Thursday Morning Sports with KWBW’s Rob Dreher.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cardinals rookie Dakota Hudson kept quickly scraping through scoreless innings, even as his Royals counterpart was putting together a no-hit bid that was starting to set social media ablaze.

St. Louis eventually cracked Brad Keller in spectacular fashion.

Kansas City never did figure out Hudson.

The 24-year-old right-hander wound up throwing six innings of five-hit ball, and the Cardinals bullpen finished off a 6-0 victory Wednesday night for their second consecutive shutout of their cross-state rival and their eighth straight victory at Kauffman Stadium.

“This is a team with a lot of ability. It’s a deep team with a ton of experience,” said St. Louis manager Mike Shildt, whose team climbed back over the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central.

Hudson (11-6) allowed runners to reach every inning but the third, but he kept his poise and continued to get timely double-plays, groundballs and fly outs. Hudson struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals won for the 13th time in his last 16 starts.

“He controlled a lot of counts,” Shildt said. “He was very, very effective.”

So was Keller (7-13), who issued three walks and was victimized by an early error but didn’t allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna’s sharp single leading off the seventh. It began a run of five consecutive base hits that not only knocked Keller from the game but ultimately resulted in a five-run frame.

“We kept our confidence,” said Paul DeJong, who later homered off the Royals bullpen to become the first shortstop in Cardinals history with two 20-plus homer seasons. “It was now-or-never for us.”

Keller never thought he was pitching particularly well.

“I was grinding to throw strikes. I wasn’t putting the ball where I wanted to,” he said. “I felt like my breaking ball hit the grass every time I threw it. I just let my nature take over.”

The Royals, who were blanked 2-0 on Tuesday night, never got a runner past second base. Cheslor Cuthbert grounded out to strand two in the first, Nicky Lopez stranded runners in the second and fifth, and Bubba Starling grounded out to leave Ryan O’Hearn standing on second base in the fourth.

The Cardinals were following a similar roadmap until Ozuna’s single in the seventh.

DeJong and Matt Carpenter followed with hits to send Keller to the showers, and Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong followed with singles of their own. By the time Randy Arozarena singled for his first major league hit and Dexter Fowler hit a sacrifice fly, the Cardinals had taken a 5-0 lead.

DeJong added his mammoth homer in the eighth inning to put an exclamation mark on the win.

“I had 19 last year,” DeJong said. “I’d rather have had like, 16, but it’s pretty amazing.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Hudson has the most wins by a Cardinals rookie since Shelby Miller had 15 in 2013. The last time a rookie led the Cardinals in wins was Matt Morris (12) in 1997. … St. Louis has seven shutouts this season. … Kansas City is winless in its last six series. … The Royals have not beaten the Cardinals at home since June 26, 2016. That was the last year they won the season series.

FIRST HIT

Arozarena’s first major league hit came in strange fashion during the Cardinals’ big inning. He cracked a liner that hit Molina as he was attempting to run from second to third, but the umpire ruled that the ball passed Lopez at shortstop and that resulted in a hit.

LOTS OF SQUATING

Molina passed Tony Pena for the seventh-most innings caught in major league history when the nine-time All-Star recorded the first out of the fourth inning. Molina has now caught 15,979 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill (left wrist strain) could return this weekend, Shildt said, after going on the injured list Aug. 1. “I don’t want to guarantee it,” he added. “It’s a combination of pain tolerance and grip, getting the pain tolerance and inflammation down.”

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy (left hamstring strain) threw a bullpen session Tuesday with another scheduled for Friday. “He’ll do a four-inning sim game on Tuesday and evaluate after that,” manager Ned Yost said. Duffy has been on the shelf since Aug. 4.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals send Michael Wacha (6-5, 5.54 ERA) to the mound in the opener of a four-game series in Cincinnati on Thursday night. The Royals get the day off before Mike Montgomery starts against the New York Mets in the opener of a three-game set Friday night.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cardinals rookie Dakota Hudson tossed six innings of five-hit ball, Royals counterpart Brad Keller allowed a no-hit bid to crumble in spectacular fashion, and St. Louis went on to beat Kansas City 6-0 on Wednesday night. Keller carried a no-hit bid into the seventh before the Cardinals opened with five straight singles. They eventually scored five runs in the frame, allowing them to cruise to a two-game series sweep.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The first step in rebuilding the much-maligned Kansas City defense was hiring a new coordinator, which the Chiefs did in Steve Spagnuolo. The next step in their overhaul? Piecing together a staff from all corners of the football landscape.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tesho Akindele scored his team-leading ninth goal in the 21st minute and Orlando City beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0. Orlando City (9-11-6) jumped into a three-way tie for seventh place with Montreal and Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

National Headlines

UNDATED (AP) _ The Milwaukee Brewers prevented the Minnesota Twins from expanding their half-game lead over Cleveland atop the AL Central. Rookie Trent Grisham belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to turn the Brewers’ 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 victory over the Twins. The Indians lost to the Red Sox for the second straight day as Xander Bogaerts homered twice and had four RBIs in Boston’s 5-1 victory at Cleveland.

