(BY STEVE CARPENTER)
(HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION)

HESSTON – Sophomore midfielder Naomi Waithira posted her third three-assist game of the season and led the Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer team to its 10th shutout of the season Wednesday night.

Waithira had an eight-point game and goalkeeper Chiara Soergel posted her 10th shutout of the season in Hutchinson’s 8-0 victory at Hesston College. Hutchinson competes the season sweep of the Larks, outscoring them 27-0 in the two games played this season.

The Blue Dragons improve to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the Jayhawk West to remain entrenched in second place in the Jayhawk West. Hutchinson will play host to Dodge City at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Salthawk Sports Complex.

Waithira tied career highs with two goals and three assists to lead the Blue Dragons. Waithira now has 26 career assists, which ties her for sixth place on the Blue Dragon career assist list with Sheena Nicol (2016-17). In two games against Hesston this season, Waithira has three goals and six assists.

Soergel put her name in the Blue Dragon record book by becoming the first Blue Dragon goalkeeper ever to post 10 shutouts in her freshman season. Soergel is second in shutouts on the Blue Dragon single-season shutout list.

For the fourth time this season, Soergel didn’t have to record a save in registering a shutout. The Blue Dragons outshot Hesston 36-2.

Sophomore Syeria Matthias scored her first career goal on Wednesday. She also wound up with her first career multi-goal game and game-winning goal. Matthias connected for her first goal just 3:36 into the game on a corner kick. She settled down a Marah Frank corner and smoked a grounder past Hesston Keeper Morita Kanaded for a 1-0 lead. Matthias scored a spectacular goal on other corner, this time heading in a Waithira corner into the upper-right corner. That gave Hutch a 6-0 lead.

Franke and Samantha Vaughn both had a goal and an assist in the game.

Vaughn’s goal was her team-high 14th of the season, which ties her for 11th on the Blue Dragon freshman goals list with Ciara Corboy, Chelsea Myers and Ashley Venegas.

Esther Karhayu and Chavelle Henry had the other goals for the Blue Dragons. Diane Rubio had an assist.

ATLANTA (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals turned the diamond into a giant pinball machine, dinging hits all over SunTrust Park.

By the time the Atlanta Braves finally got the third out, it was the most productive first inning in postseason history.

The Cardinals scored 10 runs their first time up and dealt Atlanta another playoff heartbreak, routing the Braves 13-1 in decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday.

“That was crazy,” said Marcell Ozuna, one of five players who batted twice in the stunning outburst. “We got a good opportunity — and we took it.”

Before many fans had reached their seats, the Cardinals were already booking plans for the NL Championship Series, where they will face Washington in a best-of-seven set beginning Friday at Busch Stadium. The wild-card Nationals knocked off the favored Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 in their own Game 5, getting a grand slam from Howie Kendrick in the 10th inning.

It will be St. Louis’ first NLCS trip since 2014.

“We know we can beat anyone at this point,” Kolten Wong said.

For the Braves, it might take a while to get over this debacle.

After pitching seven scoreless innings in a Game 2 win, Mike Foltynewicz retired only one hitter before getting yanked. First baseman Freddie Freeman booted a potential double-play ball that might have limited the damage. The Cardinals scored their final run of the inning on a strikeout — a wild pitch in the dirt that skipped away from catcher Brian McCann.

“We just strung together a bunch of great at-bats,” Wong said.

It was Atlanta’s 10th straight postseason round loss since its last victory 18 long years ago, tying the ignominious mark set by the Chicago Cubs between 1908 and 2003.

Carrying on the tradition that started at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, moved on to Turner Field and is now becoming an annual occurrence at SunTrust Park, it was a visiting team that got to celebrate in the A-T-L.

The Cardinals broke out T-shirts and caps, hopped around in the middle of the infield and gathered on the pitcher’s mound for a team portrait with the center field video board looming as a backdrop.

For the 13th time in 21 postseason appearances since moving to Atlanta, the Braves finished the year with a loss on their home field.

“It was more of a shock than anything,” said Josh Donaldson, whose homer provided the lone Atlanta run. “You don’t expect something like that to happen, especially with how well we played all season.”

The Cardinals batted around and got more than halfway through their order a second time before the Braves even came to the plate.

Tommy Edman, Dexter Fowler and Wong all had two-run doubles as St. Louis equaled the highest-scoring inning in postseason history, a record set by the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago Cubs in the 1929 World Series. It was matched by the Detroit Tigers (1968 World Series vs. St. Louis), the Anaheim Angels (2002 ALCS vs. Minnesota) and, now, the Cardinals.

