Sports
Westplex Today Sports Page: June 16, 2008
By Jay Murry
Jun 16, 2008 - 7:48:21 AM

Westplex Today Sports Page:   June 16, 2008

The Cardinals scored the winning run in the tenth inning thanks to a pair of Philadelphia errors as they beat the Phillies 7-6 yesterday at Busch Stadium.  Skip Schumaker and Troy Glaus hit home runs for the Cards, who improved to 42-29 to remain 3 ½ games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central Division.  Anthony Reyes, who was just recalled from Memphis , pitched one inning of scoreless relief to earn his second win of the year, as the Redbirds rebounded from a 20-2 loss on Friday night to beat the visitors Saturday and Sunday.  The Cardinals have a day off today before opening an interleague series against the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina had to be taken to the hospital after a collision at home plate during yesterday’s game against the Phillies.  Molina was injured after he was bowled over by Philadelphia 's Eric Bruntlett.  Bruntlett was ruled out as Molina held on to the ball, but Molina remained down for several minutes after his head and shoulders slammed into the dirt beside home plate.  The 26-year-old Molina was put in a neck brace, placed on a stretcher and immediately taken by ambulance to a local hospital for further evaluation.  He sustained a mild concussion and was hospitalized as a precautionary measure.  Molina is batting .295 with three homers and 24 RBI this season.

The Cardinals also activated pitcher Jason Isringhausen from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday.  Isringhausen was placed on the DL on May 16th with a right hand laceration.  Before the injury, the 35-year-old was demoted from his closing role after blowing six of his 17 opportunities.  In 21 games, he is 1-and-5 with an 8.00 ERA.  The team also recalled pitcher Anthony Reyes from Triple-A Memphis.  To make room on the roster, the Cards optioned pitcher Mark Worrell and outfielder Joe Mather to Memphis .

The Cubs have not allowed the Cardinals to make a dent in their division lead.   The Cubs boosted their baseball-best record to 45-25 with a 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday.  Ted Lilly pitched six scoreless innings to improve to 7-5.  Chicago first baseman Derrek Lee had two hits and three RBI and third baseman Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the Cubs' four-run seventh inning.  The Cubs may have a tough time maintaining their 3 ½ game lead, since they travel to Tampa to face the Tampa Bay Rays, contenders for the AL East crown.  On the other hand, the Cardinals get to play the struggling Royals.  

The Washington Wild Things plated a run in the first inning and another in the second on their way to a 4-1 win over the River City Rascals Sunday.  Former Rascal Aaron Ledbetter pitched a complete game five-hitter to pick up the win for the Wild Things, and the loss drops the Rascals to 13-11 after they lost two out of three games in Washington , Pennsylvania .   The Rascals are still in second place in the West Division of the Frontier League as they return home to face their most important stretch of the season.   The Rascals will host the first-place Evansville Otters tonight to begin a three-game series at T.R. Hughes Ballpark, then they will host third-place Southern Illinois .   The Rascals will need your support during this important week.   For ticket information, call 240-BATS or go to www.rivercityrascals.com.  

In indoor football:   The River City Rage lost their final game of the regular season 44-23 to the Billings Outlaws at the Family Arena in St. Charles .   The Rage fell to 6-8 this season, but they still get to host a first-round UIF playoff game against the Sioux City Bandits this Saturday at the Family Arena.   The Rage drew over 3300 fans to their regular season finale, but they need more fan support for the playoffs.   Call 636-896-4285 or go to www.ragefootball.com for ticket information.

Now, let’s take a look at the national sports scene:

In auto racing:  After a 76-race drought, Dale Earnhardt Jr. needed a little bit of luck to get to the oasis of the winner’s circle.   Running on fumes and starting a 2-lap sprint to the finish, Junior caught a break when Patrick Carpentier spun out and forced a caution flag to be issued.   That allowed Dale Jr. to finish the race under yellow, and to coast in to the finish line.   His pit crew had to push his car to the winner’s circle because it ran out of gas, but that was a sweet ride for Junior, who captured the LifeLock 400 Sprint Cup race at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.  The victory is Earnhardt's first since 2006 and the 18th of his "Cup" career.  

Earnhardt Jr. coasted across the finish line just ahead of Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth in a green-white-checker finish.  Brian Vickers and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five.  Kyle Busch, who finished 13th, will take a 32-point lead over Jeff Burton and an 84-point lead over Earnhardt Jr. to the next race, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 22nd at the Infineon Raceway.

In golf:   Tiger Woods had a one-shot lead entering the final round of the U.S. Open yesterday.   However, he spent much of his final round hitting golf shots like me.   Despite teetering on the brink of disaster on the front nine, Tiger recovered on the back nine and made some brilliant shots, including a 12-foot putt on the 18^th hole that rolled around the lip of the cup before it fell in.  

That putt created an 18-hole playoff between Tiger and Rocco Mediate, to be played today beginning at 11 a-m .   It will be #1 vs. #158, and Mediate is hoping to become the oldest player to win a U.S. Open at age 45.   Tiger is looking to win his 14^th major tournament of his career and take one step closer to equaling Jack Nicklaus.

In pro basketball:   The NBA Finals is headed back to Beantown.  The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 103-98 in Game Five at the Staples Center .  Kobe Bryant scored 15 of his 25 points in the first quarter for the Lakers.  Bryant says he wanted to provide his team with a spark by getting off to a fast start.

L.A. led by as many as 19 early and blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before pulling out the win to extend its season.  Lamar Odom added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Pau Gasol finished with 19 points, 13 boards and six assists in the victory.  Paul Pierce put home a game-high 38 points for Boston , which still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.  Kevin Garnett totaled 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who will try to close it out in Game Six at home on Tuesday.  No club has ever come back after trailing the NBA Finals 3-1, with teams 0-28 all-time.

In tennis:   The King of Clay is now a grass court champion too.  Four-time French Open champ Rafael Nadal notched his first grass court title with a 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic in the Queen's Club final, a tournament used as preparation for the upcoming Wimbledon tournament.  Nadal is the first Spaniard to win a grass court title since 1972.

In soccer:   The U.S. men’s team began its qualifying efforts for the 2010 World Cup by overwhelming Barbados 8-nil yesterday in Carson , California .

In Olympic wrestling:   Former Missouri Tiger All-American Ben Askren will be heading to Bejing later this summer after qualifying for the USA Olympic Wrestling Team over the weekend.  Askren was the top seed in the 74-kilogram weight class at the qualifying tournament in Las Vegas .  Askren became Missouri 's first national wrestling champion as a junior in 2006 and repeated the feat as a senior in 2007.  The 2008 Summer Olympics open August 8th.  Freestyle wrestling begins August 16th.