East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, August 17, 2018, Page Page 2B, Image 14

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    Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Ureña’s pitch “seemed pretty
blatant to me.”
— Aaron Boone, Yankees manager
Friday, August 17, 2018
Teams use new ways to keep
NFL players cool in camp
By TERESA M. WALKER
Associated Press
AP Photo/John Bazemore
Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr., right, reacts after
being hit by a pitch from Miami Marlins’Jose Ureña
during the first inning of a baseball game Wednes-
day, Aug. 15, 2018 in Atlanta. Both dugouts emptied
and Ureña was ejected. Marlins catcher J.T. Realmu-
to is at rear.
Intentional plunkings
come under fire after
Ureña hits Acuña
By JAKE SEINER
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Aaron
Judge saw Jose Ureña’s
plunking of Ronald Acuña
Jr. before the Yankees
played a day game Thurs-
day, and he felt Acuña’s
pain. The reigning AL
home run leader knows
that with so many big flies
comes a risk that some dis-
gruntled pitcher may try
burying a fastball in your
ribs.
“Oh yeah, it’s happened
before,” New York’s star
slugger said.
Throwing at a bat-
ter for hitting home runs?
That’s what many think
Ureña did, including Mets
broadcaster and former big
league first baseman Keith
Hernandez, who defended
Urena’s plunking of Atlan-
ta’s
breakout
rookie.
Mostly, though, players
and coaches around the
game seem to want noth-
ing to do with this murky
unwritten rule.
The Miami right-hander
sparked a benches-clearing
fracas in Atlanta when he
drilled Acuña in the elbow
with the first pitch of a
game Wednesday. Acuña
had homered leading off
three consecutive games
and gone deep four times
in the first three games
of the series against the
Marlins.
Acuña had a CT scan
that revealed his elbow
was normal, and X-rays
also were negative. He was
back in Atlanta’s lineup
Thursday night against
Colorado.
Ureña claimed he was
just pitching Acuna inside
and missed his spot with a
“bad pitch.” He was sus-
pended six games and fined
an undisclosed amount on
Thursday.
The Braves — as well
as the game’s umpires —
believed the plunking was
intentional. Braves All-
Star Freddie Freeman said
it “was just completely
classless on Jose Ureña’s
part,” and manager Brian
Snitker was near the front
of a line of Atlanta players
charging out of the dugout
toward the mound.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever
felt like that in a baseball
uniform,” Snitker said.
At least one prominent
baseball voice thought
Ureña would be right to
intentionally drill Acuña,
though. Hernandez, the
1979 NL co-MVP, said
during the Mets broadcast
Wednesday night that in
this case, “you got to hit
him.”
“They’re killing you,”
Hernandez said. “You lost
three games. He’s hit three
home runs. You got to hit
him. I’m sorry, people
aren’t going to like that.
You know, you got to hit
him, knock him down.”
Hernandez’s
words
weren’t well received by
the Braves. Reliever Peter
Moylan tweeted that Her-
nandez was a “clown,”
and Hall of Famer Chip-
per Jones tweeted that the
comments were “waaay off
base!”
“So by this way of
thinking, Jacob deGrom
should get drilled cuz he’s
the hottest pitcher on the
planet? NO!” Jones wrote.
Players and coaches
around the majors were
asked about intentional
plunkings Thursday, and
it’s clear that Hernandez’s
opinion falls among the
minority.
Yankees manager Aaron
Boone said Ureña’s pitch
“seemed pretty blatant to
me.”
“It had a bad look to it,”
he said.
Rays veteran Kevin
Kiermaier thinks plunk-
ings have a time and a
place. He recalled being a
rookie when Tampa Bay
unintentionally hit Yan-
kees star Derek Jeter twice
in the same game. Kier-
maier was the first batter
up for Tampa Bay the next
inning.
“I knew I was going
to get thrown at,” Kier-
maier said. “Guy ended up
missing. I had no problem
with it. He got thrown out,
whatever.”
But Kiermaier also sus-
pects at least one pitcher
has thrown at him inten-
tionally
because
the
speedy center fielder tried
to bunt for a hit in the first
inning of a game, and that
experience infuriated him.
Kiermaier, who is expect-
ing a child in November,
doesn’t want any part of
pitchers throwing at him
for just playing the game.
He called Ureña’s pitch
“classless.”
“You’re hitting good,
and they want to hit you to
hit you, then I got a prob-
lem with that,” Kiermaier
said.
