Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2017)
SPORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Yankees complete comeback MLB PLAYOFFS Nationals force Game 5 Strasburg dominates with 7 shutout innings By JAY COHEN Associated Press CHICAGO — Stephen Strasburg gave Washington everything he had, and it was more than enough. So much for all those ques- tions about heart and character. Strasburg shook off an illness and pitched seven domi- NLDS nant innings, Michael A. Taylor hit a Washington late grand slam and the Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Wednesday to Chicago send their NL Division Series to a decisive Game 5. “I just focused on one pitch at a time and going as long as I could,” Strasburg said. Moments after Sean Doolittle closed out Strasburg’s fi rst career playoff win, the focus shifted to the fi nal game of the series in Washington on Thursday night. Kyle Hendricks starts for the World Series cham- pion Cubs after throwing seven sharp innings in a 3-0 victory over Strasburg in Game 1. Washington manager Dusty Baker was non-committal when asked about his starter, with Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark the most likely candidates. “You know, whoever it is, I hope they pitch like Stras did today,” Baker said. No kidding. Strasburg got sick after his terrifi c performance in the playoff opener on Friday, and the Nationals had planned to go with Roark even after a persistent rain washed out Game 4 on Tuesday. That led to a fl urry of comments and criticism about whether the ace had the right stuff to pitch in big moments. But Strasburg felt better See NLDS/3B 5 0 AP Photo/David Dermer New York Yankees’ Didi Gregorius points to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run off Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber during the third inning of Game 5 of a baseball American League Division Series, Wednesday in Cleveland. New York erases two-games-to-none deficit to advance to ALCS By TOM WITHERS Associated Press ALDS CLEVELAND — These young Yankees were unshaken, resilient and as tough as the city they repre- sent. The baby Bronx Bombers have grown up fast. Didi Gregorius, following in the October footprints left by Derek Jeter, homered twice off Corey Kluber as New York beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to complete its comeback from a 2-0 defi cit in the Division Series and dethrone the AL champions. The bend-but-don’t-break Yankees, way ahead of schedule, staved off elimination for the fourth time in this postseason and advanced to play the Houston New York Cleveland 5 2 Astros in the AL Championship Series starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park. With a blend of young stars and older veterans coming up big, the Yankees rocked Cleveland and bailed out manager Joe Girardi, who failed to challenge a key call in a Game 2 loss that threatened to sabotage New York’s season. “These guys had my back and they fought and fought,” Girardi said. “They beat a really good team. What those guys did for me, I’ll never forget it. “ The Yankees went 2-5 against the AL West champion Astros, led by 5-foot-6 dynamo and MVP candidate Jose Altuve. But none of that matters now to this group of New Yorkers. After winning twice at home, and after Girardi said he “screwed up” and felt horrible about it, the Yankees — with little offensive help from rookie star Aaron Judge — came into Progressive Field and fi nished off the Indians, who won 102 games during the regular season, ripped off a historic 22-game winning streak and were favored to get back to the World Series after losing in seven games a year ago to the Chicago Cubs. Cleveland’s Series drought turns 70 next year — baseball’s longest dry spell. “Nobody wanted the season to be over,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It doesn’t wind down, it comes to a crashing halt. It’s disappointing. We felt good about ourselves. We made it harder to win, especially in the last two games.” The Indians closed to 3-2 in the fi fth against starter CC Sabathia before David Robertson pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings for the win. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, who faced Cleveland in last year’s spine-tingling World Series and signed an $86 million free agent contract in December, worked two innings for the save. Chapman went to the mound with a three-run lead in the ninth after Brett Gardner battled Cody Allen for 12 pitches before hitting an RBI single, with New York’s See ALDS/3B PENDLETON HERMISTON Bucks in must-win mindset Bulldogs ready for Lava Bears Pendleton needs wins with season winding down Football By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Pendleton Hood River Buckaroos Eagles (3-3, 2-2) (2-3, 1-3) • Friday, 7 p.m. • at Hood River PENDLETON — With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, there is no