No team had ever scored 10 runs in the very first inning of a postseason game. It was the first time the Braves franchise has allowed that many opening-inning runs in any game since they were in Boston on July 2, 1925, against the Brooklyn Robins.

The Cardinals made several changes after their 10-spot in what might’ve been the first set of defensive moves ever made by a team before its opponent had batted. There was no need to worry about any more offense with budding ace Jack Flaherty on the mound, coming off one of the great second halves by a starting pitcher in baseball history.

“We took the crowd out of it,” Fowler said. “We knew Folty would try to get ahead of us. We were trying to get some good pitches to hit. It was a little easier to see the ball today.”

Manager Mike Shildt let the 23-year-old Flaherty throw 104 pitches over six innings, surrendering four hits for the first postseason win of his blossoming career. Flaherty loaded the bases in the fifth after drilling Ronald Acuña Jr. with a fastball, but induced an inning-ending groundout from Freeman.

This one, though, will long be remembered for what happened before Flaherty even took the mound.

BLOW BY BLOW

Foltynewicz, who didn’t walk anyone in Game 2, started ominously with a walk to Fowler. Wong followed with a sacrifice bunt — the only hitter Foltynewicz retired.

Paul Goldschmidt reached on an infield hit, and the crowd stirred nervously when Marcell Ozuna lined another single to right to bring home the first run.

Then, the play that essentially finished off the Braves. Yadier Molina drilled a one-hopper to first that Freeman likely would’ve turned into an inning-ending double play if he made the scoop. Instead, everyone was safe when the ball deflected off his glove and rolled slowly toward second base to leave the bases loaded.

“This one is on me,” Freeman said.

Matt Carpenter walked to force in a run and Edman ripped a two-run double to make it 4-0. After Paul DeJong was handed an intentional walk to re-load the bases, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker emerged from the dugout to call in 17-game winner Max Fried.

Flaherty drew another bases-loaded walk and Fowler lined a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 7-0. Wong followed with yet another two-run double, pushing the score to a staggering 9-0.

Wong tagged and hustled to third on Goldschmidt’s lineout to right. Ozuna appeared to end the inning when he flailed at a ball in the dirt for strike three, but McCann couldn’t corral the wild pitch. The catcher fell down picking the ball up near the backstop and threw late to first from his backside while Wong sped home.

McCann announced after the game that he’s retiring.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: After missing two weeks with a strained left hamstring, 2B Wong has held up well in his postseason return. “He feels great and hasn’t really missed a beat,” Shildt said.

Braves: 2B Ozzie Albies remained in the game after appearing to hurt his right hand while dropping a throw from SS Dansby Swanson attempting to turn a double play in the third inning. A trainer gave Albies’ hand a quick examination during a pitching change.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals lost to San Francisco in five games at the 2014 NLCS, their last of four straight trips to the round. The NL Central champions went 5-2 against Washington in their 2019 season series.

After a second straight NL East title, the Braves head into the offseason with a solid nucleus of young talent but the burden of another postseason flop. Donaldson is a potential free agent, along with pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who struggled in his two NLDS starts.

HONG KONG CHINA  (AP)- When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology.

Marriott issued one. So did Delta. Mercedes-Benz, too.

The NBA, embroiled in a rift caused by a tweet expressing support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, has avoided going that route — for now. But with billions at stake from things like merchandise sales and media rights, some experts are wondering if anything other than an apology from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will mend this fence, especially with the Chinese indicating that is what they want.

“I think that Commissioner Silver might have to do what everyone in our country doesn’t want him to have to do,” said Windy Dees, a sports marketing expert at the University of Miami. “He may have to say, ‘I understand that your government, your political system, your culture, your ideologies are different than ours and we shouldn’t push our beliefs on you.’”

“And that’s exactly what Americans and NBA fans don’t want to see their commissioner say,” Dees added.

Silver has chosen his words carefully to this point, defending the right of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey — who sent the tweet, now deleted yet still causing major problems — to freedom of expression.

Silver also said the league is apologetic over the disharmony caused by Morey’s tweet but stopped well short of apologizing for the tweet itself.

Morey attempted to clarify his position in subsequent tweets, which some, including Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai, the Taiwanese-Canadian co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, considered an apology.

But the only true apology so far came from Rockets star James Harden, the 2017-18 NBA MVP who tried to fix things by insisting, “We love China.”

