Charros Sweep Mazatlan with 16-0 Win

The Charros de Jalisco welcomed the Venados de Mazatlan to Zapopan on Tuesday for a three game series and "swept" them out of town on Thursday with a 16-0 victory. The shutout was the third win in a row and they held Mazatlan scoreless for 22 consecutive innings in the series.

Marco Tovar won the game for his third victory of the season. Tovar tossed 7 innings of 3 hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 3 and lowered his ERA to 1.67. Mario Mendoza  pitched a perfect 8th inning in relief and Luis Rodriguez worked the 9th, giving up a single before getting Olmo Rosario to strike out swinging to end the game. Alejandro Martinez took the loss for Mazatlan and dropped to 0-3 on the year.

The Charros scored 27 runs on 38 hits during the series. It was the second series sweep of the year for Jalisco and the 2nd time in 3 games that the Charros hit 4 home runs.

The game was a scoreless pitcher's duel until the bottom of the 3rd when Gabriel Gutierrez led off with a single. Jesus Lopez followed with a single and both runners scored on a home run by Manny Rodriguez. The next batter, Leo Heras, homered to right for the 4-0 lead and the rout was on.

Marquez Smith led off the 4th with a double and moved to third on a ground out to second by Jesus Cota. Smith would score on a Gabriel Gutierrez sac fly to increase the lead to 5-0.

Cory Vaughn reached on a fielder's choice in the 5th and scored in front of Marquez Smith's 5th home run of the year to increase the Charros lead to 7-0.

The Venados brought in Miguel Aguilar to pitch the 6th but he found the going just as rough as the first two hurlers. With one out, Jesus Lopez drew a walk and went to second on a single by Eduardo Arredondo. Manny Rodriguez singled to score Lopez. Aguilar then threw a wild pitch to advance the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Leo Heras followed with a single to score Arredondo and Rodriguez. Japhet Amador followed with a 2 run home run to bring the lead to 12-0 Charros.

The 7th inning saw Jalisco score four more times. With two outs, Eduardo Arredondo drew a walk. Edson Garcia, pinch hitting for Manny Rodriguez, tripled to center to score Arredondo. Amadeo Zazueta, hitting for Leo Heras, walked to put runners at 1st and 3rd with two outs. Japhet Amador hit his second home run of the night, and 8th of the year, and his 3rd, 4th and 5th RBIs of the game for the 16-0 lead and the final score.

Marquez Smith was 3 for 4 with a home run, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Jesus Lopez also went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Japhet Amador was 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Leo Heras was 2 for 4 with a home run, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Manny Rodriguez, the leading hitter in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico was 2 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. His average stands at .368 on the season. Eduardo Arredondo, the lead off hitter for the Charros, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Tonight was a special offensive show for the Charros and the series was a display of power the league has not seen from Jalisco thus far. The offense was backed up by excellent pitching for three games with the effort by Tovar tonight the best by a Jalisco starting pitcher this season.

The win moves the Charros to 14-9 on the year while the Venados de Mazatlan fell to 12-10, a full game behind the Charros.

Raul Ibanez to Manage the Rays?

The Tampa Bay Rays have 8 potential managerial candidates, so far, to take over for Joe Maddon in 2015. Raul Ibanez is one of them.

Other possible managers include Dave Martinez, Rays bench coach for the last eight years, Manny Acta, former Indians and Nationals manager, Craig Counsell, Charlie Montoyo, currently a minor league manager, Ron Wotus, former Seattle Mariner manager Don Wakamatsu and Kevin Cash.

Rays President of Baseball Operations, Matt Silverman, has said the list will grow as the process continues.

When one looks at the experience possessed by most of the candidates, it is hard to imagine Raul Ibanez being picked to lead a major league team when he has no prior managerial experience and has only been out of baseball for a little over a month.

But as the saying goes, stranger things have happened!

Alabama/LSU Preview with my Prediction

The Crimson Tide of Alabama take on the LSU Tigers this weekend in a game with playoff implications for Alabama.

Alabama comes into the game at 7-1, their only loss to a very good Ole Miss team, 23-17, on October 4th. Since then the Tide narrowly beat Arkansas 14-13, pummeled Texas A&M 59-0 and beat a resurgent Tennessee team 34-20.

LSU on the other hand is 7-2 with losses to #1 Mississippi State 34-29 and two weeks later to then #5 Auburn 41-7. Last week LSU beat then #3 Ole Miss 10-7 that took a goal line interception to preserve the win.

