SPORTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017
1B
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Astros’ patience pays off
WORLD SERIES
Saturday Prep Roundup
Helix, Echo
earn spots
in Class 1A
volleyball
tournament
Grizzlies, Cougars upset
No. 1 seed Powder Valley
to earn postseason berths
East Oregonian
AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve holds up the championship trophy after Game 7 of baseball’s American League Championship
Series against the New York Yankees Saturday, Oct. 21, in Houston.
Houston goes from woeful to World Series trip in just 4 years
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press
HOUSTON — Just four years
ago, the Houston Astros weren’t
just bad, they were embarrassing
— so embarrassing that many
dubbed them the “Lastros.”
Now Houston is heading
to its second World Series in
franchise history after beating
the Yankees in the AL Champi-
onship Series, and its time as the
league’s laughingstock seems
like a distant memory.
“You always picture yourself
World Series - Game 1
Houston
Los Angeles
Astros
Dodgers
• Tuesday, 5:08 p.m. (TV: FOX)
• at Dodger Stadium
in the World Series, but to be
here after my debut in 2012
with the team that we had, with
the players that we had, I never
thought we would be here,” left-
hander Dallas Keuchel said.
Keuchel is one of just four
Astros who remain from a 2013
team that hit rock bottom by
losing a franchise-record 111
games in its fi rst year in the
AL. Houston became the fi rst
team since Kansas City from
2004-06 to lose 100 games in
three straight seasons. Those
bumbling Astros, who had the
league’s lowest payroll as the
franchise shed its veterans to
rebuild, often played in front
of fewer than 10,000 fans and
routinely faced boos from the
few people who did show up.
All-Star second baseman
Jose Altuve, super-utility man
Marwin Gonzalez and right-
hander Brad Peacock are the
other holdovers from the lean
times.
“When I got here, no one
talked about winning,” said
manager A.J. Hinch, who took
over in 2015. “And that was one
of the fi rst things that Altuve told
me in my offi ce, that he wanted
to win. And that represented
what the next step was for this
organization. And obviously
See ASTROS/2B
Kershaw fi nally adds World Series to resume
Dodgers ace relishing
his fi rst appearance
By BEN WALKER
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — In the
Twilight Zone of October, the
clock turns back at Dodger
Stadium.
To the mound, to the moments
that defi ned World Series cham-
pions. Orel Hershiser, steely
and standing tall.Fernando
Valenzuela, eyes to the sky.The
great Sandy Koufax, the very
picture of pitching.
And that brings us to Game
1 on Tuesday night, when the
Los Angeles Dodgers host the
Houston Astros. Up on the
bump, on baseball’s biggest
stage, we fi nally get to see
Clayton Kershaw.
About time, right?
Kershaw has done most
everything an ace can accom-
plish — three Cy Young Awards,
fi ve ERA crowns, three strikeout
titles, a seven-time All-Star
who’s also won an MVP trophy
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22)
throws during the fi rst inning of Game 5 of baseball’s Nation-
al League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs on
Oct. 19 in Chicago.
and thrown a no-hitter.
Now, against a backdrop
of the San Gabriel Mountains
majestic at sunset, the lefty and
his Dodgers make their pitch for
the ultimate prize.
“I think that’s the fi nal piece
for him,” Dodgers manager
Dave Roberts said.
Said Kershaw: “Who knows
how many times I’m going to
get to go to the World Series? I
know more than anybody how
hard it is to get there. So, I’m
defi nitely not taking this one for
granted.”
To those Kershaw plays with,
he’s got nothing left to prove.
A model of consistency, the
Dodgers see him as money every
time he takes the mound.
It seems almost like an insult
to many, in fact, to suggest
anything otherwise.
Yet there is that one nagging
set of stats that can’t be over-
looked: 6-7 with an unsightly
4.40 ERA in the playoffs.
Now, it’s no shame to struggle
in the postseason. All-Stars Chris
Sale, Corey Kluber and Max
Scherzer all got banged around
this month.
Hall of Famers Greg
Maddux, Randy Johnson and
Tom Glavine, for all of their
many accolades, each had losing
records in the postseason. Those
guys also helped pitch their
teams to championships.
“You remember watching.
You remember who went to the
World Series,” Kershaw said.
Kershaw has excelled at
See DODGERS/2B
In the Old Oregon League volleyball
district tournament, Joseph may have
emerged as the district champions, however
Echo and Helix both locked up postseason
spots as well with upset victories.
On Saturday at La Grande High School,
the Cougars and Grizzles both beat the No.
1 seed Powder Valley Badgers to clinch the
fi nal two playoff spots in the district. Echo,
coming in as the No. 3 seed, swept Powder
Valley 25-21-25-19, 25-20 in the opening
round before losing to Joseph 3-1 in the
district championship game. Helix fell to
Joseph 3-1 (25-11, 18-25, 10-25, 22-25) but
then turned around and beat Powder Valley
3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20) to fi nish
in third place. The Badgers had swept the
season series with both the Cougars and
Grizzlies by a combined 12-4 score.
