Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, August 10, 2017
MLB
College Football
Mariners finish off sweep of Athletics SDSU,
By MICHAEL WAGAMAN
Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — Nelson
Cruz wasn’t nearly as impressed
with his latest power display as
Seattle teammate Kyle Seager
was.
On a day when Seager hit
a three-run homer in the first
inning to get
the Mariners off
to a fast start,
Cruz trumped
Seattle
him
with
two
towering
400-foot home
runs to continue
his season-long
feast on Athletics
Oakland
pitching.
Seattle beat
Oakland 6-3 on
Wednesday to
complete a two-game sweep.
“It’s cool being on deck when
he gets hold of one because he
can do stuff that there’s not a lot
of guys can,” Seager said of Cruz.
“He’s a lot of fun to watch and
you certainly want him on your
team. He’s incredible, the stuff he
can do.”
Robinson Cano had two hits
and scored twice while Ben
Gamel singled and made another
sparkling defensive play to help
Seattle to its fourth win in five
games.
6
3
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz follows through on his two-run
home run against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning
of a baseball game Wednesday in Oakland, Calif.
The Mariners, who entered
the day tied with Kansas City and
Tampa Bay for the second AL
wild card, finished 6-3 on their
road trip.
Cruz hit a two-run homer in
the third, his 25th, then added his
26th in the fifth. It’s the second
multi-homer game in four days
for the Mariners slugger, who has
22 RBIs in 13 games against the
A’s this season — a Seattle record
against Oakland.
“I can’t explain it,” Cruz said.
“You go to all the ballparks and
you don’t feel it. I guess luck.”
Seager homered in the first
after Jean Segura and Cano
singled.
All three home runs came off
Oakland starter Jharel Cotton
(5-9).
Khris Davis hit his 31st
home run and Matt Joyce also
homered for the A’s, one day after
returning to the lineup following a
two-game suspension for using an
anti-gay slur.
Emilion Pagan (1-2) pitched
one-hit ball over 2 2/3 innings in
relief of starter Yovani Gallardo to
earn his first career win.
Edwin Diaz retired three
batters for his 25th save.
Gallardo was knocked out of
the game in the fifth inning after
allowing three runs and six hits.
The Mariners, who went into
the day with 67 errors, made two
defensive gems.
Gamel made a leaping catch
while crashing into the left-field
wall to rob Marcus Semien of a
hit in the fourth inning, the latest
in a string a stellar plays from the
rookie outfielder. Center fielder
Jarrod Dyson also made a leaping
catch near the wall in center in the
first inning.
“There were some subtle plays
that kept us down a little bit,” A’s
manager Bob Melvin said. “Our
bats weren’t great in the middle
of the game but if one of those
breaks goes one way or the other,
now we’re looking at a different
ballgame. But they didn’t so it
was a great play.”
Cotton, winless since June 23,
allowed six runs and eight hits
over six innings.
UP NEXT
Mariners: LHP James Paxton
(12-3, 2.70 ERA) pitches in the
opener of a four-game series
against the Angels on Friday
night in Seattle. Paxton leads the
AL and is tied for second in the
majors with 113 wild pitches.
NFL
Seahawks rave about potential of Shaquill Griffin
In this June
15, 2017, file
photo, Seat-
tle’s Shaquill
Griffin, and
Richard
Sherman
talk be-
tween drills
at practice
in Renton,
Wash.
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Even
though he’s now a professional,
Shaquill Griffin is still receiving
an intense education.
And in this scenario, Richard
Sherman is one of the primary
instructors.
“He’s mentally sharp. That’s
really, really unique for a rookie
to be that mentally sharp and
mentally on it,” Sherman said.
“He’s incredibly coachable. He
does a great job of just being
coachable and when they correct
a mistake then he makes sure he
makes the corrections.”
There are very few questions
surrounding the starters for the
Seattle Seahawks when the
season begins Sept. 10 at Green
Bay. The cornerback opposite
Sherman, though, is one of those
and perhaps the most important
to answer in the weeks leading up
to the regular season.
It became an issue when
starter DeShawn Shead suffered
a torn ACL in his left knee during
Seattle’s playoff loss to Atlanta.
Shead needed a small follow-up
procedure that delayed his return
even further.
Enter the rookie Griffin,
Seattle’s third-round selection
out of Central Florida, who is
AP Photo/Elaine
Thompson, File
competing with veteran Jeremy
Lane for the starting role opposite
Sherman.
