Winnipeg Free Press Newspaper Archives May 9 2015, Page 68

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 9, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C11 TORONTO — Aaron Sanchez pitched seven shutout innings as the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Boston Red Sox 7- 0 on Friday night at Rogers Centre. Sanchez ( 3- 2), who hadn’t pitched into the seventh in any of his previous six starts this season, allowed just two hits while striking out three and walking five. His only trouble came in the fourth inning when the 22- year- old issued back- to- back walks before hitting Allen Craig with a pitch. However, Sanchez managed to get Blake Swihart swinging before Xander Bogaerts grounded into an inning- ending double play. Aaron Loup and Steve Delabar each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. The Blue Jays ( 15- 15) improved to .500 ( 2- 2) against the Red Sox ( 13- 16) this season. The loss drops Boston to 7- 3 in series openers. Josh Donaldson and Chris Colabello had solo home runs to give the Blue Jays a 2- 0 lead after two. Donaldson got the Jays on the board in the bottom of the first, taking Wade Miley’s 1- 2 pitch deep to left field for his seventh home run of the season. Colabello gave Toronto a 2- 0 lead in the bottom of the second with a solo shot to right field. Colabello is now 7- for- 12 with four runs scored and three RBI in three games with Toronto. Toronto got to Miley again in the sixth. After Edwin Encarnacion walked and Russell Martin reached on a bloop single, Danny Valencia singled to centre to score Encarnacion from second. Kevin Pillar’s sac fly to right scored Martin from third, giving the Blue Jays a 4- 0 lead. Friday was Valencia’s first game back after missing two games with a sprained ankle. He was replaced by Ezequiel Carrera to start the seventh after he slid awkwardly into second trying to advance on Pillar’s sac fly. Miley ( 1- 4) went six innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out eight. Jose Bautista led off the eighth inning with a triple off the top of the wall in centre field. It was Bautista’s first triple since Aug. 21, 2011 in Oakland. He scored on Encarnacion’s single to give Toronto a 5- 0 lead. After Martin doubled down the third base line, Carrera’s single to left scored both Encarnacion and Martin for the seven- run lead. — The Canadian Press winnipegfreepress. com BASEBALL WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015 C 11 A RLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton knows in hindsight he probably should have never left Texas. When the slugger was first acquired by the Rangers from Cincinnati a few days before Christmas in 2007, a feelgood story got even better: The former No. 1 overall draft pick became an MVP and perennial all- star after battling cocaine and alcohol addictions, even with a few stumbles. Now he has another shot at redemption, again in Texas, in what very likely could be his last chance in baseball. “ The reason I’m making certain changes in my life is because I want to be OK after baseball’s over,” Hamilton said when re- introduced by Texas. “ So I’ve done a lot of growing and a lot of learning and soul- searching, as you could say, over the past few weeks. I’m excited about being a Ranger.” Hamilton is near an MLB reunion with the team he shunned after the 2012 season for a big free- agent contract with AL West rival Los Angeles. The Angels last month traded him back for little in return after two disappointing seasons and the recent off- season that included not only shoulder surgery but a self- reported relapse with cocaine and alcohol. “ If you’re comfortable and you can be at home and relax, but go to the field and still feel like you’re at home when you get there, that’s pretty important,” said Hamilton, who went to extended spring training in Arizona before joining Triple- A Round Rock. “ I love the guys on my team in LA... But it was LA. It wasn’t Texas. It was just really different.” Things won’t be exactly the same as they were in Texas, where Hamilton was the 2010 American League MVP and an all- star in each of his five seasons. Hamilton earlier this year filed for divorce, and court records indicate he is prohibited from going to the couple’s home in North Texas or seeing their daughters without supervision. And the Rangers, who made their only two World Series appearances and were coming off a wild- card loss before Hamilton left, are struggling near the bottom of the league for the second year in a row. There is a new manager, Jeff Banister, after Ron Washington’s unexpected resignation late last season for personal reasons. This is a low- risk deal for Texas, which is paying only about $ 6 million of the $ 80 million still owed to Hamilton through 2017 on that $ 125 million, five- year contract from the Angels. Plus, the Rangers don’t expect the player who turns 34 on May 21 to have the same mind- boggling numbers he once had for them. In his 2008 Texas debut, Hamilton had an AL- leading 130 RBIs and a jaw- dropping 28 home runs in one round during the All- Star Home Run Derby at old Yankee Stadium. During his MVP season, when the Rangers went to their first World Series in 2010, he led the majors with a .359 batting average, 23 points higher than the next highest, along with 32 homers and 100 RBIs. Hamilton’s career- high 43 homers in 2012 included four in one night at Baltimore. He was the 16th player with a four- homer game, an MLB feat rarer than perfect games ( 23). “ He’s been kind of a central figure in some of the best moments in the franchise history, recent history,” Texas general manager Jon Daniels said. “ I think the game can help him at this point, but the big picture for him obviously is beyond the game... whenever it is that he’s done playing, where he is at that