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SPORTS TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Seattle man- ager Scott Servais, left, relieves start- ing pitcher Marco Gon- zales, center, in the fourth inning of Mon- day’s game against Balti- more Orioles in Baltimore. MLB Pitching plagues M’s again Seattle falls two games back of Wild Card spot Seattle Baltimore Associated Press 6 7 BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have reached an important landmark in their quest to reach the postseason for the third time in four years. Their task now is to keep the momentum going for fi ve more weeks. Adam Jones hit a record- breaking home run , Welington Castillo had three hits and two RBIs and Baltimore beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 Monday night for its See MARINERS/2B AP Photo/Patrick Semansky College Football College Football Herbert ready to lead Beavers’ defense searching for some answers OSU gave up 58 points, 525 total yards in loss to Colorado State By KEVIN HAMPTON Albany Democrat-Herald AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez, File In this Nov. 26, 2016, fi le photo, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert throws in the fi rst half of a game against Oregon State in Cor- vallis. Herbert had what was essentially a two-pronged approach to the offseason: Become stronger and become a leader. After taking the reins as freshman, Ducks’ QB excited for 2017 By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press EUGENE — Oregon quar- terback Justin Herbert had what was essentially a two-pronged approach to the offseason: Become stronger and become a leader. Herbert put on muscle, prompting Ducks fi rst-year coach Willie Taggard to joke that the sophomore signal-caller kept strutting around shirtless. Herbert worked on the leadership part, too, as a counselor at the Manning camp in Louisiana. “I’ve seen Justin grow a lot. I mean, he’s giving off a lot of confi dence, especially to the other players, to show he’s that guy,” running back Royce Freeman said. “We’re defi nitely following behind him and we trust him fully.” Thrust into a role as Oregon’s starting quarterback as a freshman last season when graduate transfer Dakota Prukop struggled, Herbert would go on to play in nine games, throwing for 1,936 yards with 19 touchdowns. Herbert goes into this season knowing he’s the starter. The Ducks open at home on Saturday afternoon against Southern Utah. It will be the Oregon debut for Taggart, who is looking to rebuild a team that went 4-8 overall for the Ducks’ fi rst losing season since 2004. Taggart comes to Eugene after four years at South Florida, where he guided the Bulls from a 2-10 record his fi rst year to a 10-2 mark last year and a spot in the Birmingham Bowl. Before that he spent three seasons at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, inher- See HERBERT/3B FORT COLLINS, Colo. — There’s a long way to go for the Oregon State defense. The Beavers had moments against Colorado State, but the more experienced Rams made too many plays and handed OSU a 58-27 defeat. The Beavers gave ground for most of the game but did come up with a few key stops and kept the Rams out of the end zone and kicking fi eld goals, but the game got away late. Inside linebacker Manase Hungalu called the defensive performance horrible. “(We) made too many mistakes, we got guys doing missed assign- ments. It was just lack of hustle,” Hungalu said. “It’s just something we can fi x. We basically just went out there and beat ourselves.” Said cornerback Xavier Craw- ford: “It wasn’t a good perfor- mance. It was a lot of people (using) bad eyes and guys not doing their assignments. And one person not doing their assignment leads to big plays and we’ve seen that today.” Both players pointed to a lack of communication. The Rams piled up 525 total See BEAVERS/3B Flooding forces Texas pro teams to move home games By KRISTIE RIEKEN Associated Press HOUSTON — Hurricane Harvey has forced both the Houston Astros and Houston Texans to play home games miles away from the fl ood-stricken city with players wondering when they will be able to come back. The Astros will play a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, this week, starting Tuesday, and the Texans will wrap up their preseason schedule against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington instead of NRG Stadium. “You have to go about your busi- ness and handle it,” Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph said Monday as the schedule for the week became clear and the misery of Harvey continued unabated. “But it’s kind of hard at the same time to kind of sit there and play football and then think about your family that’s back home when there’s constantly updates going on around the clock about things that are going on back in your hometown.” Both the Astros and Rangers fl ew to Dallas after games in California on Sunday to await news of where the series would be held. After an off day Monday, they will now head to St. Petersburg, where the Astros will have “home” games far away from home, just like they did in the wake of Hurri- cane Ike in 2008 when they played two scheduled home games in Milwaukee. The team also said a three-game series against the New York Mets that begins on Friday may also be played at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that the decision has already been made and shared with the players, though there was no word from the team or Major League Base- ball. The person spoke on condition of See FLOODING/2B AP Photo/David J. Phillip Rescue boats fi ll a fl ooded street at fl ood victims are evacuated as fl oodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston. Sports shorts Bills trade former second-round pick ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) Linebacker Reggie Ragland will get a fresh start in Kansas City after the Chiefs acquired the second-year player in a trade with the Buffalo Bills. In exchange, the Bills acquired a fourth- round pick in the 2019 draft. The Chiefs land a player with the potential of being an upgrade for Josh Mauga, who was released earlier in the day. Ragland also gets a chance to play in a three- lineman, four-linebacker-styled defense, which he was accustomed Ragland to at Alabama. For the Bills, they cut ties with a 2016 second-round draft pick who was in jeopardy of being cut this weekend when teams establish their 53-player roster. Ragland missed all of last season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during training camp. “As professionals, you can’t get above yourself and think the job is done. The job is never done. There are bigger things at stake than your confi dence in one game. We know nothing is guaranteed and our approach as players matches as if this can be your last game.“ — Tim Ream U.S. Men’s National soccer team defender on the United States’ team confi dence heading into another round of World Cup qualifying after winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July. Lions make QB Matt Stafford highest-paid NFL player DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Stafford has agreed to a fi ve-year contract extension with the Detroit Lions. The team announced Monday night the deal keeps the quarterback under contract through the 2022 season. Stafford was entering the last season of his $53 million, three-year contract. He stood to get quite a raise and perhaps a deal richer than the $125 million, fi ve-year contract the Oakland Stafford Raiders gave Derek Carr this summer. Stafford said last week he hadn’t decided whether he would allow negotiations to drag into the season. Detroit drafted Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009. He helped the Lions reach the playoffs last season for the third time in six seasons. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1974 — Moses Malone, 19, signs with the Utah Stars of the ABA, the fi rst player to go directly from high school into major professional basketball. 2015 — Usain Bolt anchors Jamaica to a fourth successive 4x100-meter title and adds to his record- breaking personal haul of world championship gold medals to 11. Bolt completes the gold medal trifecta in the 100, 200 and 4x100-meter relay for the fi fth time. American Ashton Eaton breaks his world record in the decathlon by six points. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com