“I’m getting a lot of help from
Richard and you know, every
now and then I get the chance to
move a little faster,” Griffin said.
“Now I’m starting to get the hang
of it. The game is starting to slow
down for me.”
Griffin was a priority pick
for the Seahawks. There were
other options Seattle could have
taken earlier in the draft, but the
Seahawks liked Griffin’s mix of
size at 6-feet and speed.
For all the certainty in Seat-
tle’s standout secondary, the spot
opposite Sherman has proven
troubling since Byron Maxwell
left as a free agent following
the 2014 season. Cary Williams
was brought in for the 2015
season, only to be benched and
eventually cut later. Shead, a
converted safety, was more than
adequate last season while regu-
larly getting picked on as teams
avoided Sherman, but his knee
injury altered Seattle’s plans.
Lane is experienced and
coach Pete Carroll has noted an
improved maturity going into
his sixth season. But Lane has
proven most effective working as
a slot cornerback in nickel pack-
ages, meaning Seattle needs a
solution on the outside — at least
in obvious passing situations.
And while Neiko Thorpe and
DeAndre Elliott have shown
potential, Griffin seems to be
generating the most excitement.
“There is just nothing but
positives and we have never had
a guy that runs this fast that is this
big, so right now it is all about
technique and he has no problem
with it,” Carroll said. “But he will
get a lot better. He will understand
situations and the application of
technique much more so. It’s just
going to take time.”
The biggest technique for
Griffin to learn is Seattle’s step-
kick style of press coverage at the
line of scrimmage. The goal there
is to avoid having to play chase
with a wide receiver by being
patient at the line of scrimmage
and making sure to move the feet
first before using hands. It’s not
easy, as evidenced by the number
of cornerbacks that have strug-
gled in Seattle’s system.
“I was so used to being so
aggressive and as soon as the
receiver moved I put my hands
on first and my hips lock,”
Griffin said. “Sometimes, when
I was back in college, that’s how
receivers got behind me. Now
that I’m starting to learn, it’s easy
for me to stay over to the top and
guarding receivers is a lot easier.”
Because Seattle knows what
is has with Lane, it’s expected
Griffin will get significant playing
time early in the preseason,
beginning with Sunday’s opener
against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“You can’t be average here,”
Griffin said. “You got to be ready
to work and that’s the only thing
that’s different right now, but
nothing that I can’t handle.”
Auto Racing
Byron replaces Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports in 2018
Associated Press
CONCORD, N.C. — A racing
fan who grew up in North Caro-
lina, William Byron remembers
peering into windows at Hendrick
Motorsports.
He saw cars built for Jeff
Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and
Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s
biggest stars during Byron’s 19
years.
Soon, he will be on the oppo-
site side of the glass.
Hendrick
Motorsports
announced Wednesday that
Byron will replace Kasey Kahne
in the No. 5 Chevrolet beginning
in 2018, giving the teenager a
top-tier Cup Series ride for one of
NASCAR’s most accomplished
teams. Byron is scheduled to
make his Cup debut at
Daytona in February.
“It’s pretty cool to be
in the other side of the
picture,” Byron said.
Byron, who will
turn 20 in November,
is in his first season in
the second-tier Xfinity
Series. He has three
wins, including ones Byron
at Daytona and Indi-
anapolis, and currently ranks
second in points while driving for
Hendrick-allied JR Motorsports.
He also won seven times — a
record for a rookie — in the Truck
Series in 2016.
“You can’t teach speed and you
can’t train talent,” Hendrick said.
“And he has all those other qual-
ities: Smart, dedicated, culture,
work ethic. He’s got the
whole package.”
Byron will join
seven-time champion
Johnson, Chase Elliott
and Alex Bowman in
Hendrick’s
four-car
Cup
lineup
next
season. Instead of the
star-studded
group
that featured Gordon,
Johnson and Earnhardt
a few years ago, the team will
have three drivers under the age
of 25 and Johnson, who will turn
42 next month.
“I don’t really have much of a
concern,” said Hendrick, adding
that Johnson will be a mentor
while Gordon and Earnhardt will
still have roles with the organi-
zation. “So they’ve got a lot of
coaches. But the main thing is just
not putting too much pressure on
them and letting them go out and
learn.
“If William continues to do
what he’s done in every series
he’s been in, he’ll adapt fine and
he will learn. You might as well let
him learn in what he’s going to be
driving for years to come.”
Kahne and Hendrick agreed
to part ways Monday, just weeks
after Kahne earned a playoff spot
by winning the Brickyard 400.