Currently, Alabama sits at #5 with LSU at #16. Alabama is just outside the CFP (College Football Poll) ranking of the top 4 teams that will compete for the National Championship in the first ever college football playoffs.

Mississippi State and FSU are the only undefeated teams in the CFP rankings and are #1 and #2 respectfully. Auburn is #3 at 7-1 and Oregon is 8-1 and #4 in the rankings.

A solid win by Alabama in this game would go far toward cracking the top four in the CFP rankings just as a loss could seriously damage Alabama from consideration. Mississippi State plays UT-Martin this week but travels to Alabama on November 15th for a crucial game. FSU plays the University of Miami this week but could face a challange on the 29th of November when they face a tough test against Florida. Oregon plays #17 Utah on Saturday but shouldn't have a tough test until playing Arizona for the Pac-12 title.

In the Alabama/LSU game, Alabama enters the contest second in the nation allowing just 14 points per game while they are 19th in scoring at 36.5 points a game. They average 219 yards rushing and 291 yards passing every game.

LSU is 4th in the land allowing just 15.9 points per game but they are 101st against the pass, giving up an average of 189 yards through the air per game. LSU does score 33 points per game. These two teams are pretty evenly matched.

An intangible for the Tigers may be "Death Valley" where, Coach Les Miles says "...team's dreams come to die".

Nick Saban wants more than anything to be a part of the 1st College Football Playoff. His defense is strong and he has a resurgent offense under Offensive Coordinator, Lane Kiffen.

Against good teams, Les Miles is 2-2. He opened the season with a 28-24 win in Wisconsin, lost to Mississippi State by 5, Lost to Auburn 41-7 and beat Ole Miss by 3, 10-7.

My prediction is this, Alabama will win the game 20-10 and with some good luck over the next three weeks the Tide will roll into the playoffs with a very good chance of winning it all.

Phillies Trying to Dump Big Salaries?

Craig Calcaterra, writing for hardballtalk.com, has posted a tweet by Howard Eskin, Sports Director for WTFX in Philadelphia, in which Eskin calls Marlon Byrd, Jonathan papalbin and Cliff Lee bad locker room guys. Eskin opines that for this reason, the Phillies want to get rid of these, and other players. Calcaterra's contention is that the Phillies are really about setting low expectations for the fans when Philly gets low return on any deals.

I agree with Craig. the Phillies are old, overpaid and under performing. Ruben Amaro Jr. has not used a forward thinking mindset when signing players to long term deals or trading for older players. The result is that Philadelphia has given up young talent for a projected short term gain that has not materialized.

Read Calcaterra's short article here.

Separation Weekend in College Football

Heather Dinich has a real good article on this week in College Football and how different outcomes in games will effect the entire playoff picture.

Read Heather's article here.

Although the games this week will go far in determining the playoff picture, the SEC appears to have a lock on at least two positions. If the SEC can avoid a 2nd and 3rd place finish, we could wind up with an SEC final.

It's hard for me to think that Oregon can hold on to the 4th spot with no big games remaining as it is unlikely that a Big 12 team could vault enough teams to reach the top 4. What might prove fatal to the SEC is if the Playoff Committee deems it unfair to put a 2 loss SEC team, albeit a good team, ahead of a 1 loss Pac 12 or Big 12 team.

Jazz Top Cavs 102-100 on Buzzerbeater by Hayward

Gordon Hayward, of the Utah Jazz, hit a game winning jump shot at the buzzer that sent the Cleveland Cavaliers to their second consecutive loss, 102-100.

LeBron James had 31 points in the losing effort as Cleveland falls to 1-3 on the year.

The Jazz out rebounded the Cavs 41-30 and had 26 assists to the Cavalier's 6.

Kyle Irving had 34 points for Cleveland but the point guard had no assists. Kevin Love added 14 for Cleveland.

Hayward and Derrick Favors each had 21 points to lead the Jazz while Favors added 10 boards.

LeBron had this to say about the Cavaliers early season troubles.

''Rome wasn't built in a day and we understand that,'' James said. ''You have to continue to work the process. You hate to lose as competitors, but we felt like tonight we improved. We improved and proved in the second half we're capable of playing some good basketball.''

Read the Yahoo Sports article by Matthew Coles of the AP here.

Cleveland travels to Denver to face the Nuggets on Friday while the Jazz will host the Dallas Mavericks on the same day.