Clearly, that wasn’t enough.

“The hurt that this incident has caused will take a long time to repair,” Tsai said in an open letter to fans in which he tried to shed light on the Chinese perspective when it comes to Hong Kong.

The question is, how long?

Dean Crutchfield, CEO of the crisis management firm Crutchfield + Partners, said Morey’s tweet, well-intentioned as it was, could cost the NBA billions. He wondered if a parting of the ways between Morey and the Rockets would appease China.

“You need to fire him and you need to fire him fast,” Crutchfield said. “China needs a statement, and for him to still be in his job is remarkable. I think Silver did a remarkable job with his statement, but this is a senior official, well aware of the importance of the Chinese market. One man, one tweet.”

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are scheduled to play Tsai’s Nets on Thursday in Shanghai, then again Saturday in Shenzhen. For now, those games are expected to be played.

But China state broadcaster CCTV is not going to air the games as previously planned and said it is examining other aspects of its relationship with the NBA.

Tencent, the Chinese conglomerate that has a $1.5 billion streaming deal spanning the next five seasons with the league, has said it will not show Rockets games and pulled some planned preseason coverage from NBA arenas. And Chinese companies like apparel giant Li-Ning and Vivo, a smartphone maker that was going to be a sponsor of the Lakers-Nets games, have suspended their business dealings with the NBA.

“If you have CCTV and Tencent saying, ‘We’re not airing the NBA,’ that is a huge red flag,” Dees said. “It’s almost like a Chinese lockout. If China does not broadcast games, this is a major financial problem for the NBA. And I’m thinking this is going to go on for a while. This is not getting resolved right away. The one thing that you don’t mess with is Chinese government, and unfortunately not everyone in the U.S. understands the global power that China is.”

In the meantime, Silver is “upholding the values of the two countries where the NBA is based,” the U.S. and Canada, said Heather Dichter, a professor of sport management and sport history at De Montfort University in Leicester, England.

“If he had gone the other way, that to me becomes more damaging for the league financially,” she said. “China puts in money, but they’re not the core of your business. The teams can survive without their money. They can’t survive if they have no ticketholders.”

The NBA’s ties to China go back at least 30 years, from when then-Commissioner David Stern opened a fledgling office in Hong Kong with a bare-bones staff and struck a deal to show games to Chinese viewers on a tape-delay basis.

The game’s popularity in China has soared since. Many top NBA players visit every summer to promote footwear and apparel, usually greeted by huge crowds of adoring fans. The typically cited numbers are that 300 million Chinese play basketball and 500 million watch the NBA.

Now those carefully cultivated and highly lucrative ties have been thrown into jeopardy.

“As to what the NBA should say and do next, I believe it knows better than anyone else,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2018-19 MIAA regular season and tournament champions, Fort Hays State, was picked atop of the 2019-2020 MIAA preseason women’s basketball coaches and media poll. Below are the complete results and information of each preseason poll.

The Basketball Experience in the KC Power and Light District hosted the 2019-20 MIAA Basketball Media Day on Wednesday.

The first games of the season are scheduled for Friday, November 8. The opening games for conference play begin on Tuesday, December 2. To see the complete schedule for each team in the Association, click here.

Coaches Poll
In the coaches poll, FHSU received 10 first-place votes for a total of 166 points. Central Missouri trailed the Tigers by six points and received four first-place votes. Both Fort Hays State and UCM qualified for the NCAA Division II Central Regional a season ago. Washburn was slotted third with 134 points followed by Pittsburg State in fourth with 131 points. Emporia State rounded out the top-five after being narrowly edged out of the fourth spot. Both PSU and ESU made the Central
Regional in 2019.

Nebraska Kearney was voted sixth followed by Central Oklahoma at seventh and Newman in eighth. The ninth position went to Missouri Southern as 10th belonged to Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western finished 11th. Northeastern State was in the 12th spot with Rogers State tabbed at the 13th spot and Lincoln closed out the poll.

2019-2020 MIAA Women’s Basketball Preaseason Coaches Poll
1. Fort Hays State (10) – 166 points
2. Central Missouri (4) – 160 points
3. Washburn – 134 points
4. Pittsburg State – 131 points
5. Emporia State – 130 points
6. Nebraska Kearney – 100 points
7. Central Oklahoma – 97 points
8. Newman – 83 points
9. Missouri Southern – 67 points
10. Northwest Missouri – 64 points
11. Missouri Western – 62 points
12. Northeastern State – 37 points
13. Rogers State – 25 points
14. Lincoln – 17 points
Coaches Are Not Allowed To Vote For Their Own Team

Media Poll
The media tagged Fort Hays State with its top position. The Tigers received 14 first-place votes and 271 points. Central Missouri followed FHSU with six first-place votes and 263 points. In third was Pittsburg State with 227 points and Washburn was fourth with 217 points. Emporia State rounded out the top-five with 213 points.