Retired seven-time All-
Star Michael Young said
on Twitter that “you don’t
drill people for doing
their jobs” and “that’s not
old school.” He also said
the concept of brushback
pitches — throwing a fast-
ball inside to scare a batter
off the plate and make him
uncomfortable — doesn’t
work against major league
hitters.
“You can’t make a
good hitter uncomfort-
able,” Young said. “He’s
been there, done that.
He’s laughing in his head
because your heaters inside
are simply teeing him up
with a 2-0 count. Then he’s
going to torch you.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
Tennessee Titans running
back Dion Lewis has been
so focused on football with
his new team that he didn’t
realize until a few days into
training camp just how spe-
cial the benches on each
sideline really are.
Now he takes a couple
of minutes whenever possi-
ble during practice to sit and
cool off.
Literally.
“It’s great,” said Lewis,
who spent the past three
years with New England.
“It’s real hot ... so when-
ever you use anything to
make you cool down a little
bit, I think it’s a great tool.
It’s been here for the whole
time, but I just realized it like
probably last week. So defi-
nitely take advantage of that
whenever I get a chance.”
Keeping football players
cool during the sweltering
days of training camp is crit-
ical, especially in the wake
of the heat-related death of
Minnesota offensive tackle
Korey Stringer in August
2001 and the June death of
Maryland offensive lineman
Jordan McNair. An attorney
for the McNair family says a
preliminary death certificate
indicates the cause of death
was heatstroke.
Old-fashioned tubs filled
with water and bags of ice
await NFL players, even for
teams staying at their head-
quarters this time of year.
A few minutes provides a
quick, but very wet, recov-
ery once practice is over.
The Titans and New
Orleans Saints both decided
to give players a chance to
cool off during practice,
improving both safety and
the workouts.
With a new coach in
Mike Vrabel, the Titans put
a bench on each side of their
three practice fields, giving
players a chance to recover
when the temperature during
morning practices can feel
like 90 degrees.
“I don’t think our players
have done a good enough
job of taking advantage of
it, but, we’re trying it out,”
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Tennessee Titans running backs Dion Lewis (33) and Derrick Henry (22) rest on a
cooling bench during NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, in Nash-
ville, Tenn. The Titans put a bench on each side of their three practice fields, giving
players a chance to recover when the temperature during morning practices can
feel like 90 degrees.
Vrabel said.
“Going to Miami and
Jacksonville in the early
games here, if there’s any-
thing we can do to keep our
guys as fresh as possible on
the sideline, we’re going to
try.”
In hot and humid Jack-
sonville, the Jaguars have
had such cooling benches
for years in the shade and
near huge fans to use during
breaks.
The New Orleans Saints
have used a cooling tent for
years, even when holding
training camp at Millsaps
College in Jackson, Missis-
sippi. With the tent kept off
to the side of the football
fields, it wound up too far
away for the Saints to slip
over during practices.
This
August,
an
18-wheeler dropped off
what looks like a massive
storage trailer. Inside, it’s
actually a chilly 25 degrees
featuring dim lighting and
black padded folding chairs.
The Saints can walk in
for a quick refresher or sit
down to drop the body tem-
perature. If needed, coach
Sean Payton can put a
whole position group inside
at once, especially effective
for big men such as offen-
sive or defensive linemen.
“As bodies go in there,
it goes to 28,” Payton said.
“But it’s almost three times
colder than a tent.”
Payton said colleges such
as LSU and Alabama are
among those already using
the cooling trailer. Being in
muggy Louisiana, the Saints
didn’t have to go far to find
a company that could help
them out.
Payton said when the
temperatures soar, teams
can’t cool players down
enough. The trailer allows
New Orleans to keep the
Saints refreshed enough to
practice, not just survive
until the final horn signals a
blissful end.
“You want to not just be
running plays, and then you
also have an answer if some-
one is going through a sec-
ond-level heat illness or
God forbid something more
serious,” Payton said.
“But, the first thing we
want to be able to do is cool
the core temperatures down.
We’ve always taken a lot
of breaks, so we’ve han-
dled the heat well. We’ve
had to. But if you went back
to Millsaps even, we had a
cool tent. This is just much
colder.”
The Tampa Bay Buc-
caneers don’t use cooling
benches. For the first time,
they are making good use
of an indoor practice facility
— complete with air con-
ditioning — that was com-
pleted earlier this year.
Despite playing in Flor-
ida, the Buccaneers had
never had an indoor prac-
tice field before now, and
coach Dirk Koetter has used
it liberally.
He’s started several prac-
tices outdoors before going
inside where the Bucs even
installed bleachers for fans
attending open sessions.
