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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Yankees get Paxton from M’s for Sheffield, 2 others By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK — James Paxton spent the first two months of the 2016 sea- son in the minor leagues after an awful spring training caused his demotion. When he returned to the majors, he quickly emerged as the Mariners’ ace, and now the Yankees hope he can bol- ster the thin rotation that contributed to New York’s loss to Boston in the AL Division Series. New York acquired the 30-year-old left-hander from the rebuilding Seattle Mariners on Monday for top prospect Justus Sheffield and two other minor leaguers. “I think I’ll be a great fit. They seem very committed to winning, and so am I,” Paxton said. New York sent the left-handed Shef- field to the Mariners along with right- hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams. Paxton turned 30 on Nov. 6 and went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts last season, including a 16-strikeout start against Oakland on May 2 and a no-hit- ter at Toronto six days later. He struck out 208 and walked 42 in a career-high 160 1/3 innings, allowing 23 home runs. Paxton is 41-26 in six major league seasons, making six trips to the disabled list in the last five years. He missed nearly four months with a strained left latissimus dorsi muscle in 2014, 3½ months with a strained tendon in left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a bruised left elbow in 2016, 3½ weeks with a strained left forearm and a month with a strained left pectoral muscle in 2017, and 2½ weeks with lower back inflammation this year. “I continue to try to work towards being healthy for an entire season,” he said. “All the injuries that I’ve had hav- en’t reoccurred. I’ve learned how to make sure those things don’t happen again through exercise or whatever.” When he went to Triple-A two years ago, he worked with former big league pitcher Lance Painter, who told him to drop his arm angle back to three-quar- ters. When Paxton returned to the Mar- iners, he studied reading swings with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. “It’s taken me a little longer I think in my career because I have had so much time off,” Paxton said. “But hav- ing those larger chunks the last couple years has really allowed me to come into my own and really make some big strides, and I look forward to continu- ing to make big strides in my game. And I think that my best baseball is still to come.” AP Photo/Ben Margot Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton works against the Oak- land Athletics during a game in Oakland, Calif. SPORTS IN BRIEF Rivera, Halladay top newcomers on Hall of Fame ballot NEW YORK — Career saves leader Mariano Rivera and late pitcher Roy Halladay are among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers headed by Edgar Martinez. Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada also are among the newcomers on the bal- lot announced Monday. Steroids-tainted stars Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds each appear on the ballot for the sev- enth time. Clemens rose to 57.3 percent in the 2018 ballot but fell 75 votes short of the 75 percent needed, and Bonds was 79 votes shy at 56.4 percent. Martinez was 20 votes short at 70.4 percent, Mike Mussina at 63.5 percent and Curt Schilling at 51.2 percent. Damian Mulinix/For The Daily Astorian Naselle quarterback Cole Dorman has led the Comets to an appearance in the 1B semifinals. Naselle advances to 1B semifinals The Daily Astorian W OODLAND, Wash. — Naselle scored 24 straight points on its way to a 68-38 victory over the Lyle-Wishram Cougars last Satur- day, in a Washington 1B football quarterfinal game played at Woodland High School. The Comets will play Almira-Coulee-Har- tline at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee in the semifinals. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Saturday. The 30-point margin represented Naselle’s closest game of the season. The Comets have won 10 in a row, since their season-opening loss to Odessa. Cole Dorman’s deep pass to Ethan Lind- strom in the end zone with no time left in the first half sparked the Comets in Saturday’s game, which Naselle led 18-14 before the half-ending play. Lindstrom’s long return of the second half kickoff set up another touchdown, and Lindstrom’s onside kick was recovered by the Comets, leading to yet another score, as Naselle turned a four-point game into a 42-14 lead with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter. It was the score just before halftime that gave Naselle all the momentum it would need. When a Comet drive died at the Cougar 3-yard line with 34 seconds left in the first half, it seemed that the Comets would have to settle for a four-point lead. Rather than run- ning out the clock from their own 3, the Cou- gars missed on a deep pass and eventually had to