East Oregonian : E.O., June 29, 2017, Page Page 2B, Image 10

Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, June 29, 2017
NBA
Rockets acquire Chris Paul from Clippers
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON — Chris Paul is
heading to Houston to join James
Harden, giving the Rockets two
All-Stars in the backcourt to lead
their chase for a championship.
In the NBA’s second blockbuster
trade in less than a week, the
Rockets acquired Paul from the Los
Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in
exchange for Patrick Beverley, Lou
Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl
Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre
Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected
first-round pick next year and
cash considerations. The Rockets
acquired Hilliard from Detroit
and Liggins from Dallas for cash
considerations before adding them
to the deal.
“It’s a weapons race in the NBA
and you’re either in the weapons
race or on the sidelines,” Houston
general manager Daryl Morey said.
“We felt like with James Harden
in his prime and Chris Paul in his
prime this gives us a real shot to
chase the juggernaut teams that are
out there. This puts us right there
with them.”
Both the Clippers and Houston
will look far different next season
than they did in again falling short
in the playoffs. The roster overhauls
came five days after Minnesota sent
three players to Chicago for All-Star
Jimmy Butler to kick things off with
NBA free agency opening Saturday.
AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File
In this March 20, 2017, file photo, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris
Paul warms up before the team’s NBA basketball game against the
New York Knicks, in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old Paul will be
playing for his third team after
opting in for the last year of his
contract so the Clippers could work
on a deal.
Morey wanted to get this deal
done early so Paul could help
Harden woo free agents to Houston.
“Now that we have James and
Chris I think people are going to
look in free agency and say: ‘Hey
I can make this money there but
maybe for close to the money but
not quite as much I’m going to
come to Houston and try to win
a ring,’” he said. “So that’s a big
difference walking in with that kind
of a situation.”
Paul is a nine-time All-Star
who has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9
assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals
over his 12-year career, though he
has been dogged with criticism
in recent years for failing to help
the Clippers get out of the second
round of the playoffs. Los Angeles
reached the postseason in each of
Paul’s six seasons with the team,
but the Clippers were eliminated
in the first round three times and in
the Western Conference semifinals
three other times.
In Houston, Paul joins a team
that was eliminated by the San
Antonio Spurs in the conference
semifinals. With Harden’s move to
point guard last season, Paul’s role
will probably be a bit different than
it has been in Los Angeles.
But he will add another scoring
dimension in replacing Beverley
in the starting lineup. Beverley
received NBA defensive first team
honors last week, but averaged just
9.3 points in his five seasons with
the Rockets.
Williams, the 2014-15 NBA
Sixth Man of the Year, was traded to
the Rockets from the Los Angeles
Lakers in February. He averaged
14.9 points and three rebounds in
23 games for Houston.
Dekker, the 18th pick in the 2015
draft, missed all but three games as
a rookie because of back surgery.
The small forward was healthy this
season and appeared in 77 games
and averaged 6.3 points and 3.6
rebounds. Harrell, a second-round
pick in 2015, averaged 6.9 points
and 2.9 rebounds in two seasons
in Houston. Wiltjer spent most of
his rookie season last year in the
D-league after going undrafted out
of Gonzaga.
Houston also acquired Ryan
Kelly from Atlanta and Tim Quar-
terman from Portland for cash
considerations and Shawn Long
from Philadelphia for a future
second-round pick and cash consid-
erations.
MARINERS: Hernandez allows three runs, strikes out five
Philadel-
phia’s Tom-
my Joseph
(19) is
greeted at
the dugout
after his
solo home
run in
the ninth
inning of
Wednes-
day’s
game in
Seattle.
Continued from 1B
for his seventh save. Along with the
rally in the ninth, the Phillies got the
second career home run from Ty
Kelly and an RBI groundout from
Odubel Herrera in the third inning
off Felix Hernandez.
“Pinto was the key to that game.
He gave us three strong innings, kept
the game close and really pitched
well for a young kid,” Philadelphia
manager Pete Mackanin said.
Seattle appeared fine after
Robinson Cano’s 14th home run
of the season snapped a 3-all tie.
Seattle also got solo homers from
Kyle Seager and Danny Valencia,
and an RBI single by Nelson Cruz
all coming off Philadelphia starter
Mark Leiter Jr.
But the Mariners were unable to
add on to the lead. Knapp said his
approach changed once the balk by
Diaz got Perkins to second base.
AP Photo/Ted S.
Warren
“I knew he was going to chal-
lenge me. He has a really good
fastball. I was just making sure
I battled and put the ball in play,”
Knapp said.
