ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry left the Chiefs’ practice for the second time this training camp on Tuesday as he continues to be bothered by tendinitis in his right heel.
Berry missed a few days of practice last week with the heel injury. He eventually returned to workouts but did not play in the Chiefs’ preseason opener against Cincinnati.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that the team will continue to monitor Berry and rest him as needed, though it’s unclear when he’ll return. Kansas City plays at Carolina on Sunday.
Defensive end Mike Catapano also left practice with the same illness that has sidelined him for much of training camp. Kicker Ryan Succop remained out with groin inflammation.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Jamaal Charles is known for his speed and skill. He’d like to be known for his ability to lay the lumber, too.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs’ Pro Bowl running back relishes the chance to drop a blitzing safety or linebacker, even though there are no fantasy points at stake for a block. He considers it one of the biggest reasons why he’s become one of the few every-down running backs in the league.
In fact, Charles has even coined his own “Jamaal Charles rule,” whereby he promises to keep his defender out of his quarterback’s face for 3 seconds. After that, they’re on their own.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said Monday that Charles has become a better blocker over the last year, and that’s allowed him to take the next step toward greatness.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Alcides Escobar pumped his fist. Jarrod Dyson did a backflip. And for the first time in more than a decade, the Kansas City Royals were in first place in mid-August.
Yordano Ventura outpitched Sonny Gray in a matchup of talented young starters Monday night, and Escobar drove in the go-ahead run as Kansas City beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 to take over the American League Central lead from Detroit with its eighth consecutive victory.
Kansas City Royals (Chris Vleisides)
“You want to be in first place. Our goal was to get back to first place,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Now our goal is to stay in first place.”
The Royals trailed the Tigers by eight games on July 21, but their 16th win in 19 games wiped away the deficit and gave them the lead at the latest point in a season since 2003.
“We’re playing great,” said Escobar, who drove in a run in the second inning before his two-out single off Gray (12-6) in the seventh gave Kansas City the lead for good.
Ventura lasted through sixth innings before giving way to Kelvin Herrera (3-2), who tossed a spotless seventh Wade Davis breezed through the eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 35th save, though it didn’t come without a little drama.
Josh Donaldson led off the ninth with a single, the first hit by the Athletics since the second inning, and Brandon Moss drew a walk. But after a brief conference on the mound, Holland got Derek Norris to bounce into a double play and Stephen Vogt to fly out to end the game.
“He has the ability to focus pitch to pitch, which good closers can do,” Yost said. “You get first and second with his stuff, you just have a feeling he’s going to get out of it.”
Kansas City put pressure on right from the start, when Dyson and Omar Infante opened the game with back-to-back singles. Gray might have escaped the jam, though, if right fielder Josh Reddick hadn’t flubbed a routine throw to the infield after Infante’s hit. It allowed Dyson to reach third base easily, and he scored on Salvador Perez’s double-play groundout.
“It’s pretty embarrassing,” Reddick said, “especially since it cost us a run. And we end up losing by one run, so it doesn’t make your feel any better.”
After Escobar made it 2-0 in th second, Oakland answered with some help from Ventura, who worked to overcome command problems most of the night. John Jaso led off with a single, Coco Crisp worked a walk and Donaldson earned another free pass to load the bases with two outs.
Moss hit a full-count pitch up the middle to score both runners and knot the game.
Yost pulled Ventura after a double play got the rookie right-hander through the sixth. And when Gray faltered in the seventh and Kansas City took the lead, one of the stingiest bullpens in baseball made sure the smallest of margins was enough.
“Those three guys at the end are as good as you get,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “They don’t worry about righty-lefty. They feel when they get to the seventh inning with a lead, they feel pretty good about it.”
The Royals have not trailed since the first inning of Thursday’s game in Arizona, a span of 44 innings.
“There’s just a real confidence right now when we step on the field,” Yost said.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
The Royals have not trailed since the first inning of Thursday’s game in Arizona, a span of 44 innings. “There’s just a real confidence right now when we step on the field,” Yost said.
BULLISH BULLPENS
Herrera has worked 17 1/3 consecutive scoreless dating to June 27. That’s the third-longest stretch in the majors behind Davis, who has gone 17 2/3 innings, and the A’s Ryan Cook, who has gone 19 innings.
GRAY AREA
Gray struck out a career-low two batters while losing to Kansas City for the second time in his young career. The only other team he’s lost to twice is Baltimore.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: SS Jed Lowrie was back in the starting lineup. He’s missed time recently with a bruised right index finger.
