SPORTS
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
MLB
Astros
advance
with
shutout
By HOWIE RUMBERG
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK — Dallas
Keuchel and the Houston
$VWURV GH¿HG H[SHFWDWLRQV
all season long. Facing his
biggest test yet, the bearded
ace beat the odds and the
Yankees once again.
Pitching on three days’
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FDUHHU .HXFKHO EDIÀHG WKH
Yankees for six innings of
three-hit
ball, Colby
Rasmus
and Carlos
Gomez
Houston
homered,
and
the
Astros
blanked
N e w
York 3-0
New York
Tuesday
night in the
American
League
wild-card game.
The orange-clad Astros,
who secured their spot in this
winner-take-all game on the
last day of the regular season.
now advance to the AL Divi-
sion Series. They will face
the defending AL champion
Royals, starting Thursday
night in Kansas City.
“To come to Yankee
Stadium and play that well
was truly remarkable,” said
Keuchel, the AL’s only
20-game winner.
Aggressive from the
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appearance as an American
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time since being swept by
the White Sox in the 2005
World Series, the Astros
came out swinging against
Masahiro Tanaka in front of
a revved-up Yankee Stadium
crowd.
Rasmus sent Tanaka’s
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inning soaring into deep right
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missing nearly two weeks
with a strained chest muscled
in mid-September, connected
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fourth.
American League hits
leader Jose Altuve had an
RBI single off All-Star
reliever Dellin Betances in
the seventh.
Reliever Tony Sipp
walked one, and Will Harris
and Luke Gregerson were
each perfect for an inning to
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boos from the 50,113 stunned
fans in the crowd grew with
each out as Gregerson closed
for a save.
The Astros raced to an area
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Brian McCann grounded out
to end it and jumped up and
down in a big scrum. As he
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a group of cheering Astros
supporters in orange shirts
behind the visiting dugout.
It was a celebration a few
years in the making — the
Astros have averaged 104
losses in their last four
seasons.
In a matchup of two
teams that surprised many by
building big division leads
before wasting them late, the
upstart Astros, just two years
removed from an 111-loss
season.
3
0
East Oregonian
Page 3B
College Football
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surprises of the college
football season: Utah 62,
Oregon 20, in Eugene.
“To the outside world,
PHOENIX — Every
season, the Pac-12’s coaches the Utah-Oregon game was
talk about how much parity crazy,” Shaw said. “But to
there is in the conference. those of us who know, when
Every season, the same Utah is hitting on all cylinders,
teams seem to end up on top they’re extremely good.”
The Utes have been one
when it’s over.
This season has seen a of the biggest surprises in
shift. The calls of parity are college football, not just the
Pac-12.
actually on the mark.
Utah struggled after
This is a new version
of the Pac-12, where new joining the conference in
teams are on the rise and the ¿QLVKLQJ QR KLJKHU
unexpected has become the than tied for third in the
Pac-12 South.
norm.
The Utes opened the 2015
“It’s the Wild West right
now,” Stanford coach David season with an impressive
victory over Michigan in
Shaw said.
The Pac-12 hierarchy coach Jim Harbaugh’s debut
in recent years started with and followed with three
Oregon. The Ducks played more victories. The win over
for the national title in 2011, Oregon two weeks ago put
again last season and have Utah on the national map
ZRQ ¿YH RI WKH SDVW VHYHQ and the Utes moved up to
Pac-12
championships. 1RZLWKVHYHQ¿UVWSODFH
They were picked to win the votes in the latest AP Top 25.
Utah’s run has drawn
Pac-12 North Division again
comparisons to the 2004
this season.
But Oregon already has and 2008 teams, which both
two losses this season, the ¿QLVKHGXQGHIHDWHGDQGZRQ
latest one of the biggest major bowls.
By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press
Pac-12 Standings
North
Conf. Ovr.
California
2-0 5-0
Stanford
3-0 4-1
Oregon
1-1 3-2
Oregon St.
0-1 2-2
Washington
0-1 2-2
Washington St. 0-1 2-2
South
Conf. Ovr.
Utah
1-0 4-0
UCLA
1-1 4-1
USC
1-1 3-1
Arizona St.
