Sports – Monday, July 31st, 2017
Jose Martinez tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with his seventh homer of the year, a two-run shot to right field; and untied the game in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to right that plated Jedd Gyorko as the St. Louis Cardinals split the series with the Arizona Diamondbacks winning Sunday, 3-2. Lance Lynn in what could be his last start as a Cardinal, went six innings and struggled with his control walking five and striking out three, but got the win to improve to 9-6 on the year. Trevor Rosenthal set down the Diamondbacks in order in the 9th inning to get his sixth save to finish off a 5-2 home stand. The Cards are off today and will be in Milwaukee Tuesday night to face the Brewers.
Alex Gordon smashed a two-run triple to cap a four-run eighth inning for Kansas City as the Royals rallied past the Boston Red Sox for a 5-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Gordon’s heroics were preceded by a game-tying two-run single with the bases loaded for Alcides Escobar, who had three RBIs total to help Kansas City take the rubber match of its three-game series. Royals’ starter Jason Hammel (5-8) gave up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. The Royals will face the Baltimore Orioles tonight.
The Royals on Sunday beefed up their offense, acquiring outfielder Melky Cabrera and cash from the White Sox for Minor League pitchers A.J. Puckett and Andre Davis. The 32-year old Cabrera played for the Royals in 2011. Cabrera, a switch-hitter, likely will be part of a left-field-right-field-DH rotation with Alex Gordon, Jorge Bonifacio and Brandon Moss.
The St. Louis Blues have signed goalie Jordan Binnington to a one-year, two-way contract. Binnington has spent the last three seasons with the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Last season, Binnington played in 32 games, posting a 16-7-3 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .911 save-percentage. The 24-year-old goaltender was originally drafted by the Blues with their third round pick (88th overall) at the 2011 NHL Draft.