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Feb 22 '19
PHOENIX -- This season is a lost cause for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and now some players are just trying to ensure themselves opportunities in the future.Brandon Drury strengthened his case with a timely hit Sunday.The 24-year-old utility player singled with two outs in the 12th inning to score Paul Goldschmidt, lifting the Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-9.Drury tied a career high with four hits, including a home run, and got his chance in the 12th after the Dodgers intentionally walked Jake Lamb. Ross Stripling (4-8) got the loss.It was Drurys third game-ending RBI since mid-July. He is batting .412 (33 for 80) with five doubles, five homers and 17 RBI in his last 22 games.Drury has also reached base safely in 15 straight games.The game lasted 4 hours, 29 minutes. Matt Koch (1-0) won for Arizona, his first career win.The Dodgers maintained their five-game lead in the NL West over San Francisco after the Giants lost earlier Sunday. Los Angeles hosts the Giants for a three-game series that starts Monday.Goldschmidt stretched a base hit into a double with two outs in the 12th, then Lamb was issued a walk to bring up Drury.A credit to Goldschmidt. Oh for 5 and hes still running out singles up the middle and he turns it into a double, Stripling said. And then we intentionally walk the lefty to get to Drury, whos had a good day. Get 1-1 and try to throw a heater up and it just kind of stays middle-middle.Howie Kendrick broke a 7-all tie in the eighth with a two-out, two-run double, but Chris Owings hit a two-run home run with two outs in the eighth to make it 9-9.The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with walks in the eighth and had a chance to regain the lead after blowing a 6-0 advantage, but Mitch Haniger grounded out sharply to third base to end the inning.Both teams had two runners on base in the ninth but couldnt deliver. Owings struck out against Stripling with the potential winning run at third base in the ninth.Adrian Gonzalezs pinch-hit double in the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded tied it at 7, part of a six-run inning for Los Angeles.Haniger, another young player trying to show well, had three hits, including a two-run homer.We dont worry about if were going to get a hit or score runs, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. We just worry about getting a good at-bat and hitting the ball hard. And thats their mindset.Starter Robbie Ray struck out eight of the first 14 batters and did not allow a hit until the fifth, when Kike Hernandez homered with two outs. Ray lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on five hits, eight strikeouts and a pair of walks.The Diamondbacks tagged starter Jose De Leon for six runs, four of those earned, in 3 2/3 innings. De Leon, a rookie whod won his first two starts, gave up seven hits.Arizonas Jean Segura had his 22nd game with three or more hits this season, which tied a club record.WATSON OUTThe Diamondbacks are parting with senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson, and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa said he and general manager Dave Stewart may also be fired after the season.La Russa announced Watsons departure and said he will meet with owner Ken Kendrick and president and CEO Derrick Hall eventually about his status. The Diamondbacks are a disappointing 63-86 this season.If it gets turned over the next person, you gladly turn it over, La Russa said. When were 20 games under .500, I felt if youre looking at the front office, the most responsible person, it would be me.Watson was in his second season with the club and oversaw the franchises player development and professional, amateur and international scouting departments.PEDERSON TOSSEDDodgers center fielder Joc Pederson was ejected for arguing a called third strike in the eighth inning, the fifth ejection for the team this season and his first.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: Roberts said pitcher Scott Kazmir developed a blister while throwing a simulated game Sunday. Hes been on the disabled list with a neck problem since Aug. 23. ... Pitcher Alex Wood, normally a starter, will be activated from the 60-day disabled list on Monday, and Roberts plan is to start him out of the bullpen for an inning. It figures to be Woods role for however long the Dodgers season lasts.UP NEXTDodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-3, 1.81) gets the start against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner on Monday night in Los Angeles. Kershaw has had two starts since coming off the 60-day disabled list earlier this month. You look at the way our rotation is configured, the same way the Giants is configured, Roberts said. It gives the best chance against those guys and I think they feel the same about playing against us.Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks begin a 10-game trip in San Diego on Monday, with Braden Shipley (4-3, 5.56) on the mound against Clayton Richard. