The Alliance First National Spartan Senior Legion Baseball Team will host the Annual Clair Conley Memorial Tournament this weekend.  This tournament is named in honor of long time Spartans Manager Clair Conley, who was instrumental in the development of the Legion programs in Alliance.  Games will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Alliance at Bower/Shankland Field.  The 8 teams will be split into 2 pools,  with Pool A consisting of Alliance, Sidney, Gordon/Rushville and Martin, SD.  Pool B will feature Gering, Buckley, Morrill and Chadron.  Action begins Friday, June 22, with Alliance to meet Gordon/Rushville at 10:30 am.  Gordon/Rushville will face Martin at 12:30 pm. Sidney vs Martin at 2 pm and Alliance will meet Sidney at 5 pm.  Prior to the Alliance-Sidney game, the Spartans will recognize the Alliance Old-Timers Baseball and Softball Coaches and Players.

The Saturday schedule will have Gering facing Morrill at 9 am.  Gering will play Buckley at 11:30 am.  Buckley vs Chadron at 2 pm.  Chadron vs Morrill at 4:30 pm and Alliance will play Martin at 7 pm.

Sunday,  Gordon/Rushville will meet Sidney at 10 am.  Morrill vs Buckley at 12:30 pm and Chadron vs Gering at 3 pm.  The Pool A winner will meet the Pool B winner at 5:30 pm for the Tournament Championship.

Prior to Wednesday nights Alliance Senior game vs Chadron,  Spartan Pitcher/Outfielder Peyton Pinedo signed a Letter of Intent to attend McCook Community College to play baseball.   Peyton started out in the Alliance T-ball program and progressed through the Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth Leagues and has played 1st base, outfield and pitched for the Spartan Juniors and Seniors.  Peyton plans to Major in Sports Management.  He is a 2018 Graduate of Alliance High School and  is the son of Lori and Josh Fletcher  and Jamie and Kristina Pinedo of Alliance.

Front: L-R,  Lori Fletcher and Peyton Pinedo.  Back: L-R , Josh Fletcher, Coach Adrian Gonzales, Coach Carlos Palomo, Jamie Pinedo and Kristina Pinedo.

 

American Legion Baseball – SR Game Recaps

Wednesday, June 20

 

Alliance 6, Chadron 2

The Alliance Spartans (22-3) shook off a rare loss from Saturday with a 6-2 victory Wednesday night over the Chadron Nationals 6-2.

The Nats struck first with a two spot in the top of the second for a 2-0 lead on Corbin Johnson’s RBI double followed by an RBI groundout from Luke Tiensvold who also collected three hits.

Alliance would answer with run-producing innings in the third, fourth and fifth to win despite being outhit nine-six.

Joel Baker drove in two Alliance runs on a 1-for-3 night and Ezra Ray was 2-for-2.

Chadron committed three errors and only three of the six Spartan runs off Nationals starter Colton Olsen were earned.

J.J. Garza won again on the mound with a six inning effort, striking out five and allowing eight hits.  Chase King threw the final inning to cap the Spartan win.

Alliance is hosting a tournament this weekend while Chadron is back on the field Thursday at Bridgeport.

 

Gering 13, Bridgeport 6

A wild start turned into Gering’s 11th victory of the summer, 13-6 over Bridgeport in a make-up game from Tuesday’s rain out.

The visiting Bombers launched its offense early with four runs in the top of the first propelled by a bases-clearing three-run double from Josh Kruse.  Gering countered by scraping together five runs in the bottom half for a 5-4 lead before taking control with a 12-4 advantage heading into the fourth.

Four Gering hitters had multi-hit games led by Chris Palomo and Dylan Radzymski who both went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Nick Watkins battled past a rough first inning on the mound to throw five frames for Gering, giving up eight hits, striking out two and not walking a batter.

Gering is at Ogallala Thursday while Bridgeport hosts Chadron.

 

Gering 16, Morrill 0

Gering blanked Morrill 16-0 Wednesday in a split-opponent doubleheader.

It was over early with Gering scoring 13 times in the bottom of the first inning, amazingly without the benefit of an extra base hit.  Four Gering hitters drove in two runs each in the game.

Justin Scott got the pitching victory with three innings of four-hit work with five strikeouts.  Lance Garcia pitched the final inning of the run-rule shortened game.

Gering is now 11-8 while Morrill slips to 1-11 with Torrington at home Thursday night at 7:00.

Playing golf and putting through puddles is a painful way to spend the day.

