Westplex Today Sports Page:   June 18, 2008

Mike Aviles lifted a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to lead the Kansas City Royals past the Cardinals 2-1 last night in the opener of a three game series.  Veteran reliever Ron Villone gave up the home run and took the loss.  He is 1-2 on the year.  Joel Piniero made the start and pitched seven solid innings, giving up one run on seven hits.  He walked none and struck out four.  Kyle Davies improved to 3-0 for Kansas City .  The Redbirds dropped to 42-30, but remain three-and-a-half games behind the Cubs in the NL Central Division.

The Cardinals are beginning to miss the offense that Albert Pujols provides, especially against the Royals.   Pujols feasts off of Royals pitching, logging 10 home runs and 38 RBIs in 33 games against Kansas City , while posting a .394 batting average.   He still has approximately two more weeks to heal a strained calf muscle, and if Yadier Molina and his .295 batting average are out for any length of time, the Cardinals will have two big holes to fill until their return.

The Cardinals received some good news yesterday regarding numerous injuries.  Veteran pitcher Chris Carpenter was evaluated on Monday by Dr. James Andrews and based upon the tests of his elbow, Carpenter will return to Jupiter to continue his throwing rehab program.  Carpenter is recovering from elbow surgery. 

Left-hander Mark Mulder threw a bullpen session at Busch Stadium yesterday and said he felt good.  He is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.  Matt Clement is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game for Memphis on Friday.  Adam Wainwright is continuing therapy on his sprained right middle finger and Todd Wellemeyer will skip his next start on Thursday as a precaution, due to some elbow inflammation.  Anthony Reyes will take the mound for the Cards in the getaway game against the Royals.

A positive sign for the Cardinals in a 2-1 loss to the Royals was the scoreless inning of relief posted by Jason Isringhausen.   Izzy recently returned from the disabled list after suffering a lacerated hand and a drop in confidence following a disastrous May.   Isringhausen faced five batters last night, and the only blemish on his stint was an infield error.

As we mentioned earlier this week, the Cardinals benefitted from the Cubs’ trip to Tampa .   The Cubs rallied for a run in the ninth inning, but fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last night.  The Rays stroked a pair of solo home runs and then scored the winning run on a single in the seventh.  Neal Cotts took the loss, his first of the season.  So, the Cardinals stay 3 ½ games behind the Cubs, despite losing to the struggling Royals.  

In minor-league baseball:   A four-run third inning and a six-run fourth carried the River City Rascals past the Evansville Otters 10-1 last night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.  Chris Clem struck out 10 Evansville batters and gave up an unearned run in eight innings of work, and Phil Laurent homered and added three RBIs to the Rascals’ attack.   The Rascals took sole possession of first place in the Frontier League West Division with the victory, improving to 15-11 on the year.   The Rascals go for the sweep tonight at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, with the first pitch at 7:05 .

On the national sports scene: The Boston Celtics are champions of the NBA for the first time in 22 years.  Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Celtics to a 131-92 rout of the Lakers in Game Six of the NBA Finals in Boston .  Celtics forward Paul Pierce was named the Most Valuable Player of the series, but Ray Allen provided the daggers that defeated the Lakers by scoring 26 points on a record-tying seven 3-point baskets.   Rajon Rondo showed that he was fully recovered from injury by adding 21 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds with only one turnover while running the Celtics’ offense.  

The Celtics' 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a clinching game of the NBA Finals.  It was fueled by a 34-15 Celtic advantage in the 2^nd quarter that gave the Celtics a 23-point halftime lead.   And, the lead grew to 42 points late in the 4^th quarter before the celebration began in earnest for the Celtics.  

Boston won the best-of-seven series 4-2 to notch their 17th NBA title and first since 1986.  Kobe Bryant scored 22 points to lead the Lakers, but he was held by Rondo to 7-of-22 shooting.   Lamar Odom added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Los Angeles in defeat.   The Lakers were denied their 15th championship all-time and first since 2002. 

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said on Tuesday that the United States ’ Olympic team roster will be announced on Monday in Chicago .  It is expected that LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers will be a part of a group that will head to Beijing for the Summer Olympics in August.  James was a member of Team USA last year when the squad went unbeaten in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

In golf:   Don't expect to see Tiger Woods on the course of Congressional Country Club next month.  The "London Times" reports that the superstar will miss the Buick Open late this month and the AT&T National in Bethesda , Maryland over the Fourth of July weekend due to a sore knee.  Tiger aggravated the injury while playing so much golf at the U.S. Open this past weekend into Monday.  Woods outlasted Rocco Mediate in a playoff Monday to win the championship. 

The next major tournament on the PGA Tour is the British Open.  That is scheduled to tee off the 17th of next month and the newspaper says Woods is doubtful for that event, as well.   If Tiger can’t tee off for the British Open, his scheduled appearance in the BMW Championship in St. Louis would also appear to be in jeopardy.

In college baseball:   Fresno State defeated North Carolina by a score of 5-3 in the College World Series in Omaha .  Fresno State has now won two straight and just need one more win to get to the best-of-three championship round.  North Carolina will face LSU tomorrow night in an elimination round in Bracket Two.  The winner of that game will go against the Bulldogs on Friday.

The Stanford Cardinal faces a "must win" situation this afternoon as they battle the Miami Hurricanes in Bracket One.   The Cardinal dropped to 1-1 in the double-elimination tournament after suffering a tough 4-3 loss on Monday to the Georgia Bulldogs. Meanwhile, the top-seeded Hurricanes kept their season alive with Monday's 7-5 victory over cross-state rival Florida State .  First pitch from Rosenblatt Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The winner will face unbeaten Georgia in the finals of Bracket One this Friday.  

The memorable member of the first U.S. gymnastics team to win the women's gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, is headed to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.  The "Los Angeles Times" reports Kerri Strug and her Atlanta teammates will be inducted tomorrow night in ceremonies at the Harris Theater in Chicago .  Strug burned a lasting image in peoples minds as she took her final vault of the team competition with severe ankle pain and needed to be carried to the awards stand in the arms of her coach, Bela Karolyi.  The entire team known as the "Magnificent Seven" will be featured in a gymnastics exhibition at Chicago 's Union Station tomorrow.