more room for error for the Pendleton Buckaroos. Pendleton (3-3 overall, 2-2 5A Special District 1) is clinging to the fourth- and-fi nal playoff spot in the district with a one-game lead on Hood River Valley, Summit and Redmond with three games left to play. That means Pendleton needs to win out to guarantee its fi rst postseason berth since 2014, and it starts on Friday night in Hood River against a slumping Eagles team. “I made it real clear this week to the kids that it’s a must-win each week if we want to continue our season,” Pendleton coach Erik Davis said at practice on Tuesday. “The biggest thing is the kids have to understand every play is important and we have to be focused on every play. The one thing about this team is they do want to win and they do want to make the playoffs, they have expectations that they will go to the playoffs and I have no doubt we’ll be ready to go this Friday.” Hood River (2-3, 1-3) is an improved squad over the winless team from a year ago that Pendleton beat 33-23 at the Round-Up, but the Eagles are in a bit of a slump. After winning its fi rst two games in blowout fashion over St. Helens and Ridgeview, the Eagles have lost three straight, most recently 30-20 on the road at Redmond last week. See BUCKS/2B By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian HERMISTON — Seven weeks into Football the season, Hermiston holds on to third place in Bend the Special Lava Bears District 1 (5-1, 4-0) but only by a slim one-game Hermiston margin. As Bulldogs the Bulldogs (4-2, 3-1) continue to • Fri., 7 p.m. fi ght for one • at Kennison of the four qualifying Field spots to reach playoffs, they now have to go through the league’s top team. Well, Staff photo by E. J. Harris Hermiston’s Garron Anderson wraps up Hood River’s Greyson Losee on a kickoff return in the Bulldogs’ win against Hood River on Sept. 29 in Hermiston. one of them. Bend will make the trip north to Kennison Field on Friday unbeaten in league play. On the season, the Lava Bears (5-1 overall, 4-0 SD1) have only one loss — See BULLDOGS/2B Sports shorts Red Sox fi re manager John Farrell BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox fi red manager John Farrell on Wednesday after the team’s second straight loss in the AL Division Series. The Red Sox announced the move less than 48 hours after they were eliminated from the playoffs with a 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros. Farrell’s contract had been scheduled to run through the 2018 season. Farrell managed the team to its eighth World Series title in 2013, his fi rst season. But he found himself under a harsh spotlight each of the Farrell last two seasons after exits in the division series of the postseason. Farrell went 432-378 over fi ve seasons with Boston. He managed Toronto for two seasons before that and went 154-170. Farrell began his coaching career with Boston as a pitching coach from 2007-2010. He was part of the team’s 2007 World Series title. “He kind of set the path for me and my success and without him none of this would be possible. I probably wouldn’t be talking to (the media) and you probably wouldn’t be looking at me as the leader of this team. He put me in the position to be successful and I can’t thank him enough for that.“ — Ryan Nall Oregon State Beavers running back speaking to the media on now-former head coach Gary Andersen, who parted ways with the school after two-plus seasons. Goodell joins Dolphins for visit with police, community MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills says he was pleasantly surprised to be joined by NFL Commis- sioner Roger Goodell for visits with police and youngsters in an effort to build better community relations. The collaboration came from the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality founded by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Goodell and the Dolphins visited two schools and the North Miami Police Department. Stills and a few teammates have staged protests during the national anthem. In a memo to team owners, Goodell reiterated the league’s belief that everyone should stand for the anthem and outlined plans to highlight efforts of players trying to bring attention to the social issues behind the game-day protests. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1986 — Walter Payton becomes the fi rst NFL player to accumulate 20,000 all-pur- pose yards in the Chicago Bears’ 20-7 victory over the Houston Oilers. Payton has 76 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving for a career total of 20,045. 2009 — Brent Seabrook scores 26 seconds into overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks matched the biggest comeback in NHL history, rallying from a fi ve-goal defi cit to beat the Calgary Flames 6-5. Chicago fell behind 5-0 in the fi rst period before overtaking the Flames. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