punt, giving Naselle the ball at the 24 with 10 seconds left. As time expired, Dorman hit Lindstrom down the right sideline in the front of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. Antonio Nolan’s two-point run made it 26-14. “That pass gave us momentum,” said Naselle player Jacob Eaton. “We came out in the second half knowing we were going to fin- ish strong.” Lindstrom fielded the second-half kickoff at the 25, reversed field at the 40 and broke away to the Cougar 38. Four plays later, Dor- man rolled left and tossed a shovel pass to Eaton, who took it in for a 27-yard touchdown. After recovering the onside kick, Naselle’s next drive went 44 yards in 10 plays, capped by an Eaton touchdown catch for the 42-14 lead. Almira-Coulee-Hartline, the Comets’ semifinal opponent, is coming off a 100-16 win over Crescent. Their quarterback, Magu- ire Isaak, has averaged 28.7 yards per passing attempt this season. Almira-Coulee-Hartline is 11-1, its only loss also coming to Odessa, 54-22. Two unbeaten teams, Odessa and Quil- cene, square off in the other 1B semifinal, 4 p.m. Saturday at the Apple Bowl. No. 3 Gonzaga holds off Illinois 84-78 in Maui LAHAINA, Hawaii — Rui Hachimura scored 23 points, Zach Norvell Jr. added 15 and No. 3 Gonzaga held off Illinois 84-78 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. Gonzaga (4-0) withstood Illi- nois’ 10-0 run to go up nine with 97 seconds left, but Trent Frazier scored on a four-point play to pull the Illini within 80-78. Illinois forced Gonzaga into a difficult shot and got the ball back with 30 seconds left, but Frazier air- balled a long 3-pointer. Gonzaga’s Jeremy Jones hit two free throws to send the Zags into Tuesday’s semifinals against Arizona. Gonzaga, playing without do-everything forward Killian Til- lie (ankle), had trouble with Illinois’ defensive pressure in the first half, allowing the Illini to keep it close. — Associated Press Rams outlast Chiefs 54-51 in record Monday night showdown By GREG BEACHAM Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Even before the fourth lead change of the fourth quarter, well before the 1,001st yard of combined offense was tallied, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams already knew this was a classic. Two powerhouse NFL teams at the peak of their brilliance dueled deep into the night at an ecstatic Coliseum, racking up eye-popping numbers that stretched the box score and credulity. There were 14 touchdowns, including three by defensive play- ers. There were 56 first downs. There were 105 points, with 50 from each team — the first time that’s ever happened in an NFL game. In the final moments, the Rams did just enough to leave with a win they’ll savor for years. And if these teams meet again at AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston, left, strips the ball away from Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff during Mon- day’s game in Los Angeles. Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey recov- ered the ball and scored a touchdown. the Super Bowl in 2 1/2 months, the Chiefs will remember the sting from coming up just short. Jared Goff threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Ever- ett for the go-ahead score with 1:49 to play, and the Rams outlasted the Chiefs for a 54-51 victory Monday night in a showdown that somehow surpassed the hype. “It was a crazy game, crazy game,” said Goff, who passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns and even ran for another score . “It seemed like whoever had the ball at the end was going to win the game. There was times where we felt like we were going to put the knife in and finish them, and there were times where it was the other way around, where we had to claw back into it.” Patrick Mahomes passed for a career-high 478 yards with six touch- down passes in his latest jaw-drop- ping effort for the Chiefs (9-2), but he also threw two interceptions in the final 1:18 as the Rams (10-1) claimed the highest-scoring Mon- day night game ever played. The highest-scoring game in the league this season was an offensive fantasia of ingenious scheming from mastermind coaches Andy Reid and Sean McVay — along with 21 com- bined penalties to keep things inter- esting. The second half was an extended thriller featuring 59 com- bined points. Both teams scratched out fourth-quarter leads, only to see them evaporate. Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill with a 73-yard TD pass just when the Rams appeared to be pulling away early in the fourth, and Goff replied with two late TD passes to Everett , a backup tight end with 31 career catches before this game. “It was a whirlwind,” McVay said. “I feel like I might need a cou- ple of beverages to relax tonight, but it was great. This is what you love so much about the game.” And this game was ultimately decided by defense: Marcus Peters and Lamarcus Joyner came up with late interceptions as the Rams stopped Mahomes’ final efforts.