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. China Jerseys . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Ohio State could wind up ranked No. 2 in the country at the end of the season and not make its conference championship game.The Buckeyes lost control of their destiny last Saturday not because of what they did on the field in their second consecutive 62-3 victory but as a result of Michigans loss at Iowa.The Wolverines first setback this season pushed them into a three-way tie with Ohio State and Penn State atop the Big Ten East Division.What the season comes down to is this: If the Buckeyes win their final two games, against Michigan State on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN) and Michigan the following week, theyll need the Nittany Lions to lose one of their final two games against Rutgers and Michigan State to secure a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game.If Michigan had remained undefeated entering its annual showdown with Ohio State and then lost to the Buckeyes, it would have created a three-way tie atop the standings, assuming Penn State wins out. The tiebreaker scenario in that case would have favored Ohio State.Michigan, meanwhile, still controls its fate. Penn State, by virtue of an upset of Ohio State, has the next-best chance of going to Indianapolis.So, for the second straight year, Ohio State could ultimately end up being the best team in the Big Ten at the end of the season and not make the conference title game.The question then becomes: Would a one-loss Ohio State team that didnt win its conference championship still land one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff?I see it like this: If we win out all our games, Big Ten championship or not, youre not going to put us in? Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett asked. Like youre going to leave Ohio State out? That doesnt make sense to me.The answers will be provided in the next three weeks. In the meantime, all the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) can do is prepare for Saturdays visit to East Lansing to take on the struggling Spartans (3-7, 1-6), who entered the week as 24-point underdogs.Novembers here and we have a big one coming, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said.Entering the season, Saturdays matchup against Michigan State was one of the games circled on the calendar as a potential blockbuster. But the Spartans, after winning the Big Ten championship a year ago, limp into the game with just one conference win, which finally came last Saturday when they ended a seven-game losing streak with a 49-0 victory over Rutgers.Weve come to play every single foottball game, so its unfortunate where were at, said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, a former Ohio State assistant.dddddddddddd But you cant look past it. You cant look backward here; you have to look to the future. Ohio State is a big game for us, for this program, and always has been. A lot of guys from Ohio, so its a special game in that respect.All thats left for Michigan State now is the chance to impact the Big Ten East race in their final two games against Big Ten East co-leaders Ohio State and Penn State. A win Saturday would be a stunner, but the Spartans werent expected to win last year in Columbus.We have reasons to play, even if its in a spoiler fashion, Dantonio said. There are possibilities as we go forward. And I think that as we look at who were playing -- two very good football teams, two Top 10 football teams -- weve got our work cut out for us as we always do. But weve got every reason to play.Ohio State shouldnt have any problems getting hyped for this one, knowing whats at stake as far as their championship hopes. The Buckeyes undoubtedly will also remember the pain of their only loss last year, when Michigan State spoiled a perfect season with an upset on the last play of the game in the rain in Columbus.As the Buckeyes left the field last Saturday in College Park, Md., hours before Michigan stumbled at Iowa, they were feeling good about their performance against Maryland and thinking about avenging the 2015 loss to Michigan State.Theres a little bit of human element that comes into the game, especially with them ruining senior night for us last year and ruining the season we were supposed to have last year, Ohio State guard Billy Price said. Its in the back of your head, absolutely.Ohio State appears to have ironed out issues on offense since the Oct. 22 loss at Penn State, outscoring Nebraska and Maryland 124-3 in the last two games.Theres more of a concerted effort to get the ball in H-back Curtis Samuels hands. He has game-breaking talent -- he is the only FBS player with at least 600 yards rushing (637) and receiving (750), and he has 13 touchdowns (seven rushing, six receiving).He just knows how to make a play, Buckeyes cornerback Marshon Lattimore said. He knows how to go out there and do what he has to do to put us in a position to win. I love when he touches the ball. ' ' '
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