1-1 3-2
Colorado
0-1 3-2
Arizona
0-2 3-2
“It’s still really early.
We’re still only one third
of the way through it,” Utes
coach Kyle Whittingham
said. “There’s so much
football left that it’s really
hard to make a comparison
yet to either of those teams.
There is somewhat of a
similar feel with the national
attention we’ve received and
that type of thing, but there’s
so much football left that it’s
just pointless to talk about
anything but Cal Berkeley.”
Cal, Utah’s next oppo-
nent, has been another team
on the rise in the Pac-12.
The Bears went 1-11 their
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Dykes in 2013 — 0-9 in
conference — and improved
to 5-7 last season. Cal had
some talent coming back, led
by quarterback Jared Goff,
EXWZDVVWLOOSLFNHGWR¿QLVK
third in the Pac-12 North
behind Oregon and Stanford.
The Bears opened with
a pair of routs, outlasted
Texas in Austin and started
conference with victories
over Washington and Wash-
ington State. Cal moved up
to No. 23 in the AP poll after
beating the Cougars 34-28 at
home last week.
Of course, the Bears
were 4-1 at one point last
season and faltered down the
stretch after the schedule got
tougher — just as it is about
to do again this season.
“I think this year’s team
is a lot different,” Dykes
said. “We’re a different team
defensively and I think it’s
going to serve us well.”
The entire conference has
been tough to predict.
Stanford opened the season
with a disheartening loss to
Northwestern, but is now atop
the Pac-12 North and up to
No. 16 in the AP poll.
UCLA rocketed up to No.
7 in the poll two weeks ago
after throttling Arizona on
the road, only to fall back
13 places after losing to
Arizona State at home.
The Sun Devils won
that game on the heels of
a blowout loss to USC the
week before. Colorado, at
3-2, has already surpassed
its win total from last season
and the conference still
doesn’t have a team that’s
under .500.
The only concern is that
the parity could hurt the
Pac-12 when the College
Football Playoff comes
around. With no clear-cut
dominant team, the confer-
ence could be left out of the
playoff party.
“This is an amazing
conference, UCLA coach
Jim Mora said. “There is not
a weak team in this confer-
ence. It’s also very scary, I
think for probably all of us.
We don’t want to eat each
other.”
Ducks still face QB questions, Adams won’t rush back
“We’re not done game-planning
for Washington State yet, so we’ll
see,” Helfrich said Sunday night.
Adams said the pain in his broken
EUGENE — The quarterbacks
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are putting the “OR” in Oregon this
last month, but Oregon’s starting
season.
quarterback does not plan to return
As in the depth chart for Satur-
to the lineup until he’s completely
day’s game against Washington
healthy.
State could read Vernon Adams Jr.
Adams watched from the sideline
OR Jeff Lockie OR Taylor Alie.
at Colorado as Lockie and Alie
Perhaps wide receiver Bralon
traded series running the offense.
Addison should also be included
This isn’t the way the former
on the list after throwing a 39-yard
Eastern Washington star envisioned
touchdown pass to Charles Nelson
things working out with the Ducks.
against Colorado.
Adams sustained the injury in the
“We’re all good, we all get along
opener against the Eagles.
and we all help each other,” Lockie
“It was really tough for me not
said of the unsettled signal-caller
playing, especially this is my senior
situation after Monday’s practice. “I
year,” Adams said after Monday’s
think that’s kind of how it was when
practice. “I got to be 100 percent
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AP Photo/Brennan Linsley
think that will change now.”
Oregon quarterback Jeff Lockie (17) throws a pass in the first half of before I can go out there. I want
Adams won the starting job in an NCAA college football game against Colorado, in Boulder, Colo., to give this team my 100 percent
because they’re giving me this
August despite arriving late to fall Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015.
opportunity to compete and play for
camp. The Eastern Washington
“It can be good and sometimes the Ducks.
graduate transfer has struggled since Lockie. “You’ve got to prepare like
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VXVWDLQLQJ D EURNHQ LQGH[ ¿QJHU LQ you’re going to go in at any time, you’ve got to be careful with it, too,”
the Sept. 5 opener against his former so we both prepared as if we were Adams said of rotating quarterbacks. percent, that’s what I’m waiting on.”
