SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
1B
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HERMISTON
PENDLETON
Bucks know Tigers well
Staff photo by E.J.Harris
Hermiston quarterback Andrew James scans the
defense during a football practice on Wednesday,
Aug. 24. James will make his fi rst varsity start
against Union (WA) on Friday.
Bulldogs open
with big test
After weeks of practice, Hermiston
ready to hit other people
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
After months of summer workouts and two-plus weeks
of practices, it’s offi cially game week for the Hermiston
Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs, recently
Football
ranked No. 10 in the
Oregonian’s Class 5A
preseason media poll, are
preparing to open up the Union (WA) Hermiston
Titans
Bulldogs
gates of Kennison Field
(0-0)
(0-0)
on Friday night as they
•
Friday,
7
p.m.
host the Union (WA)
Titans for the season • at Kennison Field,
opener. Hermiston head • Hermiston
Radio: KOHU 1360 AM
coach David Faaeteete
said following Wednes-
day’s practice that his team is champing at the bit to face
off against someone other than themselves.
See BULLDOGS/2B
College Football
Leidner leads Gophers
against Beavers
Oregon State takes on Minnesota
By DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — The left foot is fully repaired and
rehabilitated after playing through the pain last season,
and Mitch Leidner has lost 20 pounds. Minnesota’s fi fth-
year senior quarterback is primed for a strong fi nish.
Bring on the season, and the opener against Oregon
State tonight.
“Defi nitely want to leave a legacy,” Leidner said,
adding: “I know the rest of the seniors feel the same exact
way.”
See BEAVERS/2B
In this Nov. 28,
2015 photo,
Minnesota
quarterback
Mitch Leid-
ner (7) plays
against the
Wisconsin
in an NCAA
college foot-
ball game in
Minneapolis.
AP Photo/Jim Mone, File
Pendleton’s
Jamal Vann,
33, rumbles
though the
defensive
line on Thurs-
day, Aug. 25
during the
Buck Bowl
& BBQ in
Pendleton.
Bucks coach
Erik Davis
said getting
the running
game going
early will
be crucial
to easing
quarterback
Nick Bower
into his fi rst
varsity start
when Pend-
leton opens
the season at
La Grande on
Friday.
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
Pendleton expects tough opener against loaded La Grande
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
There
are
always
unknowns headed into the
fi rst week of the football
season, but there should
be few surprises when the
Pendleton Buckaroos and La
Grande Tigers kick off the
season on Friday at Commu-
nity Stadium in La Grande.
It’s a rematch from Week
3 of the 2015 season, a nail-
biter Pendleton hung on to
win 25-24 when La Grande’s
last-second Hail Mary went
unanswered.
The Tigers return a
slew of players that will
be looking to avenge what
ended up as their only loss in
the regular season, including
junior quarterback Andrew
Peasley and senior defensive
end Connor Brandt, both of
whom were named Greater
Oregon League Players of
the Year at the end of last
See BUCKS/2B
Pendleton
La Grande
Buckaroos
Tigers
(0-0)
(0-0)
• Friday, 7 p.m.
• at Community Stadium,
La Grande
• Radio: KTIX 1240 AM
MLB
Hernandez can’t stop Mariners’ slide
Seattle loses fifth
game in a row
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas —
Felix Hernandez surrendered
a grand slam in his shortest
outing of the season when
the fading Seattle Mariners
needed their ace to end a
losing streak.
Now they’ll go home
looking to stay in the AL
wild-card race after a
three-game sweep by Texas
essentially ended their hopes
of winning the AL West.
“We’ve just got to go out
there and play with everybody
and show people who we are,”
Hernandez said after giving
up Carlos Gomez’s grand
slam in the Rangers’ 14-1
romp Wednesday. “We’ve got
some good pitching here to
win games. Just got to have
fun.”
The Mariners, losers of
fi ve straight and now 11 1/2
behind the Rangers in the
AL West, will be at least
four games back in the wild
card when they face the Los
Angeles Angels on Friday
to start a homestand that
includes four more games
with Texas.
The Mariners went 1-6
on a trip that started at the
Chicago White Sox after
fi nishing a homestand with
two straight losses to the
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez
punches his glove after giving up a grand slam to Tex-
as Rangers’ Carlos Gomez in the fourth inning of a
baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, in Arlington,
Texas.
Yankees.
“We have
bounced back
Seattle
all
year,”
manager
Scott Servais
said.
“We
need to pick it up, no doubt.
It’s been a rough trip. Guys
are down a little bit and right-
fully so. Off day tomorrow,
we’ll come back and bring
the energy that we need to
have to get out and play.”