Koetter also keeps the Bucs
inside for walkthroughs to
avoid the heat.
Just standing near the
cooling bench is comfort-
able enough to watch an
entire practice without even
needing to sit on the chilled
aluminum seats. Titans run-
ning back Derrick Henry
tested the cooling bench last
weekend and liked what he
found. A big man at 6-foot-
3, Henry says he won’t use
it too much to avoid stiffen-
ing up.
Walking by to cool off?
“It feels good, especially
because it’s hot out here,”
Henry said. “It’s camp, and
we got to put it to use. It’s
a good tool for us to cool
our body off, so we’re ready
when we go back out there.”
————
AP Sports Writers Brett
Martel in Louisiana and
Fred Goodall in Florida
contributed to this report.
SCOREBOARD
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Boston
86 36 .705 —
New York
75 46 .620 10½
Tampa Bay
62 59 .512 23½
Toronto
55 66 .454 30½
Baltimore
36 85 .298 49½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
69 51 .575 —
Minnesota
57 63 .475 12
Detroit
50 72 .410 20
Chicago
44 76 .367 25
Kansas City
37 84 .306 32½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
74 47 .612 —
Oakland
72 49 .595
2
Seattle
70 52 .574 4½
Los Angeles
62 61 .504 13
Texas
54 69 .439 21
———
Thursday’s Games
Tampa Bay 3, N.Y. Yankees 1
Texas 8, L.A. Angels 6
Minnesota 15, Detroit 8
Kansas City 6, Toronto 2
Friday’s Games
Toronto (Stroman 4-8) at N.Y. Yankees
(Lynn 8-8), 4:05 p.m.
Baltimore (Hess 2-6) at Cleveland (Carras-
co 14-6), 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Stanek 1-3) at Boston (John-
son 3-3), 4:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Despaigne 2-0) at Texas
(Minor 9-6), 5:05 p.m.
Detroit (Boyd 7-10) at Minnesota (Gibson
6-9), 5:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Junis 6-11) at Chicago White
Sox (Shields 4-14), 5:10 p.m.
Houston (Morton 12-3) at Oakland (Jack-
son 4-2), 7:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Buehler 5-4) at Seattle
(LeBlanc 7-2), 7:10 p.m.
Wild Card Standings
W
L PCT GB
New York
75 46 .625 +3
Oakland
72 49 .595 —
Seattle
70 52 .574 2½
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Atlanta
68 52 .567 —
Philadelphia
67 54 .554 1½
Washington
61 61 .500
8
New York
52 68 .433 16
Miami
48 75 .390 21½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Chicago
70 50 .583 —
Milwaukee
68 55 .553 3½
St. Louis
66 56 .541
5
Pittsburgh
61 61 .500 10
Cincinnati
52 69 .430 18½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Arizona
67 55 .549 —
Colorado
65 56 .537 1½
Los Angeles
65 57 .533
2
San Francisco
61 61 .500
6
San Diego
48 76 .387 20
———
Thursday’s Games
N.Y. Mets 24, Philadelphia 4, 1st game
Chicago Cubs 1, Pittsburgh 0
Washington 5, St. Louis 4
Colorado 5, Atlanta 3
Philadelphia 9, N.Y. Mets 6, 2nd game
Arizona 5, San Diego 1
Friday’s Games
N.Y. Mets (Syndergaard 8-2) at Philadel-
phia (Nola 13-3), 3:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Hamels 7-9) at Pittsburgh
(Williams 10-8), 4:05 p.m.
Miami (Straily 4-5) at Washington (Scher-
zer 15-5), 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco (Kelly 0-1) at Cincinnati
(DeSclafani 6-3), 4:10 p.m.
Colorado (Freeland 10-7) at Atlanta (New-
comb 10-5), 4:35 p.m.
Milwaukee (Peralta 5-3) at St. Louis
(Flaherty 6-6), 5:15 p.m.
Arizona (Ray 3-2) at San Diego (Lucchesi
6-6), 7:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Buehler 5-4) at Seattle
(LeBlanc 7-2), 7:10 p.m.