UNDATED (AP) _ The Atlanta Braves kept their six-game lead over Washington in the NL East by scoring five times in the seventh inning of a 6-4 verdict over the Mets. Ender Inciarte opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second and later singled home a run in Atlanta’s big rally. Anthony Rendon, Kurt Suzuki and Adam Eaton hit homers in a 10-run fifth that was the difference in the Nationals’ 17-7 dismantling of the Reds.

NEW YORK (AP) _ The Yankees earned their 16th straight win over the Baltimore Orioles as Gary Sanchez unloaded a three-run blast in the first inning to help New York earn a 6-5 victory. Mike Ford’s two-run single in the sixth was the difference as the Yankees finished 17-2 versus the last-place Birds this season. The Yankees hit 61 homers off Baltimore pitching this season and outscored the O’s, 151-83.

CHICAGO (AP) _ The Chicago White Sox squandered a late three-run lead before James McCann hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the eighth inning of a 13-9 win over the Houston Astros. Rookie Eloy Jiménez hit his 20th homer and Tim Anderson doubled twice among four hits for the White Sox. José Altuve smacked a two-run homer eighth to tie it 9-9 before Houston lost for the third time in four games since an eight-game winning streak.

Wednesday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Milwaukee 6 Minnesota 5
Final San Diego 7 Tampa Bay 2
Final Oakland 9 San Francisco 5
Final L-A Angels 7 Pittsburgh 4
Final St. Louis 6 Kansas City 0

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Texas 7 Toronto 3
Final N-Y Yankees 6 Baltimore 5
Final Boston 5 Cleveland 1
Final Chi White Sox 13 Houston 9
Final Detroit 3 Seattle 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 7 Arizona 6
Final Washington 17 Cincinnati 7
Final Philadelphia 11 Chi Cubs 1
Final L-A Dodgers 9 Miami 1
Final Atlanta 6 N-Y Mets 4

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Hutchinson Sports Arena and Gowans Stadium will play host to four NJCAA National level events in 2019-2020.  2019 NJCAA Div. 1 Volleyball Tournament, 2019 Salt City Bowl, 2020 NJCAA Div. 1 Men’s Basketball Championship and the 2020 NJCAA Div. 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs’ Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy, tight end Travis Kelce, and linebacker Breeland Speaks fielded media questions after training camp practice Wednesday.

Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy

Q: Did the offensive unit accomplish all that you wanted to accomplish through the St. Joe portion of training camp?

BIENIEMY: “I think we’re right where we need to be. I think the guys came out and accomplished the goals that we needed to accomplish. The most important thing that we wanted to do is win last week. I thought the guys did a great job of that. Now, the thing that we’re focusing on, because we put it on tape, is just the details and the fundamentals, just making sure that we’re focused on that moving forward.”

Q: What do you think about the young guys on your unit?

BIENIEMY: “I think our young guys did a great job of showing what they’re capable of. I know the young kid, 25 (Darwin Thompson), stepped up. Mecole (Hardman) stepped up. But also, too, just across the board, I thought guys did some good things. But there were some things that they didn’t do, as well. When it’s all said and done, we just want to make sure that they are focused on the details, because at the end of the day, it is about executing with great attention to details to give ourselves a chance when everything is on the line.”

Q: Is Darwin Thompson maybe more advanced than you thought he would be at this point in camp?

BIENIEMY: “One thing I’ll say, guys never surprise me when they come to training camp because things change, you put the pads on, you just want to see how they handle the stress of preparing, playing and performing every day. So I’m not shocked and surprised. We knew what we saw on tape. The kid did one heck of a job. Now, the kid still needs to continue to work on some things that he needs to improve upon. (Running Backs) Coach Deland (McCullough) is doing one heck of a job with him.”

Q: Do you plan on getting Thompson a little more work on Saturday night, compared to the first preseason game?