So, organizers at the 2018 Nebraska Women’s Amateur Championship at Beatrice Country Club decided to cancel the final round of the tournament Wednesday declaring results from the first 36 holes official and final, meaning two players from Nebraska’s Panhandle are top-five finishers.

Scottsbluff’s Jordan York is the amateur champion by two shots with a plus-six 36-hole total of 150 strokes over Monday and Tuesday’s rounds.  York opened the event with a 73 in her opening round, followed up by a 77 Tuesday.

Chadron’s Alpine Hickstein finished in 5th place with 155 strokes and will be joining the Chadron State team this fall as she begins her college career.  Hickstein carded a 79 in Monday’s opening round that included a pair of mid-round birdies.  She made up three more strokes on Tuesday with a 76 aided by two more birdies.

Thursday at the CWS

#1 Florida vs #9 Texas Tech – 6:00 MT
*Elimination Game

 

Wednesday at the CWS

#5 Arkansas 7
#9 Texas Tech 4

Dominic Fletcher was a freshman All-American in 2017 and so impressive in the fall practices that coach Dave Van Horn thought Arkansas might have another Andrew Benintendi in the making.

A month into the season, though, Fletcher was batting .190 and led the team in strikeouts.

All that was a distant memory Wednesday when he went 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs to help deliver a 7-4 win over Texas Tech that put the Razorbacks in control of their bracket at the College World Series.

The difference?

“Just sticking with the approach and not trying to do too much,” Fletcher said. “Just a couple different things in my swing. But mostly just being relaxed up there and not getting too jumpy.”

Fletcher doubled in two runs in the first inning, homered in the fourth, had a bunt single in the sixth and singled in a run in the eighth. His average has jumped more than 100 points, to .296, and he’s become an integral part of an Arkansas lineup that is one of the most potent in the nation.

“He slowly climbed out of it, a little here, and little there, and down the stretch the last 45 days he’s been pretty good,” Van Horn said. “He’ll have a game where it doesn’t look good and he’ll have a game like today and he’ll hit three or four balls on the screws.”

Arkansas (46-19) mostly held in check the Red Raiders (45-19), who had come into the game scoring 8.2 runs per game and batting .311. Their six hits were their fewest in 19 games, and their 14 strikeouts were three fewer than the season-high 17 they had in a 5-1 loss at Arkansas in April.

Razorbacks starter Kacey Murphy limited Tech to two runs and two hits in 4 2/3 innings. The Detroit Tigers’ 11th-round draft pick struck out seven, including four in a row over the third and fourth innings. Barrett Loseke (4-2) struck out five in three innings of shutout relief. Matt Cronin worked the last 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs.

“Kacey Murphy got us off to a great start,” Van Horn said. “He worked his way out of a jam in the first and then had a couple of pretty good innings. That’s really good offense.”

Loseke was sharp for the second time against Tech. In the April game, he pitched 4 2/3 innings of no-hit shutout relief and struck out 10.

“I stuck to my game plan the first time I was out there,” Loseke said. “I felt good. I remember I was well rested, I had my curveball, changeup, fastball working that day. And today I knew I had past success against them, and I didn’t necessarily try to repeat what I did last time, but I knew I could get them out. That gave me confidence to go out there and execute my game plan.”

Jared Gates’ sixth homer of the season put the Razorbacks up 3-0 in the second against Davis Martin (7-6), and Fletcher hit his ninth in the fourth before Jax Biggers’ RBI single made it 5-0.

“Seems to me that when you miss, they’re doing a good job of hitting it,” Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. “One through nine, they can create pressure on you. There’s not an easy out in there.”

The start of the game was delayed 3 1/2 hours because of rain.

 

UP NEXT

Arkansas moves to the bracket final Friday. The Razorbacks will play the winner of the Thursday elimination game between Texas Tech and Florida.

 

#3 Oregon State 11
#6 North Carolina 6

Oregon State was down three runs when a steady mist moved in at TD Ameritrade Park in the eighth inning Wednesday night.

Perfect conditions for a team from the Pacific Northwest.

“Every time we’re playing and it starts to rain, everyone looks around and says, ‘OK, we’re going to come back and do what we do at home,'” OSU shortstop Cadyn Grenier said. “When the rain comes, we know there’s a possibility of a storm coming — and that’s from us.”

The Beavers stormed back all right and knocked North Carolina out of the College World Series with an 11-6 win.