Frost planned to use both Lockie
starting, as if we were playing at any “I guess when the quarterback’s
team.
Lockie and Alie shared snaps moment. Being ready, both mentally hot that would be a good time to and Alie at Colorado. Oregon’s
during Saturday’s 41-24 victory in and physically, is important in that stay with that QB. These coaches offensive coordinator hasn’t ruled
know what they’re doing. They out the possibility of Adams’
Boulder, combining to complete situation.”
Adams, who was benched after know when to put Taylor in, when returning to the lineup against Wash-
12 of 20 passes for 137 yards with
one interception (thrown by Lockie a rough start against Utah, doesn’t to put Jeff in. We have trust in coach ington State.
“We’ve got to see how close
LQ WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU DQG RQH WRXFK- plan to play for the Ducks until 0DUN+HOIULFKFRDFK6FRWW)URVW
Vernon is and when he’s going to
down (thrown by Alie in the fourth KH¶V ³ SHUFHQW´ 'XULQJ KLV ¿UVW DQGZH¶UHJRLQJWREH¿QH´
season at Eastern Washington, the
Helfrich said he would be be back healthy,” Frost said. “If he’s
TXDUWHU
“It took a little bit of getting used two-time Walter Payton Award comfortable using both Lockie and not ready to go, then those two guys
to and kind of getting comfortable,” runner-up shared time with Kyle Alie again against Washington State have another game of experience
under their belt.”
if necessary.
Alie said of rotating series with Padron behind center.
By RYAN THORBURN
Eugene Register-Guard
Beavers getting ready for trip to desert to face Wildcats
Albany Democrat-Herald
CORVALLIS — The
Oregon State football team
is deep into preparations for
Saturday’s game at Arizona.
The Beavers began work
over the bye week and are
continuing during game
week.
The Beavers and coach
Gary Andersen got a good
look at the Wildcats during
their 55-17 loss to Stanford.
The Wildcats played
without starting quarterback
Anu Solomon, who has been
out with a concussion and
is day-to-day going into the
OSU game.
“They’re a solid team,”
Andersen said. “The quar-
terback situation is up in the
air as far as we know at this
point but we’re prepared for
them to be at full strength,
which we’re anticipating,
obviously.”
Andersen
said
the
Beavers were able to get
some good information out
of the Stanford game tape.
“There’s always some-
thing that we can grab on
offense, defense or special
teams to try to gain a little bit
of an advantage,” Andersen
said. “Even though the
defenses and offenses are
not exactly alike, there’s
enough similarity to gain
some knowledge from the
tape for sure from Stanford.”
Saulo backing it up:
Linebacker Caleb Saulo
has put together some strong
games in recent weeks.
Saulo led the Beavers
with 14 total tackles against
Stanford and also forced a
fumble.
He moved into second on
the team with 32 stops.
“Caleb
is
another
example of a young man who
is growing and developing,”
Andersen said. “I think
5RPPHO 0DJHR UHDOO\
set the pace early for those
crew of inside linebackers
and outside linebackers, but
Caleb has joined in espe-
cially the last I would say
three or four weeks as far as
understanding and spending
time outside of our orga-
nized meetings and taking
care of his body outside of
organized lifts.
“And that becomes
contagious and I think he’s
done a nice job of that and
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UCC decal:
The Beavers will wear
a helmet decal to recognize
the victims of the Umpqua
Community
College
shooting.
The decals will be similar
to those worn by the players
in the Oregon at Colorado
game on Saturday.
“I think it’s a great
opportunity for us to just pay
respect, No. 1. But No. 2 is
it’s a horrible, horrible thing
and it happens too much. I
don’t have the answers to
the situation, but when I was
driving with my wife to the
airport and we clicked on
the radio and all of a sudden
we heard that was going, it
ruins your day. More than
that, it ruins lives. It ruins
everything. It just puts you
in such a bad mindset,”
Andersen said.
“So anything we can
do to show respect and get
it out there to see if there’s
something we can do to in
those situations to prevent
anything from happening.