Hendrick said Wednesday that
his former driver remains under
contract for another year and
likely will land at an “alliance”
program next season.
Byron’s car will be sponsored
by Axalta Coating Systems and
Liberty University.
SCOREBOARD
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Boston
65 49 .570 —
New York
60 52 .536
4
Tampa Bay
58 57 .504 7½
Baltimore
56 58 .491
9
Toronto
53 60 .469 11½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
60 51 .541 —
Kansas City
57 56 .504
4
Minnesota
56 56 .500 4½
Detroit
52 61 .460
9
Chicago
43 68 .387 17
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
71 42 .628 —
Seattle
59 56 .513 13
Los Angeles
57 58 .496 15
Texas
54 59 .478 17
Oakland
50 64 .439 21½
————
Wednesday’s Games
Colorado 3, Cleveland 2, 12 innings
Texas 5, N.Y. Mets 1
Seattle 6, Oakland 3
L.A. Angels 5, Baltimore 1
N.Y. Yankees 11, Toronto 5
Boston 8, Tampa Bay 2
Detroit 10, Pittsburgh 0
Chicago White Sox 7, Houston 1
Minnesota 4, Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 8, Kansas City 5
Thursday’s Games
Pittsburgh (Cole 9-8) at Detroit (VerHagen 0-1),
10:10 a.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Gray 6-6) at Toronto (Estrada 4-7),
4:07 p.m.
Cleveland (Salazar 4-5) at Tampa Bay (Snell 0-6),
4:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Hammel 5-9) at St. Louis (Lynn
10-6), 5:15 p.m.
Houston (Peacock 10-1) at Chicago White Sox
(Rodon 1-4), 5:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Gibson 6-9) at Milwaukee (Davies
13-5), 5:10 p.m.
Baltimore (Miley 5-9) at Oakland (Blackburn
3-1), 7:05 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Skaggs 1-2) at Seattle (Paxton
12-3), 7:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
Washington
67
Miami
53
Atlanta
51
New York
50
Philadelphia
42
Central Division
W
Chicago
59
Milwaukee
59
St. Louis
58
Pittsburgh
56
Cincinnati
47
West Division
W
Los Angeles
80
L
45
59
61
61
69
Pct GB
.598 —
.473 14
.455 16
.450 16½
.378 24½
L
54
57
56
58
67
Pct
.522
.509
.509
.491
.412
GB
—
1½
1½
3½
12½
L Pct GB
33 .708 —
Colorado
65 49 .570 15½
Arizona
64 49 .566 16
San Diego
50 63 .442 30
San Francisco
46 70 .397 35½
———
Wednesday’s Games
Colorado 3, Cleveland 2, 12 innings
Texas 5, N.Y. Mets 1
San Francisco 3, Chicago Cubs 1
Washington 10, Miami 1
Cincinnati 8, San Diego 3
Detroit 10, Pittsburgh 0
Philadelphia 3, Atlanta 2
Minnesota 4, Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 8, Kansas City 5
L.A. Dodgers 3, Arizona 2
Thursday’s Games
San Diego (Lamet 6-4) at Cincinnati (Castillo
2-5), 9:35 a.m.
Pittsburgh (Cole 9-8) at Detroit (VerHagen 0-1),
10:10 a.m.
Miami (Straily 7-8) at Washington (Roark 9-7),
4:05 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (deGrom 12-5) at Philadelphia (Velas-
quez 2-6), 4:05 p.m.
Kansas City (Hammel 5-9) at St. Louis (Lynn
10-6), 4:15 p.m.
Minnesota (Gibson 6-9) at Milwaukee (Davies
13-5), 5:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Darvish 7-9) at Arizona (Banda
1-1), 6:40 p.m.
MiLB
Northwest League
Wednesday’s Games
Boise 10, Eugene 2
Salem-Keizer 4, Hillsboro 3
Everett 8, Spokane 7
Vancouver 6, Tri-City 2
Thursday’s Games
Spokane at Everett, 11:05 a.m.
Tri-City at Vancouver, 1:05 p.m.
Eugene at Boise, 6:15 p.m.
Salem-Keizer at Hillsboro, 7:05 p.m.
Basketball
WNBA
Wednesday
No games scheduled
Thursday’s Games
San Antonio at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Phoenix at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Friday’s Games
New York at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Golf
PGA Tour
Upcoming schedule
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Charlotte, N.C.
Course: Quail Hollow Club. Yardage: 7,600.
Par: 71.