point. Obviously, that’s a lot more important than the baseball piece.” The top pick in baseball’s 1999 amateur draft by Tampa Bay, Hamilton had never tried alcohol or cocaine before he got hurt in a March 2001 car accident and was on the disabled list in the minors. He didn’t play from July 2002 through 2005 because of substance- abuse issues that led to multiple suspensions and rehab stints. His major league debut was with the Reds in 2007. There were two known alcohol relapses while with the Rangers, both during the off- season. Hamilton acknowledged being photographed getting drunk in a bar in Arizona in early 2009, and three years later apologized for another night of drinking. “ I know ( addiction) is something he’s going to deal with the rest of his life, and by association, we’re going to help him deal with,” said Daniels, calling that a benefit but not the reason for reacquiring Hamilton. “ It’s 100 per cent about that we think Josh can help us win games,” the GM said. “ He can be a productive player again.” Hamilton hit .305 with 152 homers and 506 RBIs in five seasons as a Ranger, but was lustily booed in his last game — like he was later when returning with the Angels. The slugger struck out twice on three pitches and grounded into a double play in a home loss to Baltimore in the 2012 AL wild- card game. That came after 18 strikeouts in the last 10 regularseason games, and a dropped popup in the finale that allowed Oakland to go ahead to stay and clinch the division title that day. After Hamilton’s self- reported relapse before this season, a board representing both Major League Baseball and the players’ association split on whether Hamilton violated his treatment program. An arbitrator then ruled that MLB could not discipline him. Hamilton said he is being tested five times a week for drugs and alcohol. He also has back the support system that had been removed or pushed away from his life, including Shayne Kelley, who again will be a constant companion. Kelley, a former minor league strength coach for the Kansas City Royals, was with Hamilton his final season in Texas and first year with the Angels. He was as assistant coach at Alabama, his alma mater, when hired by Texas in 2012 as a major league assistant whose job included supporting Hamilton. Kelley won’t be on the field or in uniform this time. Daniels described Hamilton as being “ very eager” in Arizona, asking to do more than was planned for him each day. The shoulder seemed to be 100 per cent healthy, and the outfielder is on track to get back in the majors later this month. “ I know how much baseball means to Josh. I know that Josh loves the game,” said Michael Young, Hamilton’s teammate with the Rangers and now a special assistant for the team. “ He’s really burning for an opportunity to show exactly what he’s made of.” — The Associated Press BLUE JAYS 7 RED SOX 0 Good times, bad times JOSH HAMILTON flourished with the Texas Rangers for five seasons, when the former No. 1 overall draft pick was the 2010 AL MVP and an all- star each time after his career was almost permanently derailed by cocaine and alcohol addictions. With Hamilton on track to rejoin the Rangers in the majors later this month, after being traded back by the Los Angeles Angels, here are some of his highs and lows in Texas from 2008- 12: . 2008 ( debut season in Texas): Hamilton had 50 RBIs faster than any other player in AL history ( 45 games), breaking a record that had been shared by Joe DiMaggio. Led the league with 130 RBIs. Hit 28 homers in the first round of the Home Run Derby. . 2009: While limited to 89 games because of abdominal surgery and a strained rib muscle, he was photographed getting drunk in a bar in Arizona before that season. . 2010: The MVP season, when Texas went to its first World Series. Hamilton had a majorsleading .359 batting average with 32 homers and 100 RBIs. He was MVP of the AL championship series, hitting .350 with four homers and seven RBIs against the New York Yankees. . 2011: Hamilton missed six weeks early after breaking a bone in his right arm on a headfirst dive trying to score a run. Texas firefighter Shannon Stone died after he tumbled over railing in the left- field seats and fell headfirst 20 feet during a Rangers home game in July. He had reached out to grab a ball tossed to him by Hamilton, the favourite player of his young son who was with him. Hamilton’s two- run homer in the 10th inning of Game 6 in the World Series put Texas ahead 9- 7, but St. Louis rallied to win the game and the series. . 2012: In February, Hamilton publicly apologized for having multiple drinks during a night out in Dallas. In May, Hamilton became the 16th and most- recent player with four home runs in the same game ( at Baltimore). He had a career- high 43 homers that season. In September, Hamilton missed five games because of an eye issue he said was caused by too much caffeine and energy drinks. He had one homer and 18 strikeouts his final 10 regularseason games, and in the finale dropped a routine popup that allowed Oakland to go ahead to stay in a division- clinching victory. He was booed in his last game for Texas, a home loss to Baltimore in the AL wild- card game, striking out twice on three pitches and grounding into a double play. Texas the ticket for Hamilton Slugger hoping he can prosper again in the Lone Star State By Stephen Hawkins LM OTERO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Josh Hamilton hopes to rejuvenate his career and reclaim his life by returning to the Texas Rangers. Sanchez slams door on Red Sox, Blue Jays back to .500 DARREN CALABRESE / THE CANADIAN PRESS Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez tossed seven scoreless innings Friday. By Dhiren Mahiban C_ 11_ May- 09- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C11 5/ 8/ 15 9: 49: 17 PM