Royals: 1B Eric Hosmer continues to wear a brace on his right hand after breaking his third metacarpal. He hopes to return in September.
UP NEXT
LHP Jon Lester, who beat the Royals in his first start with Oakland, tries to move to 3-0 since arriving from Boston in a July 31 trade. Kansas City counters with RHP Jeremy Guthrie.
UNDATED (AP) – The NCAA wants a clarification on a California judge’s ruling in the landmark Ed O’Bannon case. The governing body of college athletics wrote in a brief to the U.S. District Court that schools want to know which recruits are covered under the ruling. The decision opened the door to athletes receiving a small percentage of the millions of dollars they help generate.
Judge Claudia Wilken wrote it would affect only athletes who enroll after July 1, 2016, at the beginning of the next recruiting cycles.
The NCAA calls the language about the “next recruiting cycle” ambiguous. It wants the court to establish another date, Aug. 1, 2015, when scholarships can first be offered in the 2015-16 recruiting cycle.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals have acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Twins for minor league pitcher Jason Adam in an attempt to bolster their offense for the stretch run.
The move was made shortly before the Royals, winners of seven straight, opened a four-game series against AL West-leading Oakland on Monday night. Kansas City had climbed into the second wild-card spot and was just a half-game behind Detroit in the AL Central entering the day.
Willingham was hitting just .210 for the Twins this season, but his 12 homers in limited at-bats were appealing for a Royals club that has struggled to find power.
He hit a career-best 35 homers with 110 RBIs two years ago.
Adam is 5-9 with a 4.67 ERA with Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha this season.
IRVING, Texas – For the ninth-straight season, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make four appearances on ESPN’s Big Monday, as announced by the Big 12 Conference Tuesday.
KU’s first two ESPN Big Monday contests will be featured inside Allen Fieldhouse: Jan. 19 vs. Oklahoma and Feb. 2 vs. Iowa State. The Jayhawks will then hit the road for its final two matchups: Feb. 16 at West Virginia and Feb. 23 at Kansas State.
In the Big 12 era, Kansas and Oklahoma have faced each other on ESPN Big Monday eight times, while the Jayhawks have played Kansas State and Iowa State six times each. KU and West Virginia will be meeting for the second time on ESPN Big Monday.
Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 52-17 all-time on ESPN’s Big Monday (29-1 at home, 23-16 on the road), including 33-9 under head coach Bill Self. Additionally, KU has won 22-straight ESPN Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse, which includes an 18-0 mark under Self.
2015 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Schedule on ESPN’s Big Monday
All games televised on ESPN and available on WatchESPN.com
Date – Game(s), Time (CT)
January 5 – Oklahoma at Texas (ESPN or ESPN2), 8 p.m. CT
January 19 – Oklahoma at KANSAS, 8 p.m. CT
January 26 – Texas at Iowa State, 8 p.m. CT
February 2 – Iowa State at KANSAS, 8 p.m. CT
February 9 – Iowa State at Oklahoma, 8 p.m. CT
February 16 – KANSAS at West Virginia, 8 p.m. CT
February 23 – KANSAS at Kansas State, 8 p.m. CT
March 2 – Baylor at Texas or Oklahoma at Iowa State, 8 p.m. CT
Get the very latest from Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph, Missouri with the “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus. Today Mitch talks about the linebackers led by All-Pro Derrick Johnson.
Chiefs Training Camp reports from St. Joseph, Missouri can be heard Monday through Friday around 5:30pm on KFIX (96.9-FM).
Right around 110 players greeted head coach Chris Brown as the Fort Hays State football team held their first practice Monday morning at Lewis Field. Listen to coach Chris Brown as well as defensive lineman Jesse Trent and quarterback Treveon Albert.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez each homered and Danny Duffy pitched into the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 7-4 Sunday to extend their winning streak to seven games.
The Royals, who won 10 in a row in June, have put together two winning streaks of seven or more games this season for the first time since 1985, the last time they were in the playoffs.
Gordon hit a two-run shot off Tim Lincecum (9-8) in a four-run first. The inning also included Billy Butler’s run-producing double and Perez scoring on a wild pitch.
Perez homered off Juan Gutierrez with Nori Aoki aboard in a three-run third. Aoki reached base four times — two walks and two singles — and stole three bases.
Jarrod Dyson went 3 for 3 and also swiped three bases. The Royals’ seven steals was one shy of the club record set on August 1, 1998.