Purse: TBA ($10 million in 2016). First prize: TBA
($1.8 million in 2016).
Television: Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4
p.m., TNT. Saturday, 8-11 a.m., TNT Sports; 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. CBS. Sunday, 8-11 a.m., TNT; 11
a.m. to 4 p.m., CBS.
Defending champion: Jimmy Walker.
Boise State
favored in
Mountain
West
By BERNIE WILSON
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — One week after
the NFL’s Chargers announced they
were relocating to Los Angeles, San
Diego State gave a five-year contract
extension to coach Rocky Long, who
said the Aztecs were more than up to the
challenge of winning over the suddenly
spurned fan base.
The best way, naturally, is to continue
on the course Long has put them on.
The Aztecs are coming off consecu-
tive 11-3 seasons that included Moun-
tain West Conference championships
and bowl victories.
They were ranked in the final poll for
the first time, finishing at No. 25 in The
Associated Press Top 25.
“I think we’ve got a really good
team,” the 67-year-old Long said. “I
think we’re going to play well and I
think we’ve got a chance to win another
conference championship.”
To do that, they’ll likely have to get
past Boise State. The Aztecs didn’t face
the Broncos the last two regular seasons
or in the Mountain West title games.
SDSU was the unanimous pick to
win the West Division again and the
Broncos were picked to win the Moun-
tain Division.
The Aztecs will host the Broncos
on Oct. 14. They could very well meet
again for the league title.
THE FAVORITES
West Division
San Diego State returns only one
starting offensive lineman, right guard
Antonio Rosales, so the unit will have
to quickly gel to open holes for Rashaad
Penny, who replaces all-time NCAA
rushing leader D.J. Pumphrey, and
protect quarterback Christian Chapman.
Penny, the two-time MWC postseason
special teams player of the year, ran
for 1,018 yards and 11 touchdowns last
year behind Pumphrey, who gained a
school-record 2,133 yards. Pumphrey
set the FBS career rushing record with
6,405, passing former Wisconsin star
Ron Dayne’s mark of 6,397 yards.
Hawaii was picked to finished
second behind the Aztecs, based on a
7-7 finish and a victory against Middle
Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl.
The Rainbows had losing records each
of the previous five seasons. Linebacker
Jahlani Tavai and defensive back
Trayvon Henderson were picked to the
preseason all-conference team.
Mountain Division
Boise State returns eight starters,
including quarterback Brett Rypien
and receiver Cedrick Wilson, from a
team that went 10-3 and lost to Baylor
in the Cactus Bowl. The Broncos have
reached double digits in victories twice
in coach Bryan Harsin’s three seasons.
Colorado State has high expecta-
tions, and not just because of a new
campus stadium. The Rams were
picked to finish second in the Mountain
Division, receiving six first-place votes
and 135 points in the preseason poll,
behind BSU’s 21 first-place votes and
161 points. The Rams return 13 starters,
including quarterback Nick Stevens and
receiver Michael Gallup. Although the
Rams finished 7-6, they won four of
their last five regular-seasons games,
including embarrassing SDSU 63-31 in
San Diego.
TOP PLAYERS
Although defending Mountain
Division champion Wyoming is picked
to finish third, the Cowboys have star
power. Quarterback Josh Allen was
named the Preseason Offensive Player
of the Year while defensive back
Andrew Wingard is the Defensive
Player of the Year. Allen threw for
3,203 yards and 28 touchdowns and ran
for 523 yards and seven TDs. Wingard
had 131 total tackles. SDSU’s Penny is
the Preseason Special Teams Player of
the Year, but his impact will come as the
Aztecs’ featured back.
NEW FACES
Jeff Tedford returns to Fresno State,
where he played quarterback and once
served as an assistant coach. He is a
former head coach at Cal, where he
twice was named Pac-10 Coach of the
Year, and was Oregon’s offensive coor-
dinator for four seasons.
Nevada’s Jay Norvell is in his first
job as head coach, but he’s been an
assistant in a BCS national champion-
ship game with Oklahoma and a Super
Bowl with the Oakland Raiders.
San Jose State’s Brent Brennan also
is in his first head coaching job. He was
an assistant coach with the Spartans
from 2005-2010.
ON THE HOT SEAT
Maybe Utah State’s Matt Wells,
who is coming off consecutive losing
seasons after posting winning records
his first two years.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Boise State at San Diego State, Oct.
14; Air Force at Colorado State, Oct. 28;
Boise State at Colorado State, Nov. 11;