Brett Daniels walked in the go-ahead run after Adley Rutschman tied it with a three-run double. Tyler Malone hit his second homer of the CWS, and the Beavers’ third of the game, as Oregon State (51-11-1) built a five-run cushion and avenged Saturday’s 8-6 loss to the Tar Heels (44-20).

It was a stunning turnabout after the Tar Heels wiped out a 3-0 deficit to go up 6-3 in the sixth. North Carolina had been 37-0 when leading after seven innings and had won 50 straight when scoring six runs, the longest streak in Division I.

“Until that final out, we never feel we’re out of the game,” OSU star second baseman Nick Madrigal said. “That’s the way Oregon State baseball is. We’re going to fight to the end.”

North Carolina’s eighth-inning meltdown saw three pitchers walk four batters, one intentionally, and allow three hits.

No. 9 batter Zak Taylor started things off with a leadoff single. Madrigal, the No. 4 overall draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, followed with a base hit and Grenier won a 12-pitch duel with Joey Lancelotti to walk and load the bases.

“Zak Taylor got us going,” Madrigal said. “Sometimes it takes one hit to break it open. That’s the way baseball is.”

Rutschman followed with a drive to the center-field wall off Daniels (6-1) for his bases-clearing double.

“We were playing no doubles,” Carolina coach Mike Fox said, “but we would have had to be standing on the warning track to catch that ball.”

Daniels then walked two in a row, the first intentionally, to fill the bases again. Daniels ran the count full against Jack Anderson before walking him to force in Rutschman.

Carolina wiped out a 3-0 deficit in the third on Brandon Riley’s two-run double off Luke Heimlich and led 4-3 in the fifth on Ike Freeman’s single. Kyle Datres hooked Christian Chamberlain’s pitch just inside the left-field foul pole, putting the Tar Heels up 6-3 in the sixth.

Jake Mulholland (3-2) pitched three innings of shutout relief for the win.

“They were resilient, they were tough, they fought, they were tough — and they put up with my emotions,” Beavers coach Pat Casey said. “I ask guys all the time just be as competitive as you can possibly be. I’ve got to tell you it was a great comeback. They stayed with it.”

Heimlich, the two-time Pac-12 pitcher of the year, couldn’t make it out of the third inning for a second straight start in Omaha.

Heimlich’s appearance at the CWS had drawn mixed reaction from the public. Last year, he left the team for the super regionals and the CWS after it was revealed he had pleaded guilty to molesting a young relative when he was 15. The university allowed him to return to the team this year. He served two years’ probation and went through a treatment program but denied wrongdoing in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and The New York Times.

North Carolina went 1-2 in its first trip in five years to the CWS.

“Well, the end of the season, it stinks,” Fox said. “It’s especially hard when you have really such a great group of kids. Probably not one of our most talented teams that we’ve had at UNC, but perhaps our most unselfish, toughest, grittiest, just determined to get here.”

Since 2013, the Tar Heels twice failed to make the NCAA Tournament and twice lost in regionals.

“For me, just growing up watching Carolina baseball, they’re in Omaha every year. Every year,” Datres said. “When I came in here the first couple of years, it wasn’t what Carolina was all about. To be able to get them back here, where we belong in Omaha, go out the way that we did says a lot. I think you will see more of the Tar Heels in the next couple of years.”

 

UP NEXT

Oregon State will play Mississippi State in a bracket final. The Beavers would need to win Friday and again Saturday to reach the best-of-three finals.

Ryan McMahon turned a small adjustment into a big return for the Colorado Rockies.

McMahon tweaked his swing early in the afternoon and then hit a go-ahead, three-run homer to help rally the Rockies past the New York Mets 10-8 on Wednesday night.

Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon also went deep, and Colorado’s struggling bullpen shut the door in the late innings.

“You need a bullpen to do what ours did tonight from the sixth on — put up zeros,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That’s the expectation, and that’s their expectation.”

Colorado trailed 8-6 when McMahon pinch-hit with two on and two outs in the fifth. He sent a 1-0 changeup from reliever Robert Gsellman into the Rockies’ bullpen to give Colorado the lead.

It was McMahon’s second homer of the season and it came just hours after he worked with hitting coach Duane Espy in the batting cage.

“I made a small adjustment today with my hands, just put them in a better position to get that shorter swing off, that flatter swing off,” McMahon said. “Stood the bat up a little more and got instant results.

“It’s been a long time coming and it felt really good to come through for the guys.”

Gsellman (5-2) had given up just one home run in 16 road games prior to Wednesday.