Wild Card Standings
W
Milwaukee
68
Philadelphia
66
St. Louis
66
Colorado
65
Los Angeles
65
Pittsburgh
61
San Francisco
61
L
55
54
56
56
57
61
61
PCT GB
.553 +½
.550 —
.541
1
.537 1½
.533
2
.500
6
.500
6
MiLB
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
North Division W
L Pct. GB
Vancouver (Blue Jays) 13 8 .619 —
Spokane (Rangers)
12 9 .571 1
x-Everett (Mariners)
10 11 .476 3
Tri-City (Padres)
8 13 .381 5
South Division
W L Pct. GB
x-Hillsboro (D-Backs) 13 8 .619 —
Salem-Keizer (Giants) 11 10 .524 2
Eugene (Cubs)
10 11 .476 3
Boise (Rockies)
7 14 .333 6
x-first-half division winner
———
Thursday’s Games
Tri-City 6, Vancouver 0
Salem-Keizer 7, Boise 4
Spokane 3, Everett 2
Eugene 2, Hillsboro 1
Friday’s Games
Hillsboro at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 7:05 p.m.
Boise at Eugene, 7:05 p.m.
Everett at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
LITTLE LEAGUE
Little League World Series
At South Williamsport, Pa.
All games televised on ESPN Networks
and online at ESPN+
Double Elimination
Thursday, Aug. 16
Game 1: Seoul (South Korea) 4, Guayama
(Puerto Rico) 2, 9 innings
Game 2: Staten Island (N.Y.) 5, Des
Moines (Iowa) 2
Game 3: Matamoros (Mexico) 3, Gold
Coast (Australia) 2
Game 4: Houston (TX) 3, Coventry (R.I.) 1
Friday, Aug. 17
Game 5: Barcelona (Spain) vs. Kawaguchi
(Japan), 11 a.m.
Game 6: Grosse Pointe Woods (Mich.) vs.
Coeur d’Alene (Idaho), 1 p.m.
Game 7: Arraijan (Panama) vs. Surrey
(British Columbia), 3 p.m.
Game 8: Peachtree City (Ga.) vs. Hono-
lulu, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 18
Game 9: Guayama (Puerto Rico) vs. Gold
Coast (Australia), 10 a.m.
Game 10: Des Moines (Iowa) vs. Coven-
try (R.I), Noon
Game 11: Game 5 loser vs. Game 7 loser,
3 p.m.
Game 12: Game 6 loser vs. Game 8 loser,
5 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 19
Game 13: Seoul (South Korea) vs. Matam-
oros (Mexico), 6 a.m.
Game 14: Staten Island (N.Y.) vs. Houston
(TX), 8 a.m.
Game 15: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7
winner, 10 a.m.
Game 16: Game 6 winner vs. Game 8
winner, 11 a.m.
Football
NFL PRESEASON
Week 2
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L
T Pct PF
New England 2 0
0 1.000 63
N.Y. Jets
1 1
0 .500 30
Miami
0 1
0 .000 24
Buffalo
0 1
0 .000 23
South
W L
T Pct PF
Houston
1 0
0 1.000 17
Indianapolis 1 0
0 1.000 19
Jacksonville 0 1
0 .000 20
Tennessee
0 1
0 .000 17
PA
37
15
26
28
PA
10
17
24
31
North
W
Baltimore
2
Pittsburgh
1
Cleveland
1
Cincinnati
1
West
W
Oakland
1
Denver
0
Kansas City 0
L.A. Chargers 0
L
0
1
0
0
L
0
1
1
1
T Pct
0 1.000
0 .500
0 1.000
0 1.000
T Pct
0 1.000
0 .000
0 .000
0 .000
PF
50
65
20
30
PF
16
28
10
17
PA
23
65
10
27
PA
10
42
17
24
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L
T Pct PF PA
Dallas
0 1
0 .000 21 24
Washington 1 1
0 .500 32 39
N.Y. Giants 0 1
0 .000 10 20
Philadelphia 0 2
0 .000 34 68
South
W L
T Pct PF PA
Carolina
1 0
0 1.000 28 23
New Orleans 1 0
0 1.000 24 20
Tampa Bay 1 0
0 1.000 26 24
Atlanta
0 1
0 .000 0 17
North
W L
T Pct PF PA
Green Bay
2 0
0 1.000 82 51
Minnesota
1 0
0 1.000 42 28
Detroit
0 1
0 .000 10 16
Chicago
0 2
0 .000 43 47
West
W L
T Pct PF PA
San Francisco 1 0
0 1.000 24 21
Arizona
1 0
0 1.000 24 17
Seattle
0 1
0 .000 17 19
L.A. Rams
0 1
0 .000 7 33
———
Thursday’s Games
New England 37, Philadelphia 20
Washington 15, N.Y. Jets 13
Green Bay 51, Pittsburgh 34
Friday’s Games
N.Y. Giants at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Kansas City at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
Miami at Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m.
Arizona at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Jacksonville at Minnesota, 10 a.m.
