East Oregonian : E.O., July 13, 2017, Page 1B, Image 9

SPORTS
THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017
1B
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MLB
M’s in awkward spot entering 2nd half
Slump going
into break
leaves GM with
tough decisions
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Trying
to defi ne who the Seattle
Mariners are heading into the
second half of the season is
going to be a challenge that
leaves the club in a diffi cult
spot. The team only has a
short time in July to decide
how to move forward for the
fi nal two months.
Are they in position to
be wild card contenders in
the American League? Or
would they be better served
by punting on an injury-fi lled
season and building for the
future prior to the July 31
non-waiver trade deadline?
In the view of general
manager Jerry Dipoto, those
questions are one and the
same with the Mariners
four games back in the wild
card standings following the
All-Star break.
“We are playing in a
league of 15 teams, I believe
12 are within fi ve-ish games
of a playoff spot. We’re
one of them and we have as
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File
In this Nov. 9, 2016, fi le photo, Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto talks to the media during base-
ball’s annual general managers meeting, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Trying to defi ne who the Mariners are heading into
the second half of the season is a challenge and leaves the club in a diffi cult spot of only having a short time in
July to decide how to move forward for the fi nal two months of the season.
much talent as anybody else
on that board,” Dipoto said
before the break. “We’ve
seen what this team can do
when they’re clicking on all
cylinders, so as we move
forward, whether it be for
the second half of 2017 or
2018 and beyond, our goal is
to continue to build onto the
HERMISTON
American in semifinals
for first time since 2009
By HOWARD FENDRICH
Associated Press
Hermiston welcomes
3-on-3 hoops teams
Downtown Hermiston will
transform into the place to be
for 3-on-3 basketball enthusi-
asts this weekend as Takin’ It To
The Streets returns for two days
of fast-paced fun for all ages.
With registration closed,
169 teams have entered this
year’s tournament, which orga-
nizers said is about average.
The tournament’s elite
divisions typically feature a
number of former and current
college players, as well as top
high school athletes. Brackets
for all divisions will be posted
See MARINERS/2B
Querrey stuns Murray in quarterfi nals
Staff by
Kathy Aney
East Oregonian
when the Mariners failed to
take advantage of a favorable
schedule. In the fi nal 14
games before the break, the
Mariners went 4-10 just as
Wimbledon
In this
2016 fi le
photo, Two
players
battle it
out in
the high
school
boys
champion-
ship game
of the
Takin’ it to
the Streets
three-
on-three
basketball
tourna-
ment in
Hermiston.
Takin’ It To The Streets
returns this weekend
core of this team.”
Seattle could have made
the situation far simpler for
Dipoto if not for an awful
two weeks prior to the break
they were fi nally getting
closer to full health after
patching together a lineup,
rotation and bullpen since
opening day.
Most puzzling was that
the slump came after a prom-
ising period during which the
Mariners appeared ready to
be contenders.
“We have underper-
formed, truly,” Dipoto said.
“Particularly over the course
of the last couple of weeks.
We just haven’t played well,
and we are at probably our
most, the longest stretch of
positive health that we’ve
had since opening day, and
we’ve played perhaps as
poorly as we’ve played all
year long.”
Inconsistency has defi ned
most of Seattle’s season. The
Mariners have been sloppy
at times, making careless
mistakes. The offense has
disappeared for stretches or
the bullpen has failed to close
out winnable games. During
other stretches, the Mariners
have shown the punch to be
the playoff contender that
most believed them to be
before the season began.
Sitting at 43-47 is prob-
ably where Seattle deserves
to be. But are they markedly
better or worse? That’s the
unknown.
online at Hermiston3on3.org.
Action begins on Saturday
at 9 a.m. and will run until
about 6 p.m. The slam dunk
and 3-point contests will be
held at noon at center court.
Action will pick back
up at 8 a.m. on Sunday, and
championships will be played
throughout the day with
the fi nal games expected to
again fi nish around 6 p.m.
The men’s and women’s elite
championships typically are
played mid-afternoon.
Temperatures are predicted
to reach 98 degrees at their
hottest on Saturday, and orga-
nizers said vendors are well
prepared with lots of water and
other items to help players and
spectators beat the heat.
LONDON — The fi rst portentous
sign of trouble for Andy Murray,
surprisingly enough, came right as
the two-time Wimbledon champion
constructed an ample lead over
Sam Querrey in the quarterfi nals
Wednesday.
