Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Little League Classic a hit with pros, youth
By TRAVIS JOHNSON
Associated Press
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.
— Despite spending the
afternoon with 12-year-old
Little Leaguers who idolize
pros like himself, Josh
Bell didn’t find himself
dispensing much advice.
“No one came to me
and asked, ‘What do you
think about my swing?’”
Bell said. “It was more like,
‘Follow me on Instagram’
or like this or that picture. It
was more lighthearted.”
So he gave them a first-
hand demonstration of how
to hit one out.
Bell homered and drove
in four runs to lead the
Pittsburgh Pirates over the
St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 in
the Little League Classic on
Sunday night.
The teams played at
renovated Bowman Field,
a 91-year-old minor league
ballpark located 5 miles
from where the Little
League World Series is
taking place. Sitting in the
front rows were admiring
Little Leaguers who got to
mingle with the big league
stars earlier in the day, part
of a Major League Baseball
initiative to celebrate youth
baseball.
After the final out of
MLB’s first regular-season
game in Williamsport, the
Pirates shook hands on the
field as usual following a
victory. And then — in a nod
to Little League baseball
— both teams lined up at
home plate and shook hands
with each other, throwing in
some hugs and high-fives to
finish off a feel-good day.
“It was refreshing every
once in a while to be able
to look in the stands and
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Grosse Pointe, Mich.’s players Matthew Greene (5),
Tommy Harris (2), and Branden Campbell (3) sit with
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen (22) in the
stands at Lamade Field during a baseball game be-
tween Fairfield, Conn., and Lufkin, Texas in United
States pool play at the Little League World Series tour-
nament in South Williamsport, Pa. on Sunday.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals line the baselines, and the 16 Little
League teams from around the world participating in the Little League World Series
line the infield before the Little League Classic baseball game between the Pirates
and the Cardinals at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa. on Sunday.
see the kids watching the
game,” Pirates manager
Clint Hurdle said. “It was
one of the highlights of my
career.”
Cardinals manager Mike
Matheny also appreciated
the atmosphere inside a
2,366-seat venue that was
packed with 2,596 fans.
“You can’t help but get
caught up, especially these
kids treating our players like
they’re heroes as they walk
through there,” Matheny
said. “Pretty special stuff.
I think that’s something
they never get used to
completely.”
Bell sent a pitch from
Mike Leake (7-12) over
the right-center wall for
a two-run shot in the first
inning. The rookie slugger
added a two-run single in
the third to give Pittsburgh
the lead for good.
“He’s a maturing player,”
Hurdle said. “His overall
game has just found a good,
competitive place at this
level. He’s become a very
definite guy that can do
some damage at the plate.”
Adam Frazier homered
for the second straight game
and Andrew McCutchen
added an RBI grounder for
the Pirates, who were the
“home” team and won their
second in a row to split
the four-game series. They
snapped a six-game skid
with a rain-delayed victory
Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Pirates starter Ivan Nova
(11-10) wasn’t affected by
Saturday’s late finish. The
team sent him to William-
sport early that day so he’d
be rested and ready. And he
was. Nova gave up three
runs on eight hits and struck
out five in 5 2/3 innings.
He got through a tough
stretch in the fourth when
St. Louis put two runners on
with no outs. Nova struck
out Kolten Wong and Randal
Grichuk before getting Jose
Martinez to ground out.
“No panic, no panic,”
Nova said. “I was just trying
to stay ahead.”
Felipe Rivero got three
outs for his 14th save in
15 chances. With runners
on first and second, Paul
DeJong hit a long fly to
center field for the final out.
Jedd Gyorko cut Pitts-
burgh’s lead to 3-2 with
a two-run homer in the
second, his 17th of the
season. Wong had an RBI
single for St. Louis in the
sixth.
The Pirates’ bullpen held
the Cardinals to two hits
after Nova’s exit.
BLAST FROM THE
PAST
St. Louis players Lance
Lynn and Grichuk both
starred for their respective
Little
League
teams.
Grichuk made back-to-back
appearances in the Little
League World Series for
Richmond, Texas, in 2003
and 2004. Lynn’s team from
Brownsburg, Indiana, went
0-3 in 1999.
A couple of Pirates also
had memories of Williams-
port.
Max Moroff was on the
Maitland, Florida, team that
advanced to the semifinals
of the 2005 Little League
World Series, and Hurdle
spent a year managing the
now-defunct Williamsport
Bills, then a New York Mets
affiliate. He was asked if
any of the gear or keepsakes
he signed Sunday had a Bills
logo on it.
“Not one Williamsport
Bills item has popped up,”
Hurdle said. “It was a very
forgettable year.”
The Bills went 60-79 in
Hurdle’s lone season.
LITTLE LEAGUERS
TAKE PART
Little League players
took part all night, begin-
ning with the opening pitch.