“A changeup right down the middle and the hitter just did his job and hit it out of the ballpark,” he said. “Got to execute the pitch.”

Bryan Shaw (3-5) got one out to earn the win. Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 21st save this season — and the 100th of his career.

New York took an 8-6 lead with a four-run fifth. The Mets batted around for the second time in the game and benefited from three walks in the inning, including one to Brandon Nimmo with the bases loaded.

Dominic Smith, who tripled in the fifth, had a career-high three hits for New York and was a home run short of the cycle.

The Mets loaded the bases in the sixth against lefty Harrison Musgrave but pinch-hitter Kevin Plawecki grounded into an inning-ending double play to Arenado at third.

“The sixth got a little dicey, but zeros nevertheless,” Black said. “That’s how you win games.”

Neither starter lasted long in another high-scoring game at Coors Field. The Mets scored three in the first and another in the second to take a 4-1 lead, but Colorado tied it with three unearned runs in the second.

The Rockies went ahead 6-4 in the third on RBI singles by Gerardo Parra and Tom Murphy.

 

HOME INVASION

The Rockies have allowed eight or more runs in their last nine home games, which ties for the longest streak in big league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 1894 St. Louis Browns were the last team to do it.

 

UP NEXT

In a matchup of left-handers, the Mets will send Steven Matz (3-4, 3.31 ERA) to the mound against Colorado hometown favorite Kyle Freeland (6-6, 3.59) in the finale of the four-game series Thursday afternoon.

 

AROUND THE MAJORS WEDNESDAY

–The New York Yankees have stretched their lead in the American League East by turning a 5-0 deficit into their 16th victory in 20 games.

Giancarlo Stanton capped the rally by belting a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees a 7-5 win over the Mariners. Aaron Judge sparked the comeback with a two-run single in the fifth. Gary Sanchez tied it with a two-run blast in the eighth before Stanton hit his 18th home run of the season.

Seattle wasted a good performance by Felix Hernandez, who allowed one earned run and six hits over five innings.

The outcome gives the Yankees a two-game lead over Boston and drops the Mariners three games behind first-place Houston in the AL West.

 

— The Red Sox managed just four hits in a 4-1 setback at Minnesota. Lance Lynn worked around five walks by allowing an unearned run and just three hits over five innings. Max Kepler and Robbie Grossman homered off David Price.

The Astros won for the 13th time in 14 games as Charlie Morton gave up an earned run and two hits over six innings of a 5-1 win against the Rays. Jose Altuve hit a pair of solo homers to help Morton improve to 9-1.

George Springer and Alex Bregman also went deep for the defending World Series champs, who bounced back from Tuesday’s one-run loss to Tampa Bay.

 

— The Indians rolled to a 12-0 rout of the White Sox behind Corey Kluber, who became the majors’ first 11-game winner this season. Kluber improved to 11-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.10 by limiting Chicago to one hit and a walk, retiring his last 14 batters before leaving after seven innings. Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis slammed three-run homers to help the AL Central leaders complete a three-game sweep and move five games ahead of second-place Detroit.

— The Tigers carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth before the Reds homered on consecutive pitches to propel Cincinnati to a 5-3 verdict over Detroit. Scooter Gennett tied it with a two-run blast and Eugenio Suarez went deep to put the Reds ahead for good. Tyler Mahle worked six innings and shook off solo shots by Jeimer Candelerio and Niko Goodrum to improve to 3-0 in four starts this month.

— Kendrys Morales belted a two-run homer and J.A. Happ pitched into the ninth inning of the Blue Jays’ seventh victory in their last eight home games, 5-4 over Atlanta. Happ allowed four runs and six hits over 8 1/3 innings to improve to 9-3. Randal Grichuk put Toronto ahead to stay with an RBI double in a two-run fourth.

— The Phillies are within 3 ½ games of the NL East-leading Braves after Odubel Herrera launched a tiebreaking, solo homer in the seventh inning to lead a 4-3 win against the Cardinals. Cesar Hernandez hit a two-run shot to help Philadelphia win its third consecutive series. Yadier  Molina homered twice for St. Louis, including a game-tying, two-run blast in the sixth before the Redbirds lost for the sixth time in eight games.

— Andrew Cashner combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Orioles downed the Nationals, 3-0 to keep Washington 3 ½ games behind Atlanta. Brad Brach loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth before fanning Mark Reynolds to end the game. Mark Trumbo hit a two-run homer off Gio Gonzalez, who was pinned with the Nats’ seventh loss in 10 games.

