SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Red Sox finish off Astros, head to World Series By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON — David Price put his postseason woes behind him, pitching the Boston Red Sox back into another World Series with a 4-1 victory over the defend- ing champion Houston Astros on Thursday night. Rafael Devers hit a three- run homer as the Red Sox stunned Justin Verlander and the Astros in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series to win the best-of-seven set 4-1, a perfect 43rd birthday present for rookie manager Alex Cora. After dropping the opener at home, Boston took four straight — includ- ing three in a row at Minute Maid Park to improve to 5-0 on the road in these playoffs. Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and the 108-win Red Sox will try to bring Boston its fourth crown in 15 years when they open the World Series on Tuesday night at Fenway Park against the Los Angeles Dodgers or Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox were last in the World Series when they won it all in 2013. “We got four more wins. That was very, very spe- cial, absolutely. But we want ALCS: Game 5 Boston Houston 4 1 Boston wins series, 4-1 more,” Price said. Los Angeles has a 3-2 lead in the NLCS going into Game 6 on Friday night at Miller Park. Left fielder Andrew Ben- intendi caught a long fly for the last out — not nearly as dramatic as his game-sav- ing diving grab the previous night. Even so, it set off an enthusiastic celebration for the Red Sox, who gathered to pose for pictures in the mid- dle of the diamond. Despite leading the majors in wins during the regular sea- son, the Red Sox were under- dogs against a Houston team that defeated the Dodgers in last year’s World Series and romped past Cleveland in the Division Series this month. No team has repeated as World Series champs since the New York Yan- kees won three straight from 1998-2000. AP Photo/David J. Phillip The Boston Red Sox celebrate after winning Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros on Thursday in Houston. Prep volleyball Kamiakin sweeps Hermiston By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian A slow start by Hermiston paid dividends for Kamiakin in their Mid-Columbia Conference vol- leyball match Thursday night. The Braves cruised to a 25-13 win in the first set, but had to hold off the host Bulldogs down the stretch to finish off the sweep 25-21, 25-19. “We struggle with starting out dialed in,” Hermiston coach Amy Dyck said. “Unfortunately, it takes a lot of momentum to get our focus out there. When we take care of business on our side, we are right there.” The loss gives the Bulldogs (4-8 MCC) the No. 3 seed from the MCC for the regional tournament that begins Nov. 1. The Bulldogs will play North Central at 5 p.m. at Southridge High School. The Suns will play the winner of the match. Kamiakin (6-6) will be the No. 2 seed and will play Shadle Park at Mount Spokane. Kamiakin’s Delaney Frame controlled the play at the net Thursday night, pounding down 12 kills. Autumn Zilar added seven kills and Aspen Harri- son five. “We are getting there,” Kamiakin coach Mor- gan Schauble said. “We still have goals to accom- plish. We are young, but we don’t use that as an excuse.” The Braves jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, then went on to take leads of 14-4 and 18-8 as Hermiston could not establish a rhythm to its offense. Kamiakin had just four unforced errors in the set, with two being missed serves. “When we play against teams with sound vol- leyball players, you have to be dialed in because they aren’t going to make mistakes,” Dyck said. “You have to play clean.” In the second set, the Bulldogs found them- selves down 19-9 before rallying to pull within 24-21. Service runs by Halee Stubbs and Scout Reagan helped pull Hermiston back into the match, but they still fell short in the end. The Bulldogs kept the third set close, getting kills by Kendall Dowdy and Avery Treadwell, along with a key block from Sophia Streeter to make it 10-7. An ace serve by Dowdy made it 10-8, and the Bulldogs later pulled within 13-11. A string of points at the service line by Reagan had Hermiston within 20-18, forcing Kamiakin to call a timeout. A Kamiakin kill forced sideout, and three points by Makenna Morgan gave the Braves a 24-18 lead. Frame laid down the final kill to com- plete the sweep. “We had some long rallies,” Dyck said. “A month ago, that wouldn’t have happened.” Daisy Maddox led the Bulldogs with six kills, while Dowdy added five kills, 11 assists and three blocks. Stubbs chipped in with 21 digs, while Rea- gan had 10 digs and Streeter three kills and three blocks. Brooklyn Ford handed out 23 assists for Kami- akin, which also got 13 digs from Graysen Banta. AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart, center, shoots between Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, and center Jusuf Nurkic, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland on Thursday. Blazers win opener Trail Blazers spoil James’ debut with 128-119 win over the Lakers BLAZERS By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer P ORTLAND — LeB- ron James opened with two thunderous dunks and had 26 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Portland Trail Blazers prevailed 128-119 Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Damian Lillard had 28 points and Nik Stauskas came off the bench to score 24 for Portland, which won its 18th straight home opener to extend an NBA record. It was the Blazers’ 16th straight victory over the Lakers. The opening festivities were tempered by the death this week of Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. A “Rip City” baseball cap rested in Allen’s courtside seat with a AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer The seat for Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, who passed away on Oct. 15, had a rose and a hat placed on it. single rose. The enigmatic co-founder of Microsoft died Monday in Seattle from complica- tions of non-Hodgkin’s lym- phoma. He was 65. There was moment of silence before the game and tributes to Allen throughout the night. On the court, the focus was all on James. His mon- ster dunks to start stunned the Moda Center crowd while Nike co-founder Phil Knight looked on from courtside seats. James signed a four-year, $153 million deal with the Lakers as a free agent in the offseason after winning three NBA championship rings and taking his teams — Miami and Cleveland — to the NBA Finals for each of the last eight seasons. The four-time league MVP joined a revamped group that includes veter- ans Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley, as well as a young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and rookie Blazers Lakers 128 119 Moe Wagner. While the Lakers made big changes in the offseason, the Trail Blazers returned all five starters from a team that finished third in the Western Conference last season — including the nucleus of Lil- lard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. James’ putback gave Los Angeles an early 25-15 lead. He played just under nine minutes in the opening quar- ter and led all scorers with 13 points. Portland closed the gap and pulled in front 46-40 on Stauskas’ 3-pointer. Staus- kas, who signed with the Blazers as a free agent this past summer, led all Blazers See BLAZERS/2B Sports shorts THIS DATE IN SPORTS Stanford beats Arizona State 20-13 TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — K.J. Costello threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, and Stanford remained in the thick of the Pac- 12 North Division race with a 20-13 win over Arizona State on Thursday night. Stanford (5-2, 3-1) needed a half to get its offense fully rolling off a bye week, held to a pair of field goals in the first half. The Cardinal put together a pair of impres- sive drives in the third quarter and had a 16-minute advantage in time of possession to tie No. 14 Washington atop the Pac-12 North. Arizona State (3-4, 1-3) was held to a field goal in the first half before Manny Wilkins scrambled for a 10-yard touch- down run in the fourth quarter to pull the Sun Devils within 20-13. Arizona State got the ball back at its own 16 -yard line with 2:20 left, but couldn’t get off a final play from Stanford’s 20 after a short gain. Wilkins threw for 353 yards, but the Sun Devils turned it over three times, including one on a failed trick play, to lose for the fourth time in five games. AP Photo/Darryl Webb Stanford’s Sean Barton intercepts a pass in- tended for Arizona State’s Kyle Williams. 1940 — Alabama ends Tennes- see’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters, but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6. 1960 — After 13 years in Min- neapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati. 1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com