KING FELIX
The ninth-inning troubles cost
Hernandez a second straight victory
since coming off the disabled list.
Hernandez was not overpowering in
his second start after missing nearly
two months with shoulder inflam-
mation. But Hernandez limited the
damage to just one inning when
the Phillies had four consecutive
hits helping lead to all three runs.
Hernandez threw six innings,
striking out five and allowed just
one hit outside of the third inning.
“The first three innings, I wasn’t
in a rhythm, but after that I felt more
comfortable and was more aggres-
sive in the strike zone,” Hernandez
said.
LEITER’S DAY
In just his second career start,
Leiter allowed four runs and nine
hits over five innings. He had
allowed just two home runs in 25
innings all season, but gave up three
to the Mariners.
UP NEXT
Phillies: After a day off Philadel-
phia opens a series against the New
York Mets. Ben Lively (1-2) gets
the nod for the opener on Friday.
Mariners: After a day off Seattle
opens a three-game series against
the Angels in Anaheim. Sam Gavi-
glio (3-2) starts the series opener.
SMYLY: Surgery set for July 6, recovery time 12-15 months
Continued from 1B
team,” Seattle manager
Scott Servais said. “He did
everything he could do to
try and get back with us, the
treatments and procedures
and whatnot to figure it out.”
Smyly had been on the
disabled list since opening
day with a flexor strain in
his left arm, an diagnosed
in spring training one
outing after he pitched for
the United States during
the World Baseball Classic.
Smyly had been rehabbing
in the hopes of returning
after the All-Star break but
Servais said Smyly came
out of his last 25-pitch simu-
lated game last weekend not
feeling great and additional
exams revealed the need for
surgery.
The operation is sched-
uled for July 6 and will be
performed by Dr. James
Andrews. Recovery time is
typically 12 to 15 months.
“Everybody was excited
about getting him back but
that’s obviously not going
to happen,” Servais said. “I
don’t want to say, ‘woe is
us,’ or the ‘sky is falling.’
It is what it is and we’ve
dealt with a lot of things this
year and we’ll deal with this
one.”
Smyly’s setback only
adds to Seattle’s long list
of injuries with its starting
rotation. Felix Hernandez
just returned after nearly
two months on the disabled
list. Hisashi Iwakuma has
no timetable for his poten-
tial return from shoulder
inflammation. James Paxton
missed three weeks with a
forearm strain and Yovani
Gallardo was demoted to the
bullpen.
Seattle has used 13
different starting pitchers
and Smyly was not one of
them.
“I guess it creates some
clarity on where we’re
going to get through the rest
of the year, the guys we’ve
got and how important they
are,” Servais said.
Smyly was acquired in
January in a multi-team deal.
Seattle acquired outfielder
Mallex Smith from Atlanta
then packaged him in a deal
with Tampa Bay the same
day to land Smyly.
Smyly, 28, will be
entering his final season of
arbitration in 2018 and can
become a free agent heading
into the 2019 season.
SCOREBOARD
Cincinnati
West Division
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
New York
42 34 .553 —
Boston
43 35 .551 —
Tampa Bay
41 39 .513
3
Baltimore
38 39 .494 4½
Toronto
37 40 .481 5½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
41 36 .532 —
Minnesota
40 36 .526
½
Kansas City
38 38 .500 2½
Detroit
34 43 .442
7
Chicago
33 44 .429
8
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
53 26 .671 —
Los Angeles
42 40 .512 12½
Texas
39 39 .500 13½
Seattle
39 41 .488 14½
Oakland
35 43 .449 17½
———
Wednesday’s Games
Philadelphia 5, Seattle 4
Pittsburgh 6, Tampa Bay 2
Toronto 4, Baltimore 0
Cleveland 5, Texas 3
Kansas City 8, Detroit 2
Minnesota 4, Boston 1
N.Y. Yankees 12, Chicago White Sox 3
Houston 11, Oakland 8
L.A. Angels 3, L.A. Dodgers 2
Thursday’s Games
Texas (Cashner 3-6) at Cleveland (Kluber
6-2), 9:10 a.m.
Kansas City (Junis 2-1) at Detroit (Fulmer
6-6), 10:10 a.m.
Oakland (Gossett 1-2) at Houston (Pea-
cock 4-1), 11:10 a.m.
Tampa Bay (Archer 6-4) at Pittsburgh
(Taillon 3-2), 4:05 p.m.