— The Cubs are tied for first with Milwaukee in the NL Central after Jon Lester scattered five hits over seven innings of a 4-0 shutout of the Dodgers. Javier Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal while scoring twice to back Lester, who is 9-2 with a 2.10 ERA after winning his fifth consecutive start. Baez also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base to help the Cubs take the rubber match of the three-game series and drop the Dodgers two games behind the NL West-leading Diamondbacks.

— Light-hitting Franklin Barreto connected for a 424-foot, three-run home run as part of the Athletics’ 12-4 assault on the Padres. Josh Phegley, Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Jed Lowrie also went deep for the A’s, who homered seven times in sweeping the two-game set.

— Gorkys Hernandez singled home a pair while the Giants erupted for five runs in the sixth inning to beat the Marlins, 6-5. Brandon Belt went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Hunter Pence had a pair of RBI singles to snap a 1-for-18 slump.

— The Rangers were 3-2 winners over the Royals behind Austin Bibens-Dirkx, who was reached for just one run and five hits over 6 2/3s. Rougned Odor’s solo shot in the sixth made it a 3-1 game and helped Texas send Kansas City to its ninth consecutive loss.

— The Pirates and Brewers were rained out in Pittsburgh. No makeup date was immediately announced.

 

American Legion Baseball – Scoreboard & Schedule

Tuesday

Twin Cities Zephyrs (SR) at Chadron Nationals – Canceled, Rain

Bridgeport (SR) at Gering – PPD, Rain

 

Wednesday

Bridgeport (SR) at Gering – 4:00

Morrill (SR) at Gering – 7:00

Chadron (SR) at Alliance – 7:00 – AM 1400 KCOW

Go bananas, Mississippi State Bulldogs! You’re one win away from the College World Series finals.

Jordan Westburg hit a grand slam, doubled and drove in seven runs and Mississippi State continued its surprise postseason surge by beating North Carolina 12-2 on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs (39-27), with two wins at the CWS, are off until Friday. Win then or on Saturday, and they’ll be playing for the national championship next week.

This game was all about Westburg, the freshman who two weeks ago came up with the “Rally Banana” that’s become the Bulldogs’ good-luck charm in the NCAA Tournament. His seven RBIs, on the slam in the second inning and three-run double in the eighth, tied a CWS record.

“I think we had a good banana today. That’s all I can say,” Westburg deadpanned.

Westburg crushed a breaking pitch Austin Bergner left hanging, and the ball landed in the seats above the left-field bullpen for a 4-1 lead.

When Westburg returned to the dugout, a teammate handed him his Rally Banana.

Westburg came up with the Bulldogs’ alternate mascot during a regional game against Oklahoma on June 3. The Bulldogs were struggling when he went into the tunnel and grabbed a banana. Instead of eating it, he put it on his head in hopes of turning the Bulldogs’ luck. It must have worked. Mississippi State won, Westburg and his banana got some TV time, and the meme took off.

Since then, Westburg has been the curator of the fruit. (No, it’s not the same banana every game.)

He’s put sunscreen and bug spray on it. He’s wrapped one in a towel, as if it were releaxing at a spa. Sometimes Westburg or a teammate puts the banana up to his face like a mustache; other times it’s a faux radar gun.

A couple Mississippi State fans have been dressed up in banana outfits, others wear Rally Banana T-shirts, and the Bulldogs have received best wishes from banana producers Dole and Chiquita.

“If you’re going to do all the shenanigans in the dugout,” Westburg said, “you might have to step it up on the field and back that up. It was nice to do that today.”

MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson said the Rally Banana offsets the pressures of the postseason, so he’s all for embracing the fun of Westburg’s fruit.

“He’s got to make the phone call on the banana, right?” Henderson said. “You’ve got to be able to do those things and become somebody different when you’re in the box. He’s an intense kid. Super intense. He’s not a goofball. When he finds a way to let some of the air out a little bit and enjoy it and have some fun, and not grind, grind, grind, I think it’s incumbent upon us to notice that and respect that that’s important.”

After Westburg’s slam, Bergner (7-3) retired 16 in a row until the start of the eighth inning, when the Bulldogs converted six hits, a walk, a hit batter and two errors into eight runs.

“Well, the good news is we get to play again,” Carolina coach Mike Fox said. “You’ve got to turn the page pretty quickly out here. I don’t think any of us will want our season to end on that performance, but you’ve got to give Mississippi State credit.”