A player from each team
lined up from center field
and around the bases to
relay the first pitch to Pirates
catcher Chris Stewart.
Players also relayed lineup
cards to officials, answered
trivia questions on the field
for Xboxes and signed
memorabilia. Kids got the
best seats in the house — in
the front rows and winding
around both dugouts.
They also got a chance to
take over the stadium public
address system, announcing
players as they walked
to the plate, and were
treated to nearly 200 snow
cones bought by Cardinals
outfielder Tommy Pham.
MARINERS: Diaz notches 28th save of season
Continued from 1B
hits and three earned runs
in five-plus innings, helping
to bolster Seattle’s injury
riddled rotation.
“He’s been huge for us,”
catcher Mike Zunino said.
“We’ve used a ton of guys
this year.”
Zunino was part of a
disputed play at the plate
that help preserve the win
for Seattle, which came into
the night just 1 1/2 games
out of an AL wild-card spot.
With the Braves trailing
6-2 in the sixth, a catcher’s
interference call sparked a
three-run rally. Ozzie Albies
hit a two-run triple over the
head of center fielder Leonys
Martin and scored on
Dansby Swanson’s sacrifice
fly. Pinch hitter Lane Adams
reached on an infield single,
stole second and raced for
home when an infield drib-
bler was bobbled by second
baseman Robinson Cano.
Cano retrieved the ball
and threw home to get
Adams. The Braves chal-
lenged the call, and it looked
as though Adams may have
gotten a toe on the plate a
split-second before he was
tagged. But the replays, from
several different angles,
weren’t definitive enough to
overturn the call.
“That was a great job by
Robby not to give up on the
play,” Zunino said. “That
little bobble and recovery
may have saved us the
game.”
Edwin Diaz pitched the
ninth for his 28th save. He
surrendered a leadoff single
to Ender Inciarte, but the
Atlanta runner was thrown
out attempting to steal
second with slugger Freddie
Freeman at the plate.
Freeman grounded out to
end the game.
Foltynewicz (10-9) had
another rough out for the
Braves. He gave up nine hits
and all six Seattle runs in 5
2/3 innings, losing for the
fourth time in his last five
starts.
“A little bit of tough luck
early on in the game, and
after that I sort of fell behind
some people,” he said. “It
was a tough whole month. I
need to regroup and focus a
little more and get back out
there.”
AP Photo/Todd Kirkland
Atlanta Braves Lane Adams is tagged out at home by
Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino in the sixth inning
of Monday’s game in Atlanta.
ECLIPSE: Tennessee Titans players witnessed event after morning practice
Continued from 1B
and sat in the grass in front
of each dugout. At one point,
the sellout crowd chanted,
“Let’s go science!”
In Nebraska, the Salt-
dogs sold game tickets to
buyers from as far away as
the United Kingdom and
Germany, team spokesman
Michael Shively said.
One of the Germans was
Theo Kleinfeld, 65, who
flew to Lincoln last week
so he could photograph the
eclipse at the Saltdogs’ game
against the Gary Southshore
Railcats.
Kleinfeld said he watched
the 1999 eclipse that crossed
Germany and traveled to
Shanghai for another in 2009.
But in Shanghai, he said, the
sky was overcast.
“This is a good opportu-
nity,” Kleinfeld said as he set
up his camera outside Salt-
dogs Stadium. “If it doesn’t
work today, I’ll just have to
come back in 2024,” when
the next total solar eclipse in
the U.S. will occur.
Paul Kobs, 38, of Minne-
apolis, took a day off work
and drove to Lincoln with
his girlfriend. The couple
started planning the trip
three months ago and picked
Lincoln because it was one
of the places closest to their
home to see the eclipse.
Kobs said they initially
planned to drive down to
Beatrice, Nebraska, where
eclipse viewers gathered
at the Homestead National
Monument, but the cloudy
forecast for that area
BRONCOS: Lynch disappointed, but
vows to continue to get better
Continued from 1B
have to compete for your
job every day, every week,”
Siemian said.
Although
Joseph
declared it a “50-50 compe-
tition” this spring, Siemian’s
edge in experience was a
major factor in him pulling
away from Lynch, the 26th
overall pick in last year’s
draft.
That’s not to say it wasn’t
a close call, however.
Joseph said there was
some debate among the
group of decision-makers
that included himself,
McCoy, QB coach Bill
Musgrave, GM John Elway
and
player
personnel
director Matt Russell.
“There was discussion
because obviously it was
a four- to five-month
evaluation and when you
watch Paxton’s physical
traits, I mean, they’re fun
to watch,” Joseph said.
“So, for a coach, to have a
6-foot-5 guy with a big arm
who can run zone-read and
scramble, that’s exciting for
us. So, it was close.”
Lynch showed more
comfort with the new
scheme and new coaching
staff but still proved inade-
quate at decoding defenses
while Siemian was steady
and solid, consistently
making the correct calls and
right reads.