Baltimore (Jimenez 2-3) at Toronto (Happ
2-4), 4:07 p.m.
Minnesota (Gibson 4-5) at Boston (Price
2-2), 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Cessa 0-2) at Chicago
White Sox (Shields 1-1), 5:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 11-2) at L.A.
Angels (Ramirez 7-5), 7:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
Washington
47
Atlanta
37
Miami
35
New York
35
Philadelphia
26
Central Division
W
Milwaukee
41
Chicago
39
St. Louis
36
Pittsburgh
36
L
31
40
41
42
51
Pct
.603
.480
.461
.455
.338
GB
—
9½
11
11½
20½
L
39
39
41
42
Pct GB
.513 —
.500
1
.467 3½
.462
4
33
44 .429 6½
W
52
50
47
32
30
L
28
28
34
46
51
Pct GB
.650 —
.641
1
.580 5½
.410 19
.370 22½
Los Angeles
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego
San Francisco
———
Wednesday’s Games
Philadelphia 5, Seattle 4
San Francisco 5, Colorado 3
Pittsburgh 6, Tampa Bay 2
Washington 8, Chicago Cubs 4
Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 3
N.Y. Mets 8, Miami 0
St. Louis 4, Arizona 3
L.A. Angels 3, L.A. Dodgers 2
San Diego 7, Atlanta 4
Thursday’s Games
St. Louis (Lynn 5-5) at Arizona (Corbin
6-7), 12:40 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Lester 5-4) at Washington
(Ross 4-3), 1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Archer 6-4) at Pittsburgh
(Taillon 3-2), 4:05 p.m.
Milwaukee (Nelson 5-4) at Cincinnati
(Bailey 0-1), 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Lugo 2-1) at Miami (Urena
6-2), 4:10 p.m.
Atlanta (Garcia 2-5) at San Diego (Lamet
2-2), 6:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 11-2) at L.A.
Angels (Ramirez 7-5), 7:07 p.m.
MiLB
Northwest League
North
W
L Pct GB
Tri-City
10
4 .714 —
Vancouver
9
5 .643
1
Everett
7
7 .500
3
Spokane
4 10 .286
6
South
W
L Pct GB
Eugene
9
5 .643 —
Boise
7
7 .500
2
Hillsboro
6
8 .428
3
Salem-Keizer
4 10 .286
5
———
Wednesday’s Games
Boise 8, Salem-Keizer 3
Spokane 6, Tri-City 1
Eugene 8, Hillsboro 3
Everett 7, Vancouver 5
Thursday’s Games
Spokane at Boise, 6:15 p.m.
Eugene at Vancouver, 7:05 p.m.
Everett at Hillsboro, 7:05 p.m.
Salem-Keizer at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Washington
9
5 .643 —
New York
7
5 .583
1
Continued from 1B
Deminew threw two shutout
innings with five strikeouts
to start the game, and Luke
Breshears finished the final
two and allowed two hits and
three runs.
Triangle’s three hits came
off the bats of Gauge Rueber,
Peyton McLouth and Joel
Contreras, with Reuber, Kyren
Miller and Tyler Berry scoring
each of the three runs.
————
R H E
TRI
003 0 —
3 3 0
PND
786 X — 21 24 1
2B — Keefer Breshears, Clayson Cooley,
Easton Corey, Andrew Deminew, Payton
Lambert, Jack Lieuallen (PND). HR — Easton
Corey 2, Dylan Gomez.
10/11 LEVEL
BAKER 13, PEND-
LETON 3 — The Pendleton
10/11-year-old
all-stars
suffered its first loss of the
District 3 tournament, falling
to Baker 13-3 on Wednesday.
in Enterprise.
Baker pounded Pendleton
for 14 hits on its 13 runs, while
Pendleton could manage just
six hits. Gavin Lunny and
Kylar Moutray combined for
four of those hits, with Moutray
hitting a pair of doubles, while
Levi Herman and Nolan
Enright each tallying a hit.
Pendleton will now play
Hermiston today at 2 p.m.,
with the winner moving on to
the championship game. Pend-
leton won the first meeting
of the tournament 14-2 on
Monday.
————
R H E
PND
012 00 —
3 6 3
BAK
220 45 — 13 14 2
2B — Nolan Enright, Kylar Moutray 2 (PND).
HERMISTON
12,
WALLOWA 1 — The Herm-
iston all-stars held off elim-
ination in a big way, beating
Wallowa 12-1 to advance in
the bracket at the District 3
tournament on Wednesday in
Enterprise.
No details were available.