Carolina’s Kyle Datres doubled leading off the game against Konnor Pilkington (3-6) and came home on a sacrifice fly. The Tar Heels (44-19) didn’t score again until the seventh.

It’s been an improbable run for the Bulldogs so far. Andy Cannizaro resigned on Feb. 20 for off-field conduct, pitching coach Henderson took over on an interim basis, and the Bulldogs got out to a 14-15 start and lost seven of their first nine Southeastern Conference games.

A sweep of defending national champion Florida in the last regular-season series earned them an NCAA at-large bid, and they’ve won three postseason games in walk-off fashion.

Thanks to Westburg’s grand slam and Carolina’s eighth-inning meltdown, no fantastic finish was needed this time.

 

 

UP NEXT

Mississippi State plays Friday against Oregon State or North Carolina. A win Friday or Saturday would send the Bulldogs to the finals starting Monday.

North Carolina plays an elimination game Wednesday against Oregon State, a team the Tar Heels beat 8-6 on Saturday.

 

Arkansas-Texas Tech – Postponed

The College World Series game between Arkansas and Texas Tech has been postponed because of the threat of rain in the Omaha area Tuesday night.

The Razorbacks and Red Raiders will play their Bracket 2 winners’ game on Wednesday. The Bracket 1 losers’ game between North Carolina and Oregon State will follow.

Two CWS games have had weather problems. Arkansas’ win over Texas on Sunday was interrupted for 2 hours, 49 minutes. The Monday game between Oregon State and Washington had a 4-hour, 31-minute delay.

A show of power helped take the edge off the Colorado Rockies’ recent pitching problems.

Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond homered in succession during a six-run third inning, German Marquez pitched effectively for six innings and Colorado snapped an eight-game home losing streak by beating the New York Mets 10-8 on Tuesday night.

Carlos Gonzalez also went deep for the Rockies, who won at home for the first time since May 29. Arenado finished a triple shy of the cycle with four RBIs in a game that was delayed 1 hour, 20 minutes because of heavy rain.

“I think that just kind of shows the resilience of our team,” Story said. “We know things aren’t always going to go our way and we’re not going to win every time we score a lot of runs. That’s just how it is. But sometimes it’s kind of contagious. We’re just trying to hit the ball hard and few of them went out tonight.”

Marquez (5-7) allowed four runs on six hits in picking up his first win in nearly a month. He struck out four and walked two and helped himself with a pair of hits, scoring a run and driving in another to help build a big enough cushion to outlast the Mets. Colorado, which had lost eight of 10 coming into the game, had seen its bullpen go 0-7 collectively with two saves in seven chances this month.

“The greater majority of games over the last couple of weeks, we’re scoring enough runs,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “(Jacob) deGrom shut us down last night. But the offense is picking up, the averages are climbing. The situational hitting is better. We got 16 hits, a lot of contributions across the board, our pitcher included.”

Jason Vargas (2-6) allowed seven runs on nine hits in a season-low 2 1/3 innings and became the first Mets pitcher since Bartolo Colon in 2014 against the Los Angeles Angels to surrender homers to three batters in a row.

The game was tied at 2 when the Rockies went up with their big inning during which they sent 11 batters to the plate against two Mets pitchers.

Charlie Blackmon singled off Vargas to start the third and Arenado followed by homering into the left field bleachers. Story then drove a 1-0 offering from Vargas into the same general area before Desmond went the opposite way with a drive into the right field seats. It was the eighth time in franchise history that three Rockies hitters had gone deep in succession.

“They were just bad pitches and they all got hammered,” Vargas said.

After Vargas issued a one-out walk, Hansel Robles relieved and gave up run-scoring hits to Noel Cuevas and Marquez as Colorado pulled out to an 8-2 lead.

Gonzalez tacked on another run when he homered off Robles in the fourth and Arenado added an RBI single in the fifth.

“When you come to Coors Field, you tell your pitchers to not worry about what happens here and you move on,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “Forget about it.”

The Mets got an RBI single from pinch-hitter Jose Bautista and subsequently loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, adding a second run on a two-out passed ball to pull to within 10-6. But Adam Ottavino induced an inning-ending groundout and struck out the side in the eighth to help fend off the Mets.

The Mets added a pair of runs on RBI groundouts in the ninth before Wade Davis fanned Michael Conforto for the final out.

 

UP NEXT

Mets: RHP Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.49 ERA) has gone 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his three starts this season.