Jerry Jones Insists Romo Must Play on Sunday

The Dallas Cowboys meet the Jacksonville Jaguars in London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday. The Cowboys are 6-3 and in the hunt for a playoff spot this year. The Jaguars are 1-8 and going nowhere this season. In the end this is a meaningless game for the Cowboys. Dallas is a 6 1/2 point favorite and should beat the Jaguars handily.

Cowboy quarterback, Tony Romo, suffered two transverse process fractures in his back during the game against the Redskins in late October. Romo left the game but returned in the 4th quarter to try and win the game. He didn't look very good and the Cowboys lost. Head coach Jason Garrett said following the game that owner Jerry Jones did not insist that Garrett put Romo back in the game. Read the rest of this article and extrapolate the data backwards to that game.

Romo made the long flight with little pain he said and he is walking, throwing passes and even participated in team walk through drills this week.

What is a transverse process fracture you ask?

A fracture of a bone is the same as a break in the bone. A fracture of a transverse process is a break of a part of one of the bones in the spine. This part extends out from the side of the main body of the bone (called the vertebral body). A transverse process is shaped like a wing. They extend from both the left and right sides of the vertebral body.

If the injury is limited to a break of a transverse process with no other bone or organ injury, hospital care may not be necessary. Medication for pain control, special back bracing, and limitations in activity are done first followed by physical therapy later.

Romo says if he keeps improving he'll have a good chance of playing. Coach Jason Garrett would not comment on whether or not Romo would play. The only person who speaks of Romo definitely starting is Cowboy owner Jerry Jones.

Remember that Romo had back surgery last off season and these fractures are to the bones on the edges of the spine. Could the consequences of sitting Romo for one more game be that dire? The Cowboys are 6-3 on the season. Yes, they have lost their last 2 games and are in a fight with the Eagles for a playoff spot but the Jaguars are 1-8, their only victory over the Cleveland Browns by a point, and going nowhere. The Cowboys should win this game.

I'm using quotes from Jerry Jones here in an ESPN.com article by Todd Archer to show just how little Jones looks at the future, a player's or the team's, in insisting Romo will play.

"I'm anticipating him playing, have no reason to think that he won't, and this will be a nice little practice session for him out there today," Jones said. "But my expectations are for him to play."

"Any time he can play, we want him to play," Jones said. "We're a better team, to be trite, with him playing. And so as far as the meaningful games, I'm talking about -- we didn't play him in the preseason obviously but felt we could have had we needed him to win the game -- but these games, we don't play many of them. You know that. And every one of them counts so much.

"Invariably any time you do lose one of these games in the regular season, our experience with us, especially these last several years, is we needed every win we could get. There's no such thing as holding him out and forgoing the potential chance that we win.

Romo may well have the best game of his career on Sunday. The Cowboys may make the playoffs by virtue of this win, but is it in the best interest of the team, Tony Romo and the Cowboys fans to take a chance with your 100 million dollar franchise quarterback?

Jalisco Takes Game 2 Of Mazatlan Series 5-0

Adrian Ramirez struck out the side in the top of the 9th to preserve the Charros' win for Graham Godfrey, a 5-0 shutout of the Venados de Mazatlan.

Jalisco started the scoring in the 1st when Leo Heras drew a walk, stole second and came around to score when the Venados catcher, Hector Peaz threw wildly to second. One batter, one run and the Charros led 1-0.

Jesus Lopez doubled to lead off the bottom of the 3rd for the Charros. Cory Vaughn popped up to the catcher but Japhet Amador drew a four pitch walk. Marquez Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Gabriel Gutierrez hit a sac fly to left to score Lopez. Jose Felix then singled to score Amador and the score was 3-0 Jalisco.

In the bottom of the 4th, Amadeo Zazueta singled to start the inning. Edson Garcia followed with a single and Zazueta stopped at second. Leo Heras singled to load the bases with no outs. Jesus Lopez hit into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Zazueta and got Garcia to third. Cory Vaughn walked. The Mazatlan pitcher, Fredy Quintero unleashed a wild pitch that scored Garcia for the 5-0 Jalisco lead and the final margin of victory.

Graham Godfrey picked up his third win of the season, pitching 7 strong innings giving up 6 hits and walking 1, while striking 5. Godfrey lowered his ERA to 1.57. Carlos Vazguez, Hugo Castellanos and Adrian Ramirez held the Venados hitless over the final two innings of the ballgame.