Hermiston will play Pend-
leton today at 2 p.m., with
the winner moving on to the
championship game.
9/10 LEVEL
PENDLETON
18,
BAKER 4 — The Pendleton
all-stars advanced to the
District 3 championship game
with a big win over Baker 18-4
on Wednesday morning in
Enterprise.
Kaden Moore led Pendle-
ton’s offense going 3 for 4 with
three runs scored and four RBI.
Connor Cook, Tugg McGuinn,
Evan Lehnart, Jacob Neistadt,
Art Hill and Anson Dressler
each contributed two hits
apiece in the game.
Neistadt started on the
mound and struck out four
and gave up four runs in two
innings. Lehnart and Cook
finished the last two and
combined to allow two hits.
Pendleton plays on Friday
at 2 p.m. with opponent TBD.
————
R H E
PND
918 0 — 18 17 0
BAK
040 0 —
4 5 1
2B — Connor Cook, Art Hill, Jaydon Hoffert,
Evan Lehnert, Jacob Neistadt (PND). 3B —
Evan Lehnert (PND).
HERMISTON:
Indiana
7
7 .500
2
Connecticut
6
7 .462 2½
Atlanta
5
6 .455 2½
Chicago
3 11 .214
6
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Minnesota
11
1 .917 —
Los Angeles
10
3 .769 1½
Phoenix
7
5 .583
4
Dallas
8
8 .500
5
Seattle
6
7 .462 5½
San Antonio
0 14 .000 12
————
Wednesday’s Games
Indiana 82, Chicago 75
Thursday’s Games
New York at Washington, 4 p.m.
Seattle at Connecticut, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Soccer
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L
T Pts
Toronto FC 10 2
5 35
Chicago
10 3
4 34
NYC FC
9 5
3 30
Orlando City 7 6
5 26
Columbus
8 9
1 25
Atl. United FC 7 7
3 24
New York
7 8
2 23
New England 5 7
5 20
Philadelphia 5 7
4 19
Montreal
4 5
6 18
D.C. United 5 9
3 18
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L
T Pts
Sporting K.C. 8 4
6 30
FC Dallas
6 3
7 25
Houston
7 6
4 25
Portland
7 7
4 25
San Jose
6 6
5 23
Los Angeles 6 6
4 22
Vancouver
6 6
3 21
Seattle
5 7
6 21
Minn. United 5 9
3 18
Real Salt Lake 5 11
2 17
Colorado
5 10
1 16
LITTLE
LEAGUE:
GF
30
31
31
20
29
33
17
27
21
24
12
GA
15
17
20
26
30
25
23
25
20
26
25
GF
22
23
30
31
18
25
21
22
24
17
15
GA
12
15
25
28
21
24
21
27
38
37
23
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
————
Thursday’s Game
Minnesota United at New York City FC,
4:30 p.m.
Friday’s Game
Orlando City at Real Salt Lake, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 1
D.C. United at Montreal, 4 p.m.
Portland at Sporting Kansas City, 4 p.m.
Toronto FC at FC Dallas, 4 p.m.
Vancouver at Chicago, 4 p.m.
Atlanta United FC at Columbus, 4:30
p.m.
Houston at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 2
New England at Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
Golf
PGA Tour
FedEx Cup Standings
Through June 25
Rank Player
Points Money
1. Dustin Johnson
2,270 $6,355,725
2. Hideki Matsuyama 2,145 $5,945,990
3. Justin Thomas
2,060 $5,131,179
4. Jordan Spieth
1,979 $4,948,145
5. Jon Rahm
1,708 $4,491,815
6. Brooks Koepka
1,534 $4,464,771
7. Kevin Kisner
1,458 $3,744,106
8. Daniel Berger
1,450 $3,629,134
9. Rickie Fowler
1,429 $3,835,172
10. Pat Perez
1,426 $3,582,575
11. Brian Harman
1,420 $3,834,258
12. Adam Hadwin
1,246 $2,834,762
13. Brendan Steele 1,186 $2,776,620
14. Marc Leishman 1,072 $2,823,147
15. Sergio Garcia
1,049 $2,975,896
16. Billy Horschel
1,018 $2,541,971
17. Jason Dufner
998 $2,701,474
18. Russell Henley
989 $2,376,340
19. Justin Rose
984 $2,751,715
20. Charley Hoffman 924 $2,430,181
UP NEXT
QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL
Site: Potomac, Md.
Course: TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm.
Yardage: 7,107. Par: 70.
Purse: $7.1 million (First prize:
$1,278,000).