Seattle’s Scott Kuzminsky threw a complete game shutout, holding the Hays Larks to just three hits as the Studs end the Larks season with a 2-0 victory in the semifinals of the 80th NBC World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita. It’s the second time in three years Seattle (41-12) has beaten the Larks (40-13) in the semifinals. They advance to Saturday’s finals where they will face four-time champ Santa Barbara who defeated the NJCAA Natonal Team 6-1 in the first semifinal.
Frank Leo Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
Larks starter Jake Fromson retired the first nine that he faced, but his throwing error on a sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning opened the door for the Studs who scored on a one-out ground out. Fromson (5-4) takes the loss, going seven innings, allowing just the one earned run on three hits, striking out five and walking one.
The Studs added an insurance run in the ninth with a Bobby LeCount home run.
The Larks were held to a Tyler Leffler single in the first inning, Tyler Detmer singled in the fourth. The Larks didn’t get a runner into scoring position until the eight when Aaron Cornell singled and advanced on a ground out. Thomas Clay struck out to end the threat.
Tyler Detmer drew a two-out walk in the ninth but Derek Birginske struck out to end the game.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Billy Butler is hot at the plate and Kansas City Royals are even hotter.
Butler homered and drove in three runs and right fielder Nori Aoki threw out two runners in the same inning as the Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
The Royals, who have not been in the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, hold a half game lead for the second AL wild card. They have won 13 of 16.
Butler, who is hitting .423 in the past seven games, homered with two out in the first off Madison Bumgarner (13-9). In the past 13 games, Butler has four home runs and 11 RBIs.
Kansas City Royals (Vleisides Chris)
“Those are feeling really good,” Butler said. “Bumgarner is one of the best pitchers in the National League and in baseball in general. I just caught one out front. He battled all night, throwing a complete game. We capitalized on a few mistakes and got some runs across.”
Said Bumgarner of Butler’s homer, “It just caught a bit too much of the middle of the plate. He’s a good hitter.”
Butler singled home the go-ahead run in the two-run sixth, which was aided by throwing errors on Giants infielders Michael Morse and Matt Duffy. Alex Gordon had an RBI single.
“Morse had more time than he thought,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “You’d just like to get one out there. Duffy knew he came of the bag and was trying to get the out (at first).”
The Giants scored twice in the third on Joaquin Arias’ double and Matt Duffy’s single. Aoki prevented a bigger inning, throwing out Hunter Pence at third and Arias at home.
“You might get two in a game, but never two in an inning,” Aoki said through a translator.
The Giants out hit the Royals 12-7, but self-destructed with three errors and base running blunders.
Bumgarner went the distance, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking none and striking out five. His road scoreless streak was snapped at 17 innings.
Jason Frasor (3-1), the second of five Royals pitchers, threw a spotless sixth, striking out two. Greg Holland pitched a flawless ninth for his American League-leading 33rd save in 35 opportunities. It was Holland’s 100th career save.
TRAINING ROOM
Giants: First baseman Brandon Belt was placed on the concussion list for the second time within a month. Belt missed 12 games after a July 19 concussion before being activated Aug. 2, but left the game Wednesday with a headache.
Royals: Left-hander Jason Vargas made his second start after a July 9 appendectomy, giving up nine hits and two runs in five innings.
ON DECK
Giants: Tim Hudson will be making his 11th career start against the Royals, but his first since 2004 when he was with Oakland.
Royals: James Shields, who has a 1.99 ERA in his past six starts, has a 26-12 career record with a 3.15 ERA in August.
ASSISTS TO AOKI
Aoki became the third Royals outfielder and the first since Royals Hall of Famer Amos Otis on April 25, 1970 to log two assists in an inning. The first was Bob Oliver on Sept. 16, 1969. Aoki said he was not familiar with Otis, a five-time All-Star. “I wasn’t even born in 1970,” Aoki said.
BULLPEN ACES
Wade Davis extended his scoreless streak to 15 2-3 innings, although he gave up two hits in the eighth. Kelvin Herrera worked a scoreless seventh and has allowed one run in 20 2/3 innings since June 7.
PHOENIX (AP) – Jeremy Guthrie retired the final 19 batters in Kansas City’s first complete game this season, and the Royals beat Arizona 6-2 on Thursday night for a three-game interleague sweep of the Diamondbacks.
Guthrie (8-9) allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked none in his eighth career complete game.
Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer and Alcides Escobar had a two-run single for the Royals, who have won four in a row and 12 of 15 to pull within 2 1/2 games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