Rockies: RHP Chad Bettis (5-1, 4.65 ERA) makes his 15th start of the season and the seventh at home, where he has no decisions in six previous outings.

 

AROUND THE MAJORS TUESDAY

— The Tampa Bay Rays have put an end to the Houston Astros’ team record-tying 12-game winning streak. Wilson Ramos singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning to give the Rays a 2-1 win at Houston. Matt Duffy opened the eighth with a double and scored the lead run to help Blake Snell earn his career-high fifth consecutive win. Snell scattered three hits over seven innings to move to 9-4. C.J. Cron broke a career-worst 0-for-23 slump with a solo homer in the second inning. Astros starter Justin Verlander received a no-decision after allowing a run and six hits over 6 2/3s. The outcome keeps Houston’s lead in the AL West at two games over Seattle.

— Homers by Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres powered the Yankees to their 15th victory in 19 games, 7-2 over the Mariners. Stanton launched his 17th home run of the season, but the game was tied 1-1 until Andujar and Hicks hit two-run shots in the fifth inning. Domingo German was terrific over seven innings, limiting the M’s to one earned run and two hits while striking out nine.

— The Yanks have a one-game lead in the AL East following Boston’s 6-2 loss at Minnesota. Eduardo Escobar had two go-ahead hits, including an RBI single that launched a four-run eighth inning. Escobar drove in three runs for the Twins, who dealt the Red Sox their third loss in four games.

— Francisco Lindor singled home a pair while the Indians scored four times in the second inning to beat the White Sox, 6-3. Mike Clevinger struck out 10 and limited Chicago to a run and five hits over 7 2/3 innings. The Indians stretched their lead in the AL Central to four games over Detroit.

— The Tigers had won five in a row before Joey Votto crushed a grand slam and Sal Romano worked seven scoreless innings of the Reds’ 9-5 thumping of Detroit. Billy Hamilton also went deep and Adam Duvall was 3-for-4 with a two-run double while the Reds were building a 9-0 lead. Romano scattered four hits and four walks to help Cincinnati improve to 12-23 at home.

— The Brewers have regained sole possession of the NL Central lead by getting three RBIs from Jesus Aguilar in a 3-2 win at Pittsburgh. Aguilar belted a two-run homer and added an RBI double that put Milwaukee ahead, 3-0 in the third inning. Freddy Peralta struck out seven and gave up two hits over six shutout innings, hours after being recalled from the minors.

— Arizona’s 5-4 loss to the Angels leaves the Diamondbacks with a 1 ½-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. Ian Kinsler and Kole Calhoun hit solo shots for Los Angeles, which went ahead on Mike Trout’s two-run single in the fifth. Paul Goldschmidt cracked a two-run homer in the DBacks’ third loss in four games.

— The Dodgers were down to their last out when pinch-hitter Kyle Farmer delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning to give Los Angeles a 4-3 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Joc Pederson led off the game with a home run, but the Cubs built a 3-1 lead before Yasiel Puig hit an RBI double in the sixth. Dodgers relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings after Kenta Maeda struggled.

— The Cubs earned a split of the twinbill by beating Los Angeles, 2-1 on Albert Almora’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. Rob Zastryzny got Yasmani Grandal to fly out with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th to earn the win. The split puts the Cubs a half-game behind the Brewers.

— Ender Inciarte and Johan Camargo combined for seven hits and eight RBIs at the bottom of the Braves’ order to lead an 11-4 rout of the Blue Jays in Toronto. Camargo was 4-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBIs, while Inciarte had three hits, three ribbies and three runs scored for the NL East leaders. Atlanta received 4 1/3 hitless innings of relief from its bullpen and won its third in a row.

— Trea Turner was 4-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in the Nationals’ 9-7 decision over the Orioles. Baltimore led 6-5 in the seventh until Anthony Rendon lined a two-run double. Rendon had three RBIs and Adam Eaton hit a two-run single as Washington won for only the third time in nine games to stay 3 ½ games off the NL East lead.

— The Cardinals squandered a two-run lead before Matt Carpenter belted a solo shot in the ninth to give St. Louis a 7-6 victory at Philadelphia. Carpenter and Jose Martinez provided two-run doubles in the seventh to put the Redbirds ahead 6-4, but Rhys Hoskins knotted the score with a two-run double. Tommy Pham and Kolten Wong also homered for the Cards, who dropped the Phillies 4 ½ games behind the NL East-leading Braves.