“Obviously I believe in
myself to be the starter,”
Lynch said, his voice
cracking. “But the coaches
made a decision and that’s
what we’re going with.”
While Siemian will get
all the attention now, Lynch
won’t exactly be shunted
aside.
“We’re all going to
support Paxton moving
forward,” Joseph said.
“He’s a young player. He’s
got a bright future still. In
my opinion we have two
quarterbacks. Most teams
can’t say that.”
Joseph said he wasn’t
worried that Lynch would
lose focus as the backup.
“Trevor and Paxton
are really close. They’re
buddies. So, I don’t foresee
him checking out,” Joseph
said. “We have great
coaches on this staff and to
keep him involved won’t be
hard.”
Like many fans, Lynch
figured he’d be starting by
now after Elway moved
up in the draft last year to
select him, but he said he’s
pleased with his progress
and how he fought for the
job this summer and will
be ready whenever called
upon.
“I really want to get
better and not sit around
and pout and be upset about
this,” Lynch said, “because
that’s not going to make
anything better.”
Notes: Joseph declared
Denver’s 2017 first-round
pick, LT Garett Bolles, the
starter and said Max Garcia
or Allen Barbre will be the
LG but that Ron Leary will
stay at RG.
persuaded him to stay in
Lincoln.
“This was really the easiest
place to get to that was in the
path of the totality,” he said
as he walked into the Lincoln
stadium. “It’s a once-in-a-
lifetime event — that minute
and a half of experiencing
something out of this world.”
Jordan Wilson and his
wife, Nicole, brought their
5-year-old son, Izayah, to
the game to see the eclipse.
On the way down from their
home in Omaha, the family
sat through bumper-to-
bumper traffic on Interstate
80.
“It’s probably the last
full eclipse we’ll see in our
lifetimes,” he said.
In
South
Carolina,
the
Columbia
Fireflies
celebrated a “Total Eclipse
of the Park” event as they
hosted the Rome Braves. The
Fireflies wore special glow-
in-the-dark jerseys that were
scheduled to be auctioned
after the game, with proceeds
benefiting local science,
technology, math and engi-
neering programs.
No Major League Base-
ball games were scheduled to
coincide with the event, but
the eclipse caught the interest
of teams from other sports
preparing for their season
openers.
“It was pretty cool to be
out there with the rest of
the team, looking like 9 o’
clock at night at 1:30,” said
Tennessee Titans linebacker
Derrick Morgan , who
watched after a practice.
SEAHAWKS: Traded for T Matt
Tobin from Philadelphia on Monday
Continued from 1B
lineman from Boise State
stepped in for Fant after his
injury and played briefly at
left tackle in one game last
season. Carroll said Pocic
will get a look at the position
and Seattle added another
option after finishing practice
Monday by trading for Matt
Tobin from Philadelphia in
exchange for a fifth-round
pick in 2018. Seattle also
received a seventh-round
pick next year from the
Eagles.
Seattle has used Odhi-
ambo at a variety of guard
and tackle spots but only
as a backup to this point.
He played left tackle exclu-
sively during his college
career at Boise State, but
has been inconsistent in his
limited opportunities with
the Seahawks. Offensive
line coach Tom Cable was
critical of Odhiambo last
week prior to the Fant
injury.
“He has some moments
where it looks great and
some moments where we’re
like, ‘OK we have work to
do,’” Cable said.
Odhiambo said Seattle’s
practice of having its offen-
sive linemen rotate through
a variety of positions makes
stepping in at left tackle feel
familiar.
“You have a lot of guys
that could go in there and
feel comfortable doing the
things,” Odhiambo said.
“At the same time, the way
he coaches us is to know
every single spot.”
Carroll
repeatedly
mentioned
Joeckel’s
experience as a left tackle,
but reiterated that the goal
is to keep Joeckel at left
guard. The indication is
that moving Joeckel to left
tackle would be a fall back
plan if Seattle can’t find a
more definitive answer.
Pocic could be the wild
card in the discussion. The
rookie from LSU had been
primarily playing at right
tackle while also backing up
Britt at center, his primary
position in college. Pocic
projects as more of a tackle
in the NFL, but could be
thrust into the spot sooner
than expected.
“He’s already played a
little bit of everything for
us. That’s a possibility,”
Carroll said. “He’s only
played there a short time
on the left side. He’s been
primarily a right side guy.”
Tobin appears to be an
addition for depth. He’s
played mostly guard during
his career, starting 13 games
during the 2015 season for
the Eagles. But he started at
right tackle for the Eagles in
their preseason game against
Buffalo last week. Seattle
also signed free agent Tyrus
Thompson on Monday for
additional depth.
NOTES: LB K.J. Wright
returned to practice after
missing last week while
having a “process” done
to a sore knee. Carroll said
Wright would be a full
participant Tuesday.