Nebraska Kearney anchored the sixth position as Central Oklahoma finished seventh by a narrow margin. Missouri Western was tabbed eighth as Newman came in ninth and Missouri Southern finished 10th. The 11th spot went to Northwest Missouri as Rogers State was 12th and Northeastern State ended at 13th. The final spot in the poll went to Lincoln.

2019-2020 MIAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1. Fort Hays State (14) – 271 points
2. Central Missouri (6) – 263 points
3. Pittsburg State – 227 points
4. Washburn – 217 points
5. Emporia State – 213 points
6. Nebraska Kearney – 161 points
7. Central Oklahoma – 160 points
8. Missouri Western – 131 points
9. Newman – 120 points
10. Missouri Southern – 109 points
11. Northwest Missouri – 84 points
12. Rogers State – 73 points
13. Northeastern State – 47 points
14. Lincoln – 23 points

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2018-19 NCAA Division II undefeated national champion and MIAA champion, Northwest Missouri, was picked first in the 2019-2020 MIAA preseason men’s basketball coaches and media polls. Below are the complete results and information of each preseason poll. The MIAA Basketball Media Day is being held at The Basketball Experience in the Power and Light District in KC, Missouri.

The first games of the season are scheduled for Friday, November 1. The opening games for conference play begin on Tuesday, December 2. To see the complete schedule for each team in the Association, click here.

Coaches Poll
In the coaches poll, the Bearcats received 13 first-team votes for 169 points. Missouri Southern received the remaining first-place vote for 157 points. Both NW and MSSU played in the NCAA
Division II Central Regional Final last season. Washburn was selected third with 131 points after making its second straight NCAA Tournament in 2019. Fort Hays State was slotted fourth with 124 points and Northeastern State rounded out the top-five with 99 points.

Central Missouri came in the sixth spot followed by Lincoln at the seventh spot and Pittsburg State in the eighth spot. Rogers State was tabbed ninth before Emporia State and Newman at the 10th and 11th positions respectively. At 12th was Missouri Western with Central Oklahoma at 13th and Nebraska Kearney rounding out the poll.

2019-2020 MIAA Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (13) – 169 points
2. Missouri Southern (1) – 157 points
3. Washburn – 131 points
4. Fort Hays State – 124 points
5. Northeastern State – 99 points
6. Central Missouri – 96 points
7. Lincoln – 93 points
8. Pittsburg State – 92 points
9. Rogers State – 68 points
10. Emporia State – 66 points
11. Newman – 61 points
12. Missouri Western – 58 points
13. Central Oklahoma – 44 points
14. Nebraska Kearney – 16 points
Coaches Are Not Allowed To Vote For Their Own Team

Men’s Media Poll
Northwest Missouri was voted in the top spot by the media with 19 first-place votes and 279 points. Missouri Southern was slotted second with 259 points and one first-place vote followed by Washburn in third with 238 points. Fort Hays State was selected fourth with 198 points as Pittsburg State was fifth with 183 points.

Lincoln was voted sixth followed by Central Missouri in seventh and Emporia State at eighth.
Missouri Western was tabbed ninth, just ahead of Newman at 10th and Rogers State in 11th.
Northeastern State came in at 12th with Nebraska Kearney at 13th and Central Oklahoma closing out the poll.

2019-2020 MIAA Men’s Basketball Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (19) – 279 points
2. Missouri Southern (1) – 259 points
3. Washburn – 238 points
4. Fort Hays State – 198 points
5. Pittsburg State – 183 points
6. Lincoln – 156 points
7. Central Missouri – 140 points
8. Emporia State – 123 points
9. Missouri Western – 120 points
10. Newman – 103 points
11. Rogers State – 102 points
12. Northeastern State – 88 points
13. Nebraska Kearney – 64 points
14. Central Oklahoma- 46 points

WINFIELD, Kans. – Buhler Soccer shut out Winfield 10-0 on Wednesday.

Tyler westfall and Cade Taylor both had three goals.