Jose Felix, Amadeo Zazueta and Edson Garcia, the 7, 8 and 9 hitters in the lineup for Jalisco all went 2 for 4 on the night. Marquez Smith was 1 for 3 with a double while Jesus Lopez was 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

The Charros improve to 13-9 on the year while Mazatlan falls 1/2 game behind Jalisco at 12-9. The Yaquiz de Obregon lost the 1st game of a double header to the Tomateros de Culiacn to fall to 12-8, statistically tied with the Charros for first place in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico

Charros Top League Leading Mazatlan 6-4

The Venados de Mazatlan, leading the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico, lost to the Charros de Jalisco on Tuesday, 6-4, to drop the first game of a crucial three game series in Zapopan.

Mazatlan broke out on top early, scoring two runs in the top of the 1st. With two outs, Heber Gomez walked and back-to-back doubles by Ryan Schimpf and Olmo Rosario had the Venados up 2-0.

The Charros got those runs back quickly in their half of the 1st on a double by Manny Rodriguez and a 2 run home run by Japhet Amador. The Charros had tied the game at 2 all.

Jalisco scored a run in the bottom of the 4th. Japhet Amador reached safely on an error by the Venados third baseman and took second on the throw. Jesus Cota singled to move Amador to third. Fernando Valenzuela singled to score Amador and the Charros had a 3-2 lead.

Mazatlan retook the lead in the top of the 5th. Charros starter, Ben Kozlowski walked the lead off man, Derrick Robinson who moved to second on a wild pitch. Albert Carreon walked. Kozlowski threw wildly on a sacrifice bunt by Heber Gomez and Robinson scored. Olmo Rosario grounded out to second to score Carreon and the Venados were on top 4-3.

Manny Rodriguez hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th to tie the game again, this time at 4 apiece.

Japhet Amador hit his second home run of the night, and 6th of the year, to giive the Charros the 5-4 lead in the bottom of the 7th.

Gabriel Gutierrez led off the bottom of the 8th with his first home run of the year and the Charros  went on to defeat Mazatlan 6-4.

Manuel Flores picked up the win in relief of Kozlowski and lowered his ERA to 1.17. Brian Broderick got the save, his 7th of the year, by shutting out the Venados in the top of the 9th. Felipe Gonzalez took the loss for Mazatlan and his record dropped to 1-2 on the year.

Japhet Amador was 2 for 3 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Manny Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, an RBI and 2 runs scored to raise his league leading batting average to .363. Rodriguez also leads the league in doubles with 11. Jesus Lopez was 2 for 4 to get his average back above .300. Gabriel Gutierrez went 1 for 4 with the solo home run.

Jalisco is now 12-9 on the year, 1/2 game behind the 12-8 Venados. The Yaquis de Obregon were rained out last night and lead the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico with a 12-7 record that leads the Charros by a full game.

Baseball Free Agency 2015

There are 165 official free agents following the 2014 major league baseball year.

Yahoo Sports writer, Jeff Passan has them ranked from #1 Max Scherzer, the Tigers ace, who reportedly wants a long term contract worth 200 Million Dollars to #165 Hiroyuki Nakajimi, of the A's, who hit .266 last year in Double A ball.

Some interesting players entering free agancy on Passan's list are, #134, Dan Uggla who will get $13 million from the Braves this year and possibly a World Series ring from the Giants. #120 Daisuke Matsuzaka...how fast does a shooting star fade? Ichiro Suzuki, in at #80. With two or so more good hitting years, Ichiro could reach 3,000 hits. Some team will need a 4th outfielder who can hit and still steal bases.

Read Jeff Passan's article here.

MLB Players Choose Their Best

The players of major league baseball have chosen their top players in several categories. The voting was done on the 16th of September, according to the MLB Players Union.

Clayton Kershaw, of the Dodgers, was picked in 3 categories.
  Player of the Year
  Marvin Miller Man of the Year
  NL Outstanding Pitcher
Giancarlo Stanton, Miami, was chosen as the NL Outstanding Player
Mike Trout, LA Angels, AL Outstanding Player
Seattle's Felix Hernandez was picked as the AL Outstanding Pitcher
Jose Abreu, White Sox, AL Outstanding Rookie
Jacob deGrom, Mets, NL Outstanding Rookie
Miami's Casey Magehee (NL) and Seattle's Chris Young (AL) were chosen as their league's Comeback Players.