— The Giants earned a 6-3 win over the Marlins behind Gorkys Hernandez, who was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs. San Francisco took the lead for good on Buster Posey’s solo blast in the bottom of the first. Dereck Rodriguez gave up three runs over five innings before the Giants’ bullpen tossed one-hit ball the rest of the way.

— Homers by Stephen Piscotty and Jed Lowrie allowed the Athletics to come away with a 4-2 triumph at San Diego. Lowrie belted a two-run shot in the 10th, one inning after Piscotty prolonged the game with a two-out blast.

— The Rangers won their fourth in a row as Cole Hamels allowed four hits over seven innings of a 4-1 verdict over the Royals. Delino DeShields doubled home two runs and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three hits to help Texas send Kansas City to its eighth consecutive loss.

Oregon State kept things loose in the clubhouse during a weather delay that stretched to 4 ½ hours at the College World Series. Reserve outfielder Joe Casey entertained teammates by stuffing 30 pieces of gum into his mouth, a party game known as “Mafia” broke out and the tunes were cranked up.

When it was time to return to the field, the Beavers were all business.

Kyle Nobach hit a three-run homer to put Oregon State in control in the seventh inning, Kevin Abel pitched four strong innings of relief and Oregon State sent Pac-12 rival Washington home from the College World Series with a 14-5 win on Monday night.

“Crazy game. Long day,” Beavers coach Pat Casey said. “I thought our guys came out really prepared after the rain delay. We were kind of scuffling out of the chute. Really appreciate the way they hung with it and got themselves a win.”

The Beavers erased early deficits, starting their comeback just before the teams were pulled off the field because of lightning near TD Ameritrade Park. Before play resumed, star second baseman Nick Madrigal gave a talk to emphasize the stakes.

“It’s win or go home at this point, and there are a lot of guys that will never put this uniform on again,” Nobach said. “It means a lot to us, and a lot of people don’t really understand it until you play here and you’re around ‘Case’ and this program. That’s motivating for us. And that’s what his message was, just to strictly compete.”

Oregon State (50-11-1), the No. 3 national seed, was coming off a loss to North Carolina in its CWS opener and still must win three more games to reach the best-of-three finals. Washington (35-26) went two games and out in its first CWS.

“A lot of people expected us to roll over halfway through the season,” Huskies shortstop Levi Jordan said. “Instead, we went the other direction and brought this program to its first College World Series. To hang our heads about our performance in the College World Series… it shouldn’t be a reflection of our season. Obviously, a tough loss. But the program is moving in a great direction.”

Washington had leads of 3-0 and 5-4 before the delay in the top of the sixth inning. The Beavers had bases loaded with two outs when play was stopped. Washington sent out closer Alex Hardy (5-4), the fourth of seven Huskies pitchers, after the delay and he walked in the tying run.

The Huskies elected to intentionally walk Adley Rutschman to set up forces on the bases with two outs in the seventh. Michael Gretler smashed a ball down the left-field line for the tie-breaking double, and Nobach hit a 2-2 pitch that barely cleared the wall in right center for his sixth homer of the season and a 9-5 lead.

Oregon State scored all but one of its runs with two outs. The Beavers were 13 for 21 with two outs and 7 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Tyler Malone homered to start a five-run eighth inning that finished off the Huskies.

Beavers starter Bryce Fehmel turned the game over Kevin Abel after giving up a single to start the fifth. Abel (5-1) threw 17 pitches before the delay, and Casey opted to have him go back to the mound when play resumed. Abel allowed one run on one hit and two walks. He struck out five.

Oregon State avoided going 0-2 at a CWS for the first time in five appearances since 2005.

 

 

UP NEXT

Oregon State will play another elimination game Wednesday against the North Carolina-Mississippi State loser. That game was postponed until Tuesday morning because of the long delay in the Beavers’ game and the threat of more rain Monday night.

Washington made a big late-season push to get to Omaha after being picked seventh in the Pac-12 preseason coaches’ poll. The Huskies were just 18-18 after an April loss to Texas-Rio Grande Valley. They closed the regular season with a series win over Stanford to finish third in the conference and secure an at-large NCAA bid. They traveled across the country to sweep through the Conway (South Carolina) Regional and won a three-game super regional at Cal State Fullerton.

 

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES – Tuesday
At Omaha, Neb.

North Carolina vs. Mississippi State, 9:00 (MT)

Texas vs. Florida, 1 p.m.

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech , 5 p.m.