BIENIEMY: “Well as a staff, we have been focusing on what we’re doing out here. We haven’t quite talked about the Pittsburgh Steelers, but we’ll have that discussion in the very near future.”

Q: What do you need to see in the Pittsburgh game from some of the players in tight position battles?

BIENIEMY: “Just like I just said, I’m looking forward to watching those guys improve upon some of the mistakes that they made last week. That’s important. All of these guys have a tremendous amount of talent. Talent gives you a chance, but you have to go out there and execute with some consistency. So we want to make sure that these guys are taking the coaching and then applying it on gameday.”

Q: How disappointing was it to see John Lovett go down with an injury and now have to miss some time?

BIENIEMY: “I’ll say this, normally I don’t discuss injuries, but the kid did one heck of a job. Now, one thing I will say is that the kids that are in there, they’re performing. You’ve got Blake Bell who has stepped up, (Nick) Keizer has stepped up, Deon Yelder – I mean these guys are doing a good job of performing under pressure. That’s why we’re here. We want to see who can handle that. (Tight Ends Coach) Tom Melvin has done a great job of preparing those guys and they’ve handled it very well.”

Q: How has Marcus Kemp performed thus far in camp?

BIENIEMY: “Kemp has been doing this now for a while for us. Kemp is a very, very consistent player. He doesn’t receive the attention that he normally receives, because why? Because he’s one of those guys that is a jack of all trades. He’s a guy that you plug in on special teams. He’s made his mark there, but also too, people forget how good of a receiver he is. He is a big body receiver, he knows the entire offense and he just comes out there and makes plays when given the opportunity to do so. That’s what you want to see out of young, developing players.”

Q: What do you think Carlos Hyde brings to this team?

BIENIEMY: “Carlos brings a tremendous amount of experience. He’s played in this league for a number of years. He’s a bigger body. I just think the kid has a tremendous upside.”

Q: In what ways do you and Greg Lewis need to see Mecole Hardman to improve upon for him to maybe get some looks with the top grouping?

BIENIEMY: “Let me rewind. He’s done a good job, but we want him to make sure that he has put consistent behavior on tape. He’s very smart. The kid takes coaching and he understands the little things and the details of it, but when it’s all said and done with, it’s about getting these guys to understand the level of professionalism it takes to play at a high level. We need him to play at a high level. It’s not just going to happen on gameday. He has to learn how to practice at a high level on a consistent basis every single day we’re out here.”

Chiefs Player Quote

TE TRAVIS KELCE

Q: Now that you’ve seen the rookies for a couple weeks, do you think you have more offensive capability than last year?

KELCE: “The sky is the limit for this offense. The guys who have been here, that have been here the last couple years, especially last year; we’re taking it up a level that we have in years past. You can just tell from the coaches’ excitement, to their attention to detail, to how guys are reacting to their coaching. This team is going to be awesome and we’re going to have a lot of fun on the offensive side of the ball.”

Q: With the speed you have offensively, what does that allow you all to do?

KELCE: “Anything we want to do, man. You name it, we got four-two, four-three, maybe four-one. I don’t know what Tyreek (Hill) runs now, who knows. We got guys who can absolutely fly all over the field and speed kills in this game. If you got it, you’re in the advantage.”

Q: How do you feel about Patrick Mahomes’ leadership abilities now that he has done this for a year, going into this season?

KELCE: “You can’t say enough about the guy. Pat has it down pat, no pun intended. We’ll just roll from there. He’s going to take the lead of this team and we’re going to go as he goes. That’s just how it rolls.  One-five is ready for every moment you can think of.”

Q: What’s impressed you playing alongside Blake Bell?

KELCE: “He has some explosiveness to him. He’s a big body. Kind of a weird athlete like myself where it’s not a traditional break here and there. He has a very unique running style in terms of running routes and stuff like that. In the run game, him throwing his body around, not being shy on contact; that’s something we can really use on this team.”

 

LB BREELAND SPEAKS

Q: How did it feel Saturday to play your natural position that you played in college?

SPEAKS: “It was fun. I knew everything from college started coming back to me from high school playing that forefront, so I’m just understanding my role and being able to work in it. I mean we saw what happened and that was fun, that sack was fun. It’s just been fun being back in that four-three.”

Q: Was that the most fun you’ve had since you’ve come to the Chiefs?

SPEAKS: “I think so. Last year, such a big defense and a lot of plays. Having to worry about different things. It was just fun to finally get out there and just rush versus worrying about if I have to drop or worrying about a set or something. It was just fun to be able to get out there and just rush the passer.”

