lotte handed Yakult its fourth straight loss.Toshiaki Imae broke the ice for the hosts with an RBI single in the fifth. Katsuya Kakunaka's two-run triple made it 3-0 in the sixth and Shunichi Nemoto tripled in another run in the seventh.Fighters 3, BayStars 1At Sapporo Dome, PL ERA leader Mitsuo Yoshikawa (4-1) allowed a run in five-plus innings despite giving up seven hits and two walks as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Yokohama. Yoshikawa has a 1.13 ERA.Kensuke Tanaka opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI triple and scored himself on an infield single by Atsunori Inaba. Daikan Yoh's sacrifice fly plated Inaba in the fourth.Eagles 4, Dragons 0At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Shintaro Masuda belted his first career home run, a two-run shot, and four Rakuten pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout as the Eagles beat Chunichi for their third straight win.Wataru Karashima (2-1) kept the ball down and held the Dragons to five hits and a walk over six innings. Chunichi lefty Kenichi Nakata (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings.Tigers 8, Orix 2At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, lefty Minoru Iwata (3-5) gave up two runs in 5? innings and Hanshin had 11 hits in taking the second game of this year's Kansai derby over Orix.The Buffaloes, who had won three straight since losing star center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi to injury on May 17, deactivated slugging outfielder Takahiro Okada before the game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since April.
Birds of a feather: Marines captain Toshiaki Imae (left) and pitcher Seth Greisinger celebrate after Lotte's 5-1 win over Yakult on Wednesday. KYODOYomiuri is 9-0 with three ties since its last loss on May 5.Sugiuchi, who led the PL in strikeouts in 2007 and 2008 before moving to the Central League this season as a free agent, outdueled Lions right-hander Takayuki Kishi, who fell to 4-4 despite a solid eight innings.Two-time CL home run leader Shuichi Murata hit his third homer since joining the Giants over the winter, a leadoff shot in the second that gave Sugiuchi the only run he'd need.The Giants, who had just three hits and no walks, added a run in the eighth on a safety squeeze by former Lion Yoshihito Ishii.Sugiuchi (6-1) allowed four hits and issued four walks, while striking out eight. The lefty left after walking the first two batters he faced in the ninth.Tetsuya Yamaguchi came on and walked the bases loaded before striking out a batter and inducing a game-ending double play.The Giants moved to within one game of the CL-leading Chunichi Dragons, who lost in Sendai.Hawks 6, Carp 3At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Hiroki Kokubo's bid for his 2,000th career hit will have to wait after he went 0-for-3 in Softbank's win over Hiroshima.Seichi Uchikawa opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and Nagisa Arakaki (4-1) allowed three runs in 6? innings.Marines 5, Swallows 1At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Seth Greisinger (5-1) allowed four hits without issuing a walk in seven scoreless innings as PL-leading Lotte handed Yakult its fourth straight loss.Toshiaki Imae broke the ice for the hosts with an RBI single in the fifth. Katsuya Kakunaka's two-run triple made it 3-0 in the sixth and Shunichi Nemoto tripled in another run in the seventh.Fighters 3, BayStars 1At Sapporo Dome, PL ERA leader Mitsuo Yoshikawa (4-1) allowed a run in five-plus innings despite giving up seven hits and two walks as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Yokohama. Yoshikawa has a 1.13 ERA.Kensuke Tanaka opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI triple and scored himself on an infield single by Atsunori Inaba. Daikan Yoh's sacrifice fly plated Inaba in the fourth.Eagles 4, Dragons 0At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Shintaro Masuda belted his first career home run, a two-run shot, and four Rakuten pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout as the Eagles beat Chunichi for their third straight win.Wataru Karashima (2-1) kept the ball down and held the Dragons to five hits and a walk over six innings. Chunichi lefty Kenichi Nakata (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings.Tigers 8, Orix 2At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, lefty Minoru Iwata (3-5) gave up two runs in 5? innings and Hanshin had 11 hits in taking the second game of this year's Kansai derby over Orix.The Buffaloes, who had won three straight since losing star center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi to injury on May 17, deactivated slugging outfielder Takahiro Okada before the game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since April.Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Kashiwabara record helps Toyo build lead
HAKONE, Kanagawa Pref. — Ryuji Kashiwabara rewrote his own fifth-leg record as Toyo University built a commanding lead of more than 5 minutes after the first half of the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay on Monday.
Road warrior: Toyo University's Ryuji Kashiwabara competes in the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden on Monday. KYODO PHOTOKashiwabara and four teammates covered the 108-km course from Tokyo's Otemachi district to the spa resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture in a record 5 hours, 24 minutes, 45 seconds.Waseda University, the 2011 Tokyo-Hakone ekiden champion, placed second and will start Tuesday's 109.9-km return trip 5 minutes, 7 seconds after Toyo.Meiji University is an additional 14 seconds behind in third.Kashiwabara clocked 1:16:39 in the uphill 23.4-km fifth and final leg of the day — 29 seconds faster than the previous record he set two years ago."I almost started to cry when I found out my teammates were taking the lead into my leg," the senior captain said. "My job was to extend the lead. I felt the pressure to produce a strong run, but I was able to enjoy my last Hakone ekiden run in the end."We also have good runners for the return trip. I just hope each of them will put in solid runs and we'll win in convincing fashion."Waseda sophomore Suguru Osako ran the fastest time in the opening leg but Keita Shitara put Toyo in front in the second leg.Kashiwabara first came into the national spotlight in 2009 when the then-freshman broke former Juntendo University ekiden star Masato Imai's fifth-leg record by 47 seconds in the annual race.He then broke his own record a year later with 1:17:08.Kashiwabara has outclassed other runners in the fifth leg in all four years of his college career.
Road warrior: Toyo University's Ryuji Kashiwabara competes in the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden on Monday. KYODO PHOTOKashiwabara and four teammates covered the 108-km course from Tokyo's Otemachi district to the spa resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture in a record 5 hours, 24 minutes, 45 seconds.Waseda University, the 2011 Tokyo-Hakone ekiden champion, placed second and will start Tuesday's 109.9-km return trip 5 minutes, 7 seconds after Toyo.Meiji University is an additional 14 seconds behind in third.Kashiwabara clocked 1:16:39 in the uphill 23.4-km fifth and final leg of the day — 29 seconds faster than the previous record he set two years ago."I almost started to cry when I found out my teammates were taking the lead into my leg," the senior captain said. "My job was to extend the lead. I felt the pressure to produce a strong run, but I was able to enjoy my last Hakone ekiden run in the end."We also have good runners for the return trip. I just hope each of them will put in solid runs and we'll win in convincing fashion."Waseda sophomore Suguru Osako ran the fastest time in the opening leg but Keita Shitara put Toyo in front in the second leg.Kashiwabara first came into the national spotlight in 2009 when the then-freshman broke former Juntendo University ekiden star Masato Imai's fifth-leg record by 47 seconds in the annual race.He then broke his own record a year later with 1:17:08.Kashiwabara has outclassed other runners in the fifth leg in all four years of his college career.
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