Worst Fielders In MLB for 2014 Season

Ryan Fagan, writing for The Sporting News online has a list of the worst fielders for this past season in major league baseball. He uses sabermetric terms such as UZR/150 and even DRS as a tie breaker. To be honest I don't have a clue as to what they really mean, nor do most of my readers I presume, but his article/slideshow is good.

Only three of the 10 fielders came from playoff teams with two of those from the Tigers. Torii Hunter made the list. Some of us remember Torii as the best fielding outfielder not too long ago.

Here's the list:

1B - Ike Davis, Pirates
2B - Jose Altuve, Astros
SS - Yunel Escobar, Rays
3B - Nick Castellanos, Tigers
LF - Domonic Brown Phillies
CF - Dexter Fowler, Astros
RF - Torii Hunter, Tigers
C - Travis d'Arnaud, Mets
SP - Phil Hughes, Twins
RP - Sam Dyson, Marlins

Be sure to check out Fagan's article/slideshow here.

Giants "Luck" Runs Out Against Colts With 40-24 Loss

Andrew Luck completed 25 of 46 passes for 354 yards and 4 TDs against the Giants as the Colts beat the Giants 40-24. Eli Manning was 27 of 52 for 359 yards and 2 TDs in the losing cause.

This was the 1st game in Monday Night Football history when both quarterbacks threw for over 350 yards with no interceptions. The difference in this game may have been that Eli Manning overthrew his receivers, who appeared to have beaten the coverage in several instances, 11 times. The receivers can't help you when you are unable to get the ball close to them.

The Colt's Luck threw for 354 yards, his 5th consecutive road game with at least 350 yards, an NFL record. The NFL record book is at least as thick as the IRS instruction manual. The things they keep track of are amazing. Luck has also thrown for 300+ yards in seven straight games tying him for third place in NFL history with Peyton Manning. It was also Luck's 17th NFL game with over 300 yards in just 2 1/2 years of play.

The run game for both teams was average at best, just enough runs to keep the defense honest. Ahmad Bradshaw, ex Giants running back, led the Colt's with 50 yards on just 7 carries while the Giants could muster only 89 yards on the ground on 20 carries by 5 different backs, including Manning's 18 yards on 1 carry.

Tight End Coby Fleener caught a 32 yard TD from Luck. WR T.Y. Hilton (31 yards), WR Reggie Wayne (40 yards) and TE Dwayne Allen also caught TD passes from Luck. Corey Washington and Larry Donnell were on the receiving end of Manning's 2 TD passes.

Manning and Luck both fumbled twice but Eli lost one. Jonathan Newsome sacked Manning, causing a fumble that Sergio Brown returned to the Giants 4 yard line. Luck then threw his 4th TD pass, a 2 yard toss to TE Dwayne Allen.

The Colts sit atop the AFC South Division at 6-3, two games ahead of the much improved Houston Texans while the Giants fall to 3-5 in the NFC East, three games behind the Eagles and just 1/2 game in front of the hapless Redskins.

Dolphins Shutout Chargers 37-0

The Dolphin's Ryan Tannehill was 24 of 34 passing for 288 yards and 3 TDs in the Dolphins shutout win over the Chargers.

This was the most lopsided loss for the Chargers since 1996 and they were shutout for the 1st time since 1996.

The Chargers have not won in South Florida since 1982.

Pjilip Rivers was held to 138 yards passing on the day with a QB Rating of 31...his lowest since 2007.

Read the Yahoo Sports article here.

Arizona Cardinals Defeat Cowboys 28-17

DeMarco Murray had his record 8 game streak of 100+ yard rushing games halted by the Arizona Cardinals who held hin to 79 yards on 19 carries as Arizona won 28-17.

Carson Palmer was 22 of 34 for 249 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT for the Cardinals who improved to 7-1 on the year while the Cowboys lost their second game in a row to fall to 6-3, 1/2 game behind the Philadelphia Eagles who beat the Houston Texans 31-21.

Brandon Weeden, starting for the Cowboys in place of the injured Tony Romo, was 18 of 37 for 183 yards and a late 4th quarter touchdown pass to Dez Bryant but threw 2 INTs.

"You can't turn the ball over, and that is on me," Weeden said.

Read the ESPN recap here.

St. Louis Rams Beat 49ers 13-10

The St. Louis Rams sacked 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick 8 times, 6 times in the 1st half, and caused him to fumble at the Rams 1 yard line with 2 seconds left in the game as the Rams beat the 49ers 13-10

Read the ESPN recap here.