Oakland at L.A. Rams, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Tennessee, 5 p.m.
San Francisco at Houston, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Denver, 6:05 p.m.
Seattle at L.A. Chargers, 7 p.m.
Monday’s Games
Baltimore at Indianapolis, 5 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Atlanta United FC 14 4 6 48 50 28
New York
15 6 2 47 45 23
New York City FC 14 5 5 47 48 31
Columbus
11 7 6 39 31 29
Philadelphia
9 11 3 30 32 39
Montreal
9 13 3 30 31 41
New England
7 8 8 29 38 38
Orlando City
7 15 2 23 37 57
Toronto FC
6 12 5 23 39 44
Chicago
6 14 5 23 35 49
D.C. United
6 9 6 23 37 39
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
FC Dallas
12 5 6 42 37 30
Sporting K.C.
11 6 6 39 42 30
Los Angeles FC
11 7 6 39 47 39
Portland
10 5 7 37 35 31
LA Galaxy
10 8 7 37 48 42
Real Salt Lake
10 10 5 35 34 43
Vancouver
9 9 6 33 38 47
Seattle
9 9 5 32 26 26
Minnesota United 9 13 2 29 38 48
Houston
7 10 6 27 39 34
Colorado
6 12 6 24 31 40
San Jose
3 13 7 16 33 43
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
———
Saturday’s Games
LA Galaxy at Seattle, 1 p.m.
New York at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
New York City FC at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Chicago at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Minnesota United at FC Dallas, 5 p.m.
Portland at Sporting K.C., 5:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Houston, 6 p.m.
Toronto FC at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Columbus at Atlanta United FC, 1 p.m.
New England at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m.
Colorado at Los Angeles FC, 7 p.m.
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
x-Atlanta
22 10 .688 —
x-Washington
20 11 .645 1½
x-Connecticut
19 13 .594
3
Chicago
12 20 .375 10
New York
7 24 .226 14½
Indiana
5 26 .161 16½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
x-Seattle
24
8 .750 —
x-Los Angeles
19 13 .594
5
x-Phoenix
18 14 .563
6
x-Minnesota
17 15 .531
7
Dallas
14 18 .437 10
Las Vegas
13 18 .419 10½
x-clinched playoff spot
————
Friday’s Games
Minnesota at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
Los Angeles at Washington, 4 p.m.
Las Vegas at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Atlanta at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
New York at Seattle, 7 p.m.
Golf
PGA TOUR
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday
At Sedgwfield Country Club
Greensboro, N.C.
Purse: $6 million
Yardage: 7,127; Par 70 (35-35)
First Round Leaderboard
Brandt Snedeker
27-32—59
Ryan Moore
30-33—63
John Oda
32-31—63
Martin Flores
32-32—64
D.A. Points
32-32—64
Brett Stegmaier
31-33—64
David Hearn
32-32—64
Abraham Ancer
30-34—64
Ollie Schniederjans
30-34—64
Jonathan Byrd
32-32—64
Corey Conners
31-34—65
Nick Taylor
31-34—65
Aaron Baddeley
32-33—65
Ryan Armour
32-33—65
Sung Kang
32-33—65
Notables
Jim Furyk
32-33—65
Sergio Garcia
31-35—66
-11
-7
-7
-6
-6
-6
-6
-6
-6
-6
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-4
LPGA TOUR
INDY WOMEN IN TECH CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday
Site: Indianapolis.
Course: Brickyard Cross GC. Yardage:
6,456. Par: 72.
Purse: $2 million. Winner’s share:
$300,000.
First Round Leaderboard
Lizette Salas
31-31—62
-10
Nasa Hatoaka
32-32—64
-8
Angel Yin
28-36—64
-8
Danielle Yang
33-32—65
-7
Carolina Hedwall
32-33—65
-7
Jin Young Ko
31-34—65
-7
Jane Park
32-33—65
-7
Brianna Do
34-32—66
-6
Xiyu Lin
32-34—66
-6
Lydia Ko
33-33—66
-6
Notables
Lexi Thompson
32-36—38
-4
Cristie Kerr
35-34—69
-3
Brooke M. Henderson 32-38—70
-2
Paula Creamer
39-35—74
+2
Auto Racing
NASCAR CUP SERIES
BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE
Site: Bristol, Tennessee
Schedule: Friday, practice 7:30 a.m. &
9:40 a.m., (NBCSN); qualifying 2:40 p.m.,
NBCSN; Saturday, race 4:30 p.m., NBCSN.
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval,
0.526 miles).
Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.
Last year’s winner: Kyle Busch.