On the day, Sadie Wilson collected 34
kills for Helix while Kylee Stahancyk,
Lynne Roberts, Kailey Mize, and Arianna
Krol all had standout performances. Statis-
tics for Echo were not available.
Helix’s Wilson and Charmayne Bennett
and Echo’s Monique Montoya were also
selected to the all-tournament team after-
wards.
UP NEXT: Echo will host Jordan Valley
on Wednesday in a fi rst round meeting,
while Helix will travel to Dufur.
————
All-Tournament Team
Sadie Wilson, Helix; Megan Bingham, Powder Valley; Monique
Montoya, Echo; Charmayne Bennett, Helix; Emma Hite, Joseph;
Sabrina Albee, Joseph.
CBC DISTRICTS
PILOT ROCK — The Culver Bull-
dogs continued their dominance and swept
Heppner on Saturday to claim in Class 2A
Columbia Basin Conference district title.
To set up the meeting with Culver,
Heppner had to go through tournament-host
Pilot Rock as the Rockets defeated
the defending state champion Weston-
McEwen TigerScots one round earlier. In
the Mustangs match against Pilot Rock,
they held on to sweep the Rockets 25-21,
28-26, 25-22. Heppner had help from a
big defensive performance by freshman
Sydney Wilson, who fi nished with 26 digs.
“We had to battle for each and every
point,” head coach Mindy Wilson said.
“We didn’t serve well, missing 15 serves,
and that does not help when trying to gain
momentum. But by supporting each other.
We dug deep and got the win.”
For Pilot Rock, Abby Rigby had 14 kills
and Rhyanne Oates tallied 18 digs to lead
the team.
The momentum the Mustangs even-
tually gained was not enough to top the
Bulldogs. Culver kept Heppner at bay for
the fi rst two sets, winning each 25-15 and
25-16. Heppner made things a little tougher
in the third set, but the Bulldogs pulled
away to win 25-21.
“We came out after our win against Pilot
Rock and just couldn’t get going,” Wilson
said. “You have to be on your game against
a team like Culver. They were just the
better team tonight.”
This isn’t the end for the Mustangs, as
both Heppner and Culver will advance to
the 2A state tournament.
However, two teams seasons did end
See PREP ROUNDUP/2B
Sports shorts
Curry fi ned $50K for throwing
mouthpiece at game offi cial
NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry has
been fi ned $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece
in the direction of an offi cial during the fi nal
minute of Golden State’s loss at Memphis on
Saturday night.
Teammate Andre Iguodala
received a $15,000 fi ne for his
response and “verbally abusing a
game offi cial” late in the 111-101
loss that sent the defending NBA
champions to a 1-2 start.
The NBA announced the
Curry
penalties Monday, when the
Warriors were set to play at Dallas to conclude
their three-game road trip.
Curry became angry because he thought he
was fouled on a lay-in with 43.1 seconds left.
Kevin Durant also was ejected following the
play.Late Saturday, Curry tweeted: “No excuse
for that! Gotta remember who I am playing for...”
Wentz throws for 4 TDs as
Philadelphia tops Washington
“Love it. I’d rather be
playing in the heat
than in the snow, so it’s
great.“
— Justin Turner
Los Angeles Dodgers third base-
man and Southern California
native on the expected 100-de-
gree temperature in Los Angeles
for the start of the World Series
on Tuesday.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carson Wentz
tossed four touchdown passes, and the Phila-
delphia Eagles overcame losing nine-time Pro
Bowl left tackle Jason Peters in a
34-24 win over the Washington
Redskins on Monday night.
Wentz threw for 268 yards
and ran for a career-best 63
after a shaky start to lead the
NFL-best Eagles (6-1) to their fi fth straight
win. But the victory was costly because Peters
was carted off the fi eld with a knee injury in
the third quarter.
Kirk Cousins had 303 yards passing and
three TDs for the Redskins (3-3).
Philadelphia swept Washington for the fi rst
time since 2013 and has a commanding lead in
the NFC East. The Cowboys and Redskins are
tied for second place.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1992 — The Toronto Blue
Jays take baseball’s champi-
onship outside the U.S. for the
fi rst time, beating the Atlanta
Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in
Game 6 of the World Series.
1994 — Atlanta’s Greg
Maddux becomes the fi rst
pitcher to win three straight
Cy Young Awards, unan-
imously sweeping the NL
honor.
2004
—
Arizona’s
Emmitt Smith breaks Walter
Payton’s NFL record for
100-yard rushing games with
his 78th. Neil Rackers of the
Cardinals ties an NFL record
by kicking three fi eld goals
of at least 50 yards.
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