Television: Thursday-Friday, 12:30-3:30
p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 10-11:30
a.m. (Golf Channel); 12-3 p.m. (CBS);
Sunday, 10-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); 12-
3:30 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Billy Hurley III.
Last week: Jordan Spieth won the
Travelers Championship.
LPGA Tour
Upcoming Schedule
June 29-July 2 — KPMG Women’s PGA
Championship, Olympia Fields CC (North
Course), Olympia Fields, Ill.
July 6-9 — Thornberry Creek LPGA
Classic, Thornberry Creek at Oneida,
Oneida, Wis.
Motorsports
NASCAR Monster Energy Cup
Points Standings
Through June 25
1. Kyle Larson
659
2. Martin Truex Jr.
646
3. Kevin Harvick
548
4. Kyle Busch
542
5. Brad Keselowski
519
6. Chase Elliott
509
7. Jimmie Johnson
483
8. Jamie McMurray
477
9. Denny Hamlin
476
10. Joey Logano
434
11. Clint Bowyer
427
12. Matt Kenseth
13. Ryan Blaney
14. Kurt Busch
15. Ryan Newman
16. Erik Jones
423
415
389
367
358
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday — Coke Zero 400 at Daytona
Int’l Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla., 4:30
p.m. (TV: NBC)
Transactions
BASEBALL
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Optioned RHP
Juan Minaya to Charlotte (IL). Reinstated
LHP Carlos Rodon from the 60-day DL.
Transferred RHP Zach Putnam to the
60-day DL.
DETROIT TIGERS — Activated DH Victor
Martinez from the 10-day DL. Optioned C
John Hicks to Toledo (IL).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Placed INF
Cheslor Cuthbert on the 10-day DL, retro-
active to June 26. Recalled OF Jorge Soler
from Omaha (PCL).
MINNESOTA TWINS — Reinstated RHP
Phil Hughes from the 10-day DL. Placed
LHP Craig Breslow on the 10-day DL.
NEW YORK YANKEES — Placed DH
Matt Holliday on the 10-day DL. Recalled
INF Miguel Andujar from Scranton/
Wilkes-Barre (IL). Sent 1B Chris Carter
outright to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
SEATTLE MARINERS — Sent RHP Pat
Light outright to Tacoma (PCL).
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Agreed to terms
with LHP/1B Brendan McKay on a minor
league contract and assigned him to
Hudson Valley (NYP).
TEXAS RANGERS - Sent RHP Tony
Barnette on rehab assignment to Round
Rock (PCL). Signed SS Myles McKisic to a
minor league contract.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Agreed to
terms with OF Michael Saunders to a
minor league contract and assigned him
to Buffalo (IL).
CHICAGO CUBS — Recalled C Victor
Caratini from Iowa (PCL). Designated C
Miguel Montero for assignment.
CINCINNATI REDS — Placed LHP Bran-
don Finnegan on the 10-day DL. Recalled
RHP Austin Brice Louisville (IL).
NEW YORK METS — Placed RHP Robert
Gsellman on the 10-day DL. Recalled INF
Matt Reynolds from Las Vegas (PCL).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Selected the
contract of INF Alex Mejia from Memphis
(PCL). Optioned SS Aledmys Diaz to
Memphis. Transferred RHP Alex Reyes to
the 60-day DL.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Placed INF
Conor Gillaspie and RHP Mark Melancon
on the 10-day DL. Recalled RHP Dan
Slania from Richmond (EL). Selected the
contract of INF Jae-Gyun Hwang from
Sacramento.
Continued from 1B
finished third with 80.
Numerous
Hermiston
and Echo kids also littered
the all-state team, which
is comprised of the top 25
competitors from their league
season.
Making the cut for Herm-
iston was Kaden Smith (24.5
point average), Betz (23.5),
Devon Brittner (23.1), Case
Hiatt (23), Dylan Hunter
(22.1), Tanner Meads (21.4),
Tyson Stocker (21) and Zane
Davis (21).
For
Echo,
Makiah
Blankenship (23.1), Hunter
Barnes (22.3), and Ethan
Hobson (21.9) made it, as
did Brett Troutman (22) from
Arlington.
In the league season,
Hermiston finished on top
of Conference 3 with 2,329
total points, beating Molala
(1,931.5) and Canby (914.5).
Echo finished second in the
five-team Conference 2 with
1,084.5 points behind only
Cascade Christian (1,349.5).
Arlington finished sixth
in the six-team Conference 1
with 212.5 points in its inau-
gural season in the league.
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