 

ATLANTA (AP) — The Braves are back at home for a decisive postseason game, which is not necessarily a good omen. Over the years, Atlanta is the place where other teams come to celebrate in October. The St. Louis Cardinals hope to continue that trend when they face the Braves in decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series. The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2, when Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz outdueled Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals for a 3-0 victory.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State has been searching all season for a primary ball carrier. The Cyclones might have found their guy in quarterback Brock Purdy. He gave Iowa State the boost it was looking for in its ground game in a blowout win over TCU. Purdy ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns in leading Iowa State past the Horned Frogs 49-24. Next up is a trip to play West Virginia on Saturday.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay is having his best year. A position change has made him quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s top target. Duvernay has 45 catches this season and his nine per game is best in the nation heading into Saturday matchup against No. 6 Oklahoma. Duvernay was a deep threat as an outside receiver. He’s moved into the slot his ability to find open spaces in the heart of the defense. And his ability to break tackles has been a revelation for the 11th-ranked Longhorns.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The PGA Tour Champions has announced a new tournament for St. Louis, the first for the 50-and-older circuit in the area since 2001. The Ascension Charity Classic will be played in 2020 the first weekend of October at Norwood Hills Country Club.

National Headlines

TAMPA BAY, Fla. (AP) _ Tommy Pham and Willy Adames homered as the Tampa Bay Rays chased Justin Verlander early and beat the Houston Astros 4-1 to even their AL Division Series at two games apiece. Nick Anderson and three other relievers combined on a five-hitter to beat Verlander, who was pitching on short rest after dominating the Rays in Game 1 of the best of five series that shifts back to Houston for a decisive fifth game.

UNDATED (AP) _ The Nationals and Dodgers had a travel day to go coast to coast again ahead of their win-or-go-home Game 5 in the NL Division Series on Wednesday. Washington will send 18-game winner Stephen Strasburg to the mound against Walker Buehler in a marquee matchup Wednesday at Los Angeles. Also facing a decisive Wednesday showdown are the Cardinals and Braves. They battle it out in Atlanta.

DALLAS (AP) _ A district executive athletic committee has ruled that two players on an East Texas high school football team coached by former Baylor coach Art Briles are ineligible. The Dallas Morning News reports the committee voted 6-0 three weeks ago that Brock and Cameron Nellor moved to the Mount Vernon Independent School District for athletic purposes, a violation of state interscholastic rules.

UNDATED (AP) — The XFL has released season-ticket prices and the draft process for its eight teams. League President Jeffrey Pollack says one of the primary goals is providing fans with an experience that is affordable. Nearly three-quarters of season ticket prices for the eight teams are $50 or less per game. Next week’s draft will be in five phases and will take place over two days.

UNDATED (AP) — It’s been a tough month for major league relief pitchers, with bullpens often getting tagged in the playoffs. Carlos Martinez, Mark Melancon, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Pressly are among the pitchers who’ve been hit hard. Overall, relievers have a 5.85 ERA so far in the AL Division Series and NLDS.

Tuesday Scores

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Tampa Bay 4 Houston 1

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — On Pink Out night at the SAC, Hutchinson volleyball got a sweep of Salina South and Salina Central.

In the first match, Hutchinson bested Salina South 25-9, 25-23. The Salthawks then followed that with a 25-14, 25-13 win over Salina Central.

A look at what’s happening around the majors Wednesday:

NOW OR NEVER

A pair of winner-take-all Game 5s will decide the two NL Division Series.

First, the Atlanta Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals at 5:02 p.m. EDT. Then, it’s the Washington Nationals at the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning at 8:37 p.m. The winners meet in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series starting Friday.

ARMS RACE

A star-studded series loaded with outstanding pitchers comes to a dramatic conclusion at Dodger Stadium. Stephen Strasburg starts for the wild-card Washington Nationals against Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler.

The league-best Dodgers were 59-22 at home during the regular season, when they drew more than 3 million fans.

“Very confident we’re going to come out of this and move on,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday.

The Dodgers are trying to reach the NLCS for the fourth consecutive year, while the Nationals have never won a playoff series since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005. They’ve been eliminated from the NLDS four times over the past eight years and are 0-3 in Game 5s — all at home.

Each starter already had a fantastic outing to earn a win in the series: Buehler gave up one hit while tossing six scoreless innings in Game 1; Strasburg struck out 10 and allowed one run over six innings in Game 2.

That dropped Strasburg’s postseason ERA to 0.64, the lowest for anyone with at least four career starts.

