Gästeforum » mentioned with Encarnacion he had a bit

Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - The public address announcer at Arizona Stadium never relayed the results of the game in Pasadena. Arizonas focus was sorely on its in-state rival, and the Territorial Cup is now back in its hands. The Wildcats are hoping to add another trophy to their collection next week. Nick Wilson ran for three scores and Samajie Grant hauled in both of Anu Solomons two touchdown passes as the 12th-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 13 Arizona State 42-35 on Friday afternoon. The victory over the Sun Devils, coupled with No. 8 UCLAs loss to Stanford, wrapped up the Pac-12 South and punched Arizonas ticket into the Pac-12 title game in Santa Clara against No. 3 Oregon next Friday. The Wildcats handed the Ducks their lone loss of the season Oct. 2 in Eugene. Stanford put the finishing touches of a 31-10 rout of the Bruins at the Rose Bowl just minutes prior to Mike Bercovicis 4th-and-12 pass with 1:07 remaining into a crowd of Arizona players falling incomplete. The incompletion also sealed the Wildcats (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) first 10-win season wince 1998. Wilson carried the ball 24 times for 178 yards, Solomon was 15-of-21 for 208 yards and Grant posted 91 yards on four catches for Arizona, which has won four straight games. Bercovici filled in for Taylor Kelly late in the third quarter. He finished 14-of-22 for 123 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Kelly completed 13-of-22 passes for 144 yards and two scores for Arizona State (9-3, 6-3), which dropped two of three to close the year on the heels of a five-game winning streak. The Sun Devils had won the last two Territorial Cups. Fridays Duel in the Desert marked the first time since 1986 that both teams were ranked in the top-25. The 88th all-time meeting between the schools was tied at 21-21 before Arizona scored touchdowns on each of its first two touches of the third quarter. A busted ASU coverage allowed Austin Hill to pick up 15 yards on a 3rd-and-11 and Solomon rolled right later in the drive before finding David Richards for a gain of 31 down to the 1. Wilson ran it in a play later to put the Wildcats in front. Zane Gonzalez missed a 45-yard field goal wide left on the Sun Devils ensuing trek and Wilson burst through the middle for a 72-yard score on the very next snap to make it 35-21. Bercovici flipped a 2-yard score to Kody Kohl early in the fourth to get ASU within a touchdown and it forced an Arizona punt on its next offensive touch. Jourdon Grandon, though, broke on a pass from his safety position and picked it off a play later. Solomon hit Grant for a 20-yard score shortly thereafter for a 42-28 Arizona margin. The Sun Devils responded with Bercovicis 9-yard TD toss to DeMarieya Nelson with 5:02 to play and their defense got Bercovici the ball back following a three-and-out. Bercovicis 4th-and-12 throw intended for Jaelon Strong along the left sideline was nowhere near him. A bizarre first half saw both teams record defensive touchdowns, Arizona stopping ASU on a 4th-and-goal at the 1 and blocking a punt and a 69-yard touchdown play. Anthony Lopez returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game and ASU running back D.J. Foster was stopped for a loss on the 4th- and-goal play midway through the first. Grants 69-yard catch and run for a score gave Arizona a 14-7 cushion three plays after Demetrius Cherry returned a fumble two yards for a touchdown. Strongs diving 50-yard catch led to his one-handed, left-handed 3-yard snag in the back of the end zone, which tied the game early in the second. Cayleb Jones blocked punt resulted in a Wilson 21-yard TD scamper, but Kellys 7-yard TD strike to Demario Richard late in the half knotted the contest again. Game Notes Arizona linebacker Scoobie Wright had two of the Wildcats seven sacks ... The Wildcats lead the all-time series between the schools 48-39-1 ... ASU outgained Arizona 380-333. BOSTON – This trade wont knock your socks off, but its the type of deal that fits the cash-strapped Blue Jays mold at the moment. Just prior to Monday nights series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway, general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired infielder Danny Valencia from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Liam Hendriks and catcher Erik Kratz. The move works for both clubs, which makes it a good trade. “We definitely have a lot of left-handed bats on the roster right now and we certainly could use some help from the right side,” said Anthopoulos. “Weve actually inquired about him in the past; just havent been able to get anything done. Weve been really trying to find [a similar player] all year and also weve definitely given guys some opportunities from the minor leagues looking for that right-handed bat and the fact that hes had success at the big league level doing that and doing it well, its a good fit for us.” Valencia, who turns 30 on September 19, is a right-handed hitting infielder who predominantly plays third base. He has a career .879 on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handed pitching with 14 home runs. Thats in 498 plate appearances, a large enough sample size to state with certainty that Valencia is an immediate enhancement to the line-up. Hell help to cover for the remainder of Brett Lawries absence. Lawries out with a fractured right index finger and, given that second base isnt completely foreign to Valencia, he could see time there when Lawrie returns. With 21 career home runs and a .620 OPS against right-handed pitching, Valencia isnt totally a lost cause, but would be better suited to a platoon situation. Anthopoulos cautioned not to read too much into how the acquisition of Valencia could affect Lawrie and where hell play. Lawrie wants to play third base, but didnt complain when he was asked to assume a platoon role, splitting time between third and second base earlier this season. Judging by what the general manager had to say, its easy to envision Lawrie seeing plenty more time at second. “Well just see,” said Anthopoulos. “I know (manager John Gibbons) is going to mix and match. When Juans been playing, hes been playing well, hes got tremendous numbers versus right-handers, [but] obviously has not had success versus left-handers and Danny can certainly be that platoon partner for him. “With respect to Brett, sure, youd like to have any player be at one position the entire time, but, like weve done a lot of the year, wed like to have had Bautista play one position the entire time, the one thing thats been great