Q: Do you feel like you’ve accomplished what you needed to in camp to get ready to be back in Kansas City?

SPEAKS: “Oh yeah. Definitely. I feel like I’ve done what I came up here to do. I had a rough patch in the beginning but finally being able to get in and make those plays as we’ve seen lately, has been the most fun part of being up here.”

—Chiefs.com—

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — LeBron James went back to school and back in time on Wednesday.

Joined by four high school teammates, the NBA superstar dedicated a multicolored outdoor basketball court at the I Promise School, which he founded last year for underprivileged children in his hometown.

James took a break from his starring role in “Space Jam 2,” currently in production, to spend time with the kids and support his family foundation.

Before taking the court for a quick pickup game against the youngsters, James took the microphone and addressed the kids, encouraging them to chase their dreams the way he and his friends have.

“This is a basketball court and we see basketball hoops, but it teaches you so much more than just basketball,” he said. “To be able to create a brotherhood or sisterhood and create things that will last forever. A lot of people say things you do in high school you’ll forget. Well, we created a friendship 25 years ago and we’re still firm and strong. This is our way of giving it back to you guys — paying it forward.”

And then, James was again dribbling and passing with Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee, Romeo Travis and Sian Cotton, the “Fab Five” from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, a group that won a state title and became nationally known as James rose from an Ohio teen prodigy to professional icon.

His former coach, Dru Joyce, was also on hand.

James, who is spending more than $1 million on various upgrades for the school, dunked to break in one of the new hoops but missed a couple of long 3-pointers.

The 34-year-old will soon begin his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed the playoffs last season, failing to make the Finals for the first time in nine years.

The four-time MVP did not speak to the media following his on-court appearance.

James and the Akron Public Schools teamed up on the school, which is providing a nurturing academic environment for at-risk kids.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Sports Illustrated is celebrating college football’s 150th season by ranking the top 10 all-time greatest mascots, putting the University of Georgia’s bulldog in first place.

The magazine includes both real and costumed mascots in this week’s edition. Following Uga is the Duck at the University of Oregon, Mike the tiger at Louisiana State University, Bevo the longhorn bull at the University of Texas and Stanford University’s Tree.

The University of Colorado’s 1,200-pound live buffalo named Ralphie, University of South Carolina’s costumed gamecock named Cocky, Western Kentucky University’s Big Red, Syracuse University’s orange named Otto and University of Tennessee’s bluetick coonhound named Smokey closed the list.

The latest Uga is the 10th iteration of the mascot, which the magazine says has been a staple since 1956.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Listen to updates from Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph, Mo. with the “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus. The reports originally air weeknights at 5:25 p.m. on KWBW Radio 1450 am/98.5 fm.  Brought to you locally by Egbert Liquor.

 

 

BY FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION-FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State head wrestling coach Chas Thompson will welcome eight student-athletes to campus next week that make up the 2019-20 Tiger Wrestling signing class. This year’s incoming class includes one transfer and seven freshmen.

“I’m very happy with this group we have coming in for the upcoming 2019-20 season,” said Thompson. “The guys that are coming in are all middle to upper weights, and that is where we were a bit thin this past season. I feel like these guys are all a great fit, and I am looking forward to see them mixing it up with our returners in our room.”

	Colten Ballentine is an incoming freshman from Hershey High School in Hershey, Neb. He is projected to wrestle at the 165 pounds after qualifying for state as a senior at 160 pounds.
	Jarod Camacho will be a freshman after wrapping up at Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, Texas. Camacho placed sixth in the Texas 6A state championship as a junior at 195 pounds. He is set to contend at either 184 pounds or 197 pounds.
	LJ Flax is a true freshman from Goddard Eisenhower High School in Goddard, Kan. He was a two-time state qualifier at 220 pounds and projects to wrestle at 285 pounds for the Tigers.
	Tereus Henry heads to Hays from Montwood High School in El Paso, Texas. The projected 184-pound wrestler was the Texas 6A state champion at 182 pounds as a junior in 2018 before finishing second at the same weight class in 2019.
	Clint Herrick is an incoming freshman out of Raymore-Peculiar High School in Raymore, Mo. Clint was a three-time state qualifier in Missouri, finishing third in Class 3A at 182 pounds as a senior. He is projected to hit the mat at 184 pounds.
	Nick Lucas is the lone transfer in this year’s recruiting class, moving to Hays after two years at Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kan. The Pratt native is a two-time national qualifier at the JuCo level, earning All-American honors as a sophomore after a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds in 2019. Lucas was a three-time Kansas 4A state qualifier, finishing runner-up as a senior in 2017 while placing fifth as a junior. Lucas projects to compete at 174 pounds in 2019-20.
	Elias Robles is a true freshman from Montwood High School in El Paso, Texas. The projected 197-pounder was high school teammates with fellow incoming freshman Tereus Henry. Robles advanced to the Texas 6A regional tournament three times.
	Caleb Willis will be a freshman after a successful wrestling career at Bonner Springs High School in Bonner Springs, Kan. Willis was a four-time state qualifier in Kansas, taking the 4A title at 220 pounds as a sophomore in 2017 before finishing runner-up as a junior and placing third in 5A as a senior. He is projected to hit the mat at either 197 pounds or 285 pounds.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The two words that Cardinals manager Mike Shildt kept using to describe the reasons behind Jack Flaherty’s phenomenal pitching success since the All-Star break were conviction and command.

