Tyler Mahle is pitching well in June. Then again
Rico Gathers Jersey , most everyone is pitching well against the Kansas City Royals this month.
Mahle allowed three hits while working into the seventh, Adam Duvall hit a ninth-inning grand slam and the Cincinnati Reds beat the skidding Royals 7-0 on
Wednesday night.
Mahle (5-6) allowed only one runner to touch second base in 6 1/3 innings, matching his career longest start. He is 2-0 in June, allowing two earned runs
and 14 hits in 16 1/3 innings.
”I was able to make big pitches, get weak contact and guys were able to make plays behind me, and I was able to hold them off long enough for us to score
some runs,” Mahle said.
The Royals have lost nine of 10 and have dropped 23 of 33 home games. They have scored 11 runs in their last eight games and 23 in 12 June games. They have
scored one run in the past 25 innings.
”We’ve got to be better than that,” losing pitcher Jason Hammel said. ”This losing is getting old.”
Kansas City is hitting .147 this month with runners in scoring position, including 1 for 25 in the past six games.
Duvall greeted rookie reliever Jason Adam with his second grand slam in two weeks, driving a 2-2 pitch over the left-center wall.
”He threw me a couple of curveballs earlier in that at-bat, but I knew he liked his heater,” Duvall said. ”That’s what I was looking for there. It’s a
good feeling to come in here and win two.”
Hammel (2-7) allowed three runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings. The Royals committed three errors, including two in the seventh helping the Reds score two
runs.
”I know guys are not trying to kick the ball, not try to misplay it
Michael Gallup Jersey , but at this level those things affect the outcome,” Hammel said. ”That’s the game in a nutshell.”
Alex Gordon, a five-time American League Gold Glove winner, made two defensive gems in the sixth inning. Curt Casali singled off the left-field
bullpen fence and tried to stretch it into a double. Gordon threw him out from
the warning track for his fifth outfield assist this season and the 85th of his
career.
Two pitches later, Gordon made a diving head-first catch of Billy Hamilton’s liner to rob him of a hit.
”The first thing that went through my mind, is no wonder he’s a gold, platinum glove winner,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He’s just so fantastic
out there.”
Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier grounded into double plays to end the first two Royals innings.
Mahle retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced after Gordon walked in the second inning.
The Royals didn’t have a runner touch second base until Whit Merrifield doubled with two out in the sixth.
STREAKING REDS
Scooter Gennett had two singles, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. … Jose Peraza has reached base in 15 consecutive games. … Reliever Jared Hughes,
who pitched a scoreless inning, has not allowed a run in 15 straight
appearances.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: 1B Lucas Duda (right foot plantar fasciitis) is doing on-the-field activity. Yost said he is hopeful Duda will go out on a minor league rehab
assignment this weekend.
UP NEXT
Reds: They are off Thursday before RHP Matt Harvey will start Friday in Pittsburgh.
Royals: After an off-day Thursday, the Royals will open a three-game home series Friday with the Houston Astros. RHP Jakob Junis will be the KC starter
for the opener.
The NBA offseason has arrived, which means nothing will happen for the next four months other than a draft, three summer
leagues
Mike Ditka Jersey , free agency, the creation of a new schedule, coaching hires, trades, roster reworkings and possibly movement toward letting
high school graduates jump directly into the league again.
It all adds up to very little downtime.
There is no shortage of questions about what will happen this summer – leading off, of course, with yet another decision to be made by LeBron James
about his future and where he’ll play next season as he resumes his quest for
more championships.
Here are some non-James topics heading into the offseason:
KAWHI LEONARD
The mystery of the 2017-18 NBA season is the mystery of the offseason as well. Leonard played in only nine games for the Spurs this season while dealing
with a leg injury, the specifics of which are a closely guarded secret even by
San Antonio’s notoriously tight-lipped standards. He could get a supermax deal,
he could get traded, he might still be hurt. But the Spurs – and the league –
need answers, because he can change a lot of directions in a hurry.
COACHES
The vacancies in Detroit and Toronto should be filled soon. The Pistons might be best-served to hire Dwane Casey, who led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the
Eastern Conference this season. This is a crucial hire for the Raptors, since
whoever will be calling the shots next season will have a team that should be
good enough to contend for the East title.
THE DRAFT
Arizona center Deandre Ayton will likely go No. 1 to Phoenix, which makes sense on a lot of levels. The intrigue really starts there. Does Vlade Divac use
the No. 2 overall pick and bring Luka Doncic
Charles Haley Jersey , the young Slovenian who has been talked about as a can’t-miss NBA star for some time, to Sacramento? What does Atlanta do at No. 3?
Inevitably, someone will move up on draft night and that probably means an
established player (or players) will be on the move.
GAMBLING
The Supreme Court ruling already has bets on games being placed in Delaware, and more states will be following suit soon. Expect the NBA to continue pushing
for 1 percent of the action, which the league says is needed in part to cover
what will be its new costs as far as protecting the integrity of the game and
the players. It’s also unclear if injury reports will have to be more
specialized in a betting world. Wouldn’t bettors have liked knowing LeBron James
had a badly injured – he says broken – hand in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the NBA
Finals?
OFFICIATING
The NBA knows fans, players and coaches aren’t thrilled with the level of officiating in the league right now. This will absolutely be a big topic – maybe
the primary topic – when the board of governors meet in Las Vegas next month.
Also, there will be a challenge-flag-type item tinkered with during summer
league games; it won’t be a red cloth like in the NFL, but the concept will be
the same as the league studies whether something like that should be added.
THE LAKERS
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka should have about $62 million in cap space to go shopping with when free agency opens July 1 – including for James, meaning
the Lakers could get transformed and become a playoff team again in a hurry.
Expect them to use the No. 25 pick in the draft on a 3-point shooter, since no
team can surround James with enough of those.
CHRIS PAUL AND PAUL GEORGE
Again, like so many other topics, the futures of Chris Paul and Paul George will probably have some impact on whatever James decides to do this summer – or
vice versa. Paul wants a max contract, and if his hamstring didn’t pop late in
Game 5 of the Western Conference finals he and the Houston Rockets may very well
have been in the NBA Finals. George seemed to be hinting that he could stay in
Oklahoma City
Ramik Wilson Jersey , but is a Los Angeles native. It seems likely that either, or both, would try to align with James – but how?
THE PELICANS
Yes, the Pelicans. West semifinalists this season, New Orleans needs to decide what it wants to do with DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo. The Pelicans
have already given coach Alvin Gentry an extension , and keeping either Cousins
or Rondo – or both – to play alongside Anthony Davis might make New Orleans a
sleeper pick in the West next season. Question is, will Cousins be full-go
coming off his Achilles injury.
THE HEAT
Dwyane Wade has been talking about retirement, and there’s been no indication yet if he’s anywhere near a decision. Miami is in a tough situation on the cash
front – Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Goran Dragic and James Johnson will
make nearly $78 million themselves next season – and the Heat wants to find a
way to keep Wayne Ellington. What will Wade do? And if he stays, how much can
the Heat pay him? Or do they make big trades and add some star power?
THE KNICKS
Two questions for the Knicks to figure out: Will they allow David Fizdale the time he needs to build the team he wants? And what will they do with Kristaps
Porzingis this season? Give Fizdale time, and he’ll win in New York. But rushing
Porzingis back off ACL surgery could be a most unnecessary risk for a team that
isn’t going to contend next season anyway.
—
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