Another thing to keep an eye on: The Dodgers will have three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw available in relief on full rest. Three years ago, when LA eliminated Washington in the NLDS, Kershaw came out of the bullpen in Game 5 to earn the first save of his career.

HAUNTED HISTORY

The other NL Division Series gets settled in Atlanta — not necessarily a good omen for the home team. Over the years, the city has been the place where opponents come to celebrate in October, and St. Louis certainly hopes to continue that trend.

Atlanta has lost nine straight postseason rounds starting with a five-game setback to Arizona in the 2001 NLCS. The Braves are one series loss from equaling an ignominious record set by the Chicago Cubs, who dropped 10 postseason rounds in a row between 1908 and 2003.

“History is history. We’re in the moment now. This is a completely different and new team,” Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson said with a shrug.

The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2, when Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz outdueled Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals for a 3-0 victory.

Nine visiting teams eliminated the Braves at their previous ballpark, Turner Field — with the Cardinals doing it twice. The move to SunTrust Park in 2017 didn’t change Atlanta’s fortunes. Last season, the Braves were closed out at home by the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS.

NOT DONE YET

The Rays and Astros prepare for a win-or-go-home Game 5 in their AL Division Series on Thursday night at Houston. Tampa Bay avoided elimination again Tuesday with its second victory in two days over one of baseball’s best pitchers, beating Justin Verlander and the Astros 4-1.

Houston star Gerrit Cole is scheduled to pitch Game 5 for the heavily favored AL West champs, who led the majors with 107 wins this season and have one more chance to close out the wild-card Rays. Tyler Glasnow is expected to start for Tampa Bay, and the winner plays the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.

“Even after going up two games against this ballclub, I don’t think we took anything for granted,” Verlander said. “At least I know I didn’t. We know how talented these guys were and are. We knew it would be a battle.”

HOPING FOR A CHANCE

Injured center fielder Aaron Hicks feels he’s ready to return to the Yankees’ roster for the AL Championship Series. Hicks, who has a right elbow flexor strain and last played on Aug. 3, is among a group of players at the team’s complex in Florida who were not on the Division Series roster.

Hicks said Tuesday he is “definitely ready to go out there and play.”

“For sure,” he added. “That’s really what I’m getting ready for is to get back and play in the playoffs.”

New York, which completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Monday night, will face Houston or Tampa Bay in Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday.

Hicks is facing live pitching and throwing to bases.

“I’m pretty much doing everything,” he said.

In addition to Hicks, other New York players working out include outfielder Clint Frazier, first baseman Mike Ford, and pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Stephan Tarpley.

“I think all of us are ready to help if called upon,” Frazier said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In conjunction with Surprise Stadium and the Texas Rangers, the Kansas City Royals today announced home game times for its 2020 spring training schedule.

The first workout date for pitchers and catchers is Feb. 12, followed by position players on Feb. 17. The Royals have added the annual charity game for the City of Surprise to its schedule, to be played on Feb. 21 vs. the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, which will begin their 18^th season in the Cactus League. The originally scheduled 33 exhibition games will continue the following day, Feb. 22 vs. the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe.

Kansas City’s schedule now features 15 home games at Surprise Stadium, plus two games as the visiting team vs. the Texas Rangers on Feb. 25 and March 13.

The Royals will host night games on March 3 vs. Arizona (7:05 p.m. CT) and March 17 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers (8:05 p.m. CT). The first eight daytime home games will begin at 2:05 p.m. CT. Following Daylight Savings on March 8, the next four remaining daytime home games will begin at 3:05 p.m. CT. The Cactus League finale on March 21 vs. Texas will be played at 2:05 p.m. CT.

The Royals will play every other Cactus League team at least twice, including three games vs. the Angels and four vs. the Rangers. The Royals will play the Brewers twice in Cactus League play and twice at Miller Park on March 23-24, to end their exhibition schedule.

There are three split-squad dates, in which the Royals will field a pair of teams and play two games on Feb. 26, March 10 and March 18.

The Royals will open the regular season at Guaranteed Rate Field on March 26 vs. the Chicago White Sox.

Season ticket renewals and group ticket packages will go on sale on Oct. 19 through www.royals.com/spring. Single game tickets will go on sale online, via phone or mail order starting Nov. 16. The Surprise Stadium Box Office will open on Jan. 4 for walk-up purchases. For more information on spring training tickets or special packages, fans can call (623) 222-2222.

Following is the Royals spring training schedule for 2020.