The Royals probably have a few choice words to describe Flaherty, too.

The right-hander tossed seven innings of three-hit ball in yet another dominant performance Tuesday night, and Tommy Edman and Paul Goldschmidt drove in the only runs as St. Louis edged Kansas City 2-0 to open a two-game series between the cross-state rivals.

“That’s been Jack. That’s who he’s been,” Shildt said. “Just outstanding pitching.”

Flaherty (6-6) struck out seven with a lone walk in his sixth stingy start, though he has just two wins to show for them. He’s allowed 20 hits with 50 strikeouts and 0.70 ERA over that span.

“He’s been absolutely on fire lately,” Edman said. “Jack was awesome again, as usual.”

Flaherty headed for the showers after throwing 110 pitches, and the St. Louis bullpen nailed down the win. Andrew Miller worked around a single in the eighth and retired Alex Gordon in the ninth, and Carlos Martínez got the final two outs, completing the four-hitter while earning his 13th save.

Glenn Sparkman (3-8) did everything the Royals asked over six sharp innings. He allowed two runs, one of them earned, but still hasn’t won since a July 16 shutout of the White Sox.

“With every start I’m getting a little better. Still shaky in the first through third,” he said. “But overall I felt pretty good today. Definitely a lot of things to work on still.”

The most spirit the woebegone Royals showed all night came when Kolten Wong legged out an infield single in the fifth, and manager Ned Yost complained about interference on the throw. His heated exchange with plate umpire Pat Hoberg escalated until first base ump Greg Gibson tossed him.

It was the third time this season Yost has been ejected.

“In all fairness,” Yost said, “they gave me every opportunity to stop arguing.”

Both Cardinals runs were scored in scrappy fashion. The first came when Dexter Fowler reached on an error in the first, advanced on a groundout and scored on Goldschmidt’s sacrifice fly, and the second came on Edman’s single in the third — just before he was caught between bases to end the inning.

The way Flaherty was going, that was all St. Louis needed.

He gave up a two-out double to Hunter Dozier and intentionally walked Jorge Soler in the first, but got Cheslor Cuthbert to pop out and end the inning. Flaherty proceeded to retire 12 more in succession before Nicky Lopez led off the sixth inning with a base hit.

Flaherty wound up getting a double play and striking out Dozier to end that inning.

“His fastball’s got life. Slider is tight. Good arm action with pitches,” the Royals’ Whit Merrifield said. “He locates well, moves it around. He doesn’t miss a whole lot. When he does miss it’s not in the zone. So he does a good job of keeping you on your toes.”

ROOKIE ARRIVAL

The Cardinals called up touted prospect Randy Arozarena from Triple-A Memphis, though he was not in the starting lineup. The speedy outfielder was hitting .368 and had reached base safely in 37 consecutive games for the Redbirds. “I knew it was coming,” Arozarena said. “I knew it was close.”

COACHING SHUFFLE

St. Louis fired assistant hitting coach Mark Budaska during the day off Monday and promoted Memphis hitting coach Jobel Jimenez to the big league club. “I ultimately made the decision,” said Shildt, who cited “philosophical differences” in making the move.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The Cardinals placed outfielder José Martínez on the injured list after he collided with the wall in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Martínez sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder. “I think a week will go by and he’ll get out there and start swinging the bat again,” Shildt said. “He’ll be back as soon or as close to that 10-day mark as possible.”

UP NEXT

The Cardinals send Dakota Hudson (10-6, 4.01 ERA) to the mound to face fellow right-hander Brad Keller (7-12, 4.09) and the Royals as the clubs wrap up their two-game set Wednesday night.