Not that we have the
answers. We’re proud to
do it and it’s great that the
university allows us to be
able to do it.”
Beating the heat:
The
Beavers
are
expecting hot weather in
Arizona.
The game will kick off at
1 p.m. and the prediction for
Saturday is 89 degrees.
“It’s going to be hot
it sounds like, so we’ll
GH¿QLWHO\ KLW WKH SUHW]HOV
and the water and the
Gatorade, starting in the
meeting rooms and we’ll
KLWWKDW7XHVGD\ZLWKWKHP
and we’ll keep that going,”
Andersen said.
“It’s starting early is the
key. It’s not, hey, Friday, Oh,
my goodness, tomorrow it’s
going to be hot. We’ve got
to hydrate tomorrow. That
doesn’t really help you. So
we’ll stay in the middle of it,
keep the kids hydrated, keep
reminding them.”
MLB
Postseason features four managers making their playoff debuts
“It means a lot to me,” Collins
said late last week. “We sat up here
and we told our fan base and our
NEW YORK — Late in the media that it’s going to get better
season, as the New York Mets and next year we’re going to win.
closed in on their NL East champi- And then to be sitting today and say
onship, one opponent after another we told you, it means a lot. It does.”
Texas rookie Jeff Banister,
sat in the visitors’ dugout at Citi
Field and commended manager Toronto retread John Gibbons and
Houston whiz kid A.J. Hinch are
Terry Collins.
“Real happy for T.C.,” was the other managers making their
the sentiment echoed by Atlanta initial October moves this month.
In his second stint running the
skipper Fredi Gonzalez and others.
The popular Collins, at 66 the %OXH -D\V *LEERQV ¿QDOO\ JXLGHG
oldest manager in the majors and WKHP WR WKHLU ¿UVW SOD\RII EHUWK
the consummate baseball lifer, is in 22 years. The AL East champs
about to make his playoff manage- host Banister and the Rangers on
rial debut. He’s one of four bench Thursday in the opener of their
bosses who reached the postseason EHVWRI¿YH'LYLVLRQ6HULHV
“I was able to exhale a little bit,”
IRUWKH¿UVWWLPHWKLV\HDU²HDFK
WKHIXO¿OOPHQWRIDXQLTXHMRXUQH\ Gibbons said. “A lot of satisfac-
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
Associated Press
tion.”
Now comes the hard part.
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aware that being a novice is no
picnic in the playoffs, when every
pressure-packed decision gets
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of successful managers, from Casey
Stengel and Grady Little years ago
to Matt Williams and Ned Yost just
last season, have been widely criti-
FL]HG²HYHQYLOL¿HG²IRUIDWHIXO
moves gone wrong.
This time of year, fans are not
forgiving.
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is forget about the regular season,”
said Hall of Fame hockey coach
Scotty Bowman, who chatted with
Gibbons behind the batting cage
Saturday before the Blue Jays faced
Tampa Bay. “The way you played
in the season is probably not going
to be good enough. You’ve got to be
a little better.”
Bowman won a record nine
Stanley Cups. Meanwhile, Collins
and the rest of this year’s playoff
neophytes have been working their
entire careers to earn one shot at a
World Series ring.
“I’m a baseball guy and I’m a
baseball development guy,” said
Collins, who leads the Mets against
the Dodgers beginning Friday night
in Los Angeles. “This summer, all
I did was write the lineup and try
to keep the clubhouse a fun place
to be, and it worked out. So I was
pretty happy the other day when we
won that thing.”
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playoffs Tuesday night and came
out victorious when his surprising
Astros won 3-0 at Yankee Stadium
in the AL wild-card game.
Hinch was 34 and by far the
youngest manager in the majors
when the Stanford graduate took
over the Arizona Diamondbacks in
2009.
With no previous experience
in that role, his ineffective tenure
didn’t last long. But he’s been a
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piloting the young Astros.
“Very open door. Very much
a player’s manager. For us, that’s
great. We need a guy like that, that
lets us play,” Houston ace Dallas
Keuchel said. “Kind of a trial by
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what he’s done all year.”