Rougned Odor followed
his
game-ending
shot
Tuesday night with two more
homers Wednesday, giving
him a team-leading 27 for the
season.
Odor tied a career high
with fi ve RBIs and Adrian
Beltre and Ryan Rua also
1
homered as
the Rangers
tied
their
Texas
season high
with
fi ve
homers.
T e x a s
(80-54) moved a season-high
26 games over .500 with
a fi fth straight win going
into a three-game home
series against second-place
Houston.
The Rangers matched the
1999 and 2012 Texas teams
as the fastest to reach 80
wins.
“So far the body of work
speaks for itself,” Texas
manager Jeff Banister said. “We
still have some work to do.”
Martin Perez (9-10)
pitched six shutout innings
14
despite giving up seven hits
and three walks. Kyle Seager
hit his 25th homer for Seattle
in the eighth against Tony
Barnette.
Hernandez (9-5) matched
a season high by allowing six
runs, coming out after four
innings in his fi rst loss since
May 27. He was trying to
fi nish 5-0 in August.
Gomez hit a soaring fl y
ball about a dozen rows
above the 14-foot wall in left
fi eld for his second grand
slam this season and a 6-0
lead in the fourth. The other
slam also was against Seattle
on July 17 when he was still
with Astros.
Odor had a two-run shot
for a 10-0 lead in the seventh
and a three-run homer in
the eighth. On Tuesday, his
two-run homer in the ninth
gave Texas an 8-7 win.
Beltre’s 25th homer of the
season was a two-run shot in
the fi fth.
CAMINERO EJECTION
Seattle reliever Arquim-
edes Caminero was ejected
after hitting Texas’ Elvis
Andrus with a pitch in the
seventh. Caminero hit Andrus
in the ribs with a high 98
mph fastball two batters after
allowing Odor’s two-run
homer. In the second inning,
Andrus ran into Mariners fi rst
baseman Dae-Ho Lee while
running out a groundball.
Andrus tried to apologize,
but Lee, who had three hits,
didn’t look pleased.
Sports shorts
Cramping Raonic loses to qualifi er
PED Three cleared by NFL
NEW YORK (AP) — The cramping became so
debilitating, Milos Raonic said, he couldn’t grip
his racket properly.
The Wimbledon runner-up just last month,
and seeded No. 5 at the U.S. Open,
FACES Raonic began to feel pain near his left
wrist midway through the second set
of what would become a stunning 6-7
(4), 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 second-round loss
to 120th-ranked American qualifi er
Ryan Harrison on Wednesday.
Eventually, the problem spread
to Raonic’s right forearm. Then
Raonic
both thighs. Then his left hip fl exor.
Afterward, his back seized up when he tried to sling
his equipment bag over a shoulder. No way to try to
win a tennis match. Or to serve: That’s normally his
most effective stroke, yet he double-faulted 15 times.
“It was just catching me all over,” Raonic said.
“I started getting small (cramps) where I couldn’t
hold the racket.”
NEW YORK (AP) — NFL stars James
Harrison, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers
can start the regular season without having the
specter of a league investigation
over whether they used perfor-
mance-enhancing drugs hanging
over their heads.
The NFL cleared all three
players on Wednesday, saying
there was “no credible evidence”
the players were guilty of any
of the claims made in a documentary by
Al-Jazeera America in January.
An NFL statement said “the investigation
involved witness interviews, a review of
relevant records and other materials, electronic
research, and laboratory analysis and review.”
The league threatened Harrison, Matthews,
Peppers and free agent Mike Neal with
indefi nite suspensions if they did not meet with
investigators.
“You’ve got to love
preseason football to be
out there on a night like
tonight.“
— Dirk Koetter
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head
coach after his team lost to
Washington 20-13 in front of
about 5,000 fans in both team’s
preseason fi nale on Wednesday.
The game had been moved up
24 hours due to Tropical Storm
Hermine and a heavy rain fell
throughout the game.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1975 — Tom Seaver strikes
out Manny Sanguillen in the
seventh inning to become the
fi rst pitcher to strike out 200 or
more batters in eight consec-
utive seasons. Seaver records
10 strikeouts in the Mets’ 3-0
triumph over Pittsburgh.
1984 — Willie Totten
of Mississippi Valley State
passes for a Division I-AA
record 536 yards and nine
touchdowns in a 86-0 rout of
Kentucky State. Jerry Rice
catches 17 passes for 294
yards and fi ve touchdowns
and breaks his own Division
I-AA record for receiving
yards.
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