The top-seeded Murray fl icked a
cross-court backhand passing shot so
forcefully, placed it so perfectly, that
Querrey barely got his racket on the
ball, sending a volley well wide. With
that, Murray was up by a set plus a
break in the second. As he headed
to the sideline for the changeover,
See WIMBLEDON/2B
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Sam Querrey of the United States returns to Britain’s Andy Murray
during their Men’s Singles Quarterfi nal Match on day nine at the Wim-
bledon Tennis Championships in London Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
PENDLETON
D-jaxx back up Roberts to earn split
Pendleton beats The Dalles
10-0 in Game 2
East Oregonian
THE DALLES — Pepsi Daimond-
jaxx pitcher Cooper Roberts was able
to count on his defense to get out of
jams in the second half of a double-
header on Tuesday, and The Dalles
left runners on base in every inning as
Roberts threw fi ve scoreless frames in
a 10-0 win that gave the teams a split.
The Dalles took the fi rst game
11-5, but stranded 10 runners in the
second game.
Roberts allowed just three hits, but
only struck out one while walking
four. Ty Beers pitched a hitless sixth
in the run-rule shortened contest.
The Diamondjaxx (11-11) started
scoring right away and put one run
across in each of the fi rst two innings,
then blew the game open with fi ve in
the third.
Roberts helped his own cause with
a pair of RBI to go with a 2-for-3
game at the plate, and Tanner Sweek
(2 for 4), Jonathan Begay (1 for 2),
Caden Primus and Greyson Clark
also drove in runs.
In Game 1, Colton Henderson started
on the mound but left after allowing
three earned runs in the second inning.
Reliever Nat Hunsaker didn’t fare
much better, and despite striking out
six batters in three innings, he allowed
eight runs (four earned) on fi ve hits.
The Diamondjaxx trailed 7-0
before scoring three in the fi fth inning,
and cut the lead to 7-5 in the top of the
sixth, but gave up four in the bottom
half of the inning and stranded two
runners in the seventh.
Leaders at the plate were Tyler
Browning (2 for 4, 3 RBI) and Clark
(2 for 3, RBI).
Sports shorts
Lochte returns to competition
LOS ANGELES (AP) Ryan Lochte is
returning to USA Swimming competition this
week for the fi rst time since his 10-month
suspension for his behavior at the Rio de
Janeiro Olympics ended.
The 32-year-old new father will
compete at the L.A. Invitational,
which begins Thursday on the
Southern California campus where
he trains and now represents
Trojan Swim Club.
The six-time Olympic gold
medalist is entered in the 50- and
Lochte
100-meter freestyles and 200
individual medley. His times of 48.16 seconds in
the 100 free and 1 minute, 54.00 seconds in the
IM are top-seeded.
Lochte was ineligible to compete at the recent
U.S. nationals, which kept him from qualifying
for the world championships beginning July 23
in Hungary. His suspension ended June 30.
“If we want as the
NFL, as a union, to get
anything done, players
have to be willing to
strike. That’s the thing
that guys need to 100
percent realize.“
— Richard Sherman
Seattle Seahawks cornerback
when asked if NFL players need
to consider striking in order to get
player contracts up to the level of
the NBA and MLB.
Forbes says Dallas Cowboys
are most valuable sports team
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys
are worth $4.2 billion, making them the most
valuable sports franchise for the second straight
year, according to Forbes .
In its annual rankings, Forbes
placed the New York Yankees
second — up from fourth a year
ago — with a value of $3.7 billion.
Next are three soccer clubs:
Manchester United ($3.69 billion), Barcelona
($3.64) and Real Madrid ($3.58).
The rest of the top 10 includes the New
England Patriots ($3.4 billion), New York
Knicks ($3.3 billion), New York Giants ($3.1
billion), San Francisco 49ers ($3 billion) and
Los Angeles Lakers ($3 billion).
The rankings are based on Forbes’ valuations
done over the last year for all NFL, NHL, NBA,
MLB, soccer, NASCAR and Formula One teams.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1881 — William Renshaw
sets the record for the shortest
men’s championship match
by time and games by beating
John T. Hartley 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in
37 minutes at Wimbledon.
1943 — The fi rst night
game in All-Star history
is played at Philadelphia’s
Shibe Park. Boston’s Bobby
Doerr provides the big blow,
a three-run homer, for the
AL’s 5-3 win.
1972 — Robert Irsay buys
the stock of the Los Angeles
Rams for $19 million and
swaps the franchise for the
Baltimore Colts. The players
and coaches are not affected.
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