Brady Outduels Manning in 43-21 New England Win

Tom Brady threw for 333 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT as the Patriots downed the Broncos and Peyton Manning 43-21. Manning was 34 of 57 for 438 yards and 2 TDs but he had 2 INTs.

Manning was forced to attempt so many passes because the Denver rushing game was held to 43 yards on 17 carries and the Broncos were down 27-7 at the half.

"Well, I don't usually stink, but I stunk today," said Manning, 38, who broke into the NFL in 1998, two years before Brady. "I don't make any excuses. "

Julian delman retned a put for a touchdown in the New England win. Brandon Browner and Rob Ninkovich had the interceptions of Manning passes for the Patriots.

Read the ESPN recap here.

Peyton Manning added these comments about the game in a post game press conference. Read it here.

Caneros Take Third Game With Charros 6-3

The Caneros de los Mochis took the series against the Charros 2 games to 1 with a 6-3 win on Sunday behind starter Tomas Solis and 5 relievers.

Murphy Smith took the loss for Jalisco lasting just 1 2/3 innings and giving up 4 runs on 5 hits. Luis Rodriguez relieved Smith and gave up the other two runs on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3. He gave up a solo home run to Rodolfo Amador.

Los Mochis scored four runs in the bottom of the 2nd. Saul Soto and Sandy Madera singled to lead off the inning. Brian Burgamy doubled to score Soto with Madera stopping at third. Madera scored on an Ernesto Molinet ground ball out to third. Roldolfo Amador doubled to drive in Burgamy and Justin Christian doubled to score Amador to give the Caneros the early 4-0 lead.

Antonio Lamas reached safely on a throwing error by the Charros third baseman to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. Charros reliever Luis Rodriguez uncorked a wild pitch that moved Lamas to third. With two outs, Brian Burgamy singled to plate Lamas and the Caneros led 5-0.

Jalisco scored in the top of the 4th. Marquez Smith led off with a double and went to third on a single by Gabriel Gutierrez. With one out, Jose Felix hit a sac fly to right to score Smith and the score was 5-1 Caneros.

Rodolfo Amador homered for los Mochis in the bottom of the 4th to give the Caneros the 6-1 lead.

Edwin Salas replaced Caneros starter, Tomas Solis, in the top of the 6th  and gave up a lead off solo home run to Japhet Amador, his fourth of the year, and the Charros had narrowed the lead to 6-2.

Jesus Lopez led off the top of the 7th with a single. Eduardo Arredondo singled to send Lopez to third and Arredondo took second on the throw. After Manny Rodriguez grounded out 1-3 and Oscar Verdugo was replaced by Fabian Cota for the Caneros, Jesus Cota hit a sac fly to left to score Lopez and Jalisco had pulled to within 3 runs, 6-3.

Jalisco threatened in the top of the 9th. With two outs, Manny Rodriguez doubled. Jesus Cota singled with Rodriguez stopping at third. Japhet Amador walked to load the bases but Marquez Smith struck out swinging to end the game.

Juan Noriega picked up the save, his first of the year, and Tomas Solis improved to 2-1 on the season while lowering his ERA to 2.05.

Gabriel Gutierrez went 3 for 4 for Jalisco and raised his batting average to .304. Japhet Amador was 2 for 4 with the home run. Eduardo Arredondo is starting to hit and went 2 for 4 with a double to raise his average to .207. Manny Rodriguez was 2 for 4 with his 10th double of the year to increase his season's batting average to .356.

Lakers Fall to 0-4 With Loss to Golden State 127-104

The Los Angeles Lakers are in for a rough season if the first 4 games are any indication. Klay Thompson scored 41 points for the Warriors and Stephen Curry added 31 with 10 assists as Golden State easily defeated the Lakers. The Lakers begin the season at 0-4.

Kobe had 28 points to lead the Lakers with Jordan Hill adding 23. Jeremy Lin had 6 points with 6 assists. Ed davis came off the bench to score 13 points with 6 rebounds for the Lakers.

Check out the ESPN recap here.

Kansas City Declines 2015 Option on Billy Butler

The Kansas City Royals have decided to pay Billy Butler a 1 Million dollar buyout of his contract rather than pay him 12.5 million dollars for the 2015 season.

"Obviously when you're on a team that won the American League, it would be tough to leave that team," Butler said. "It's the only organization I've ever been in. That plays a factor."

Read the ESPN article to see the business side of baseball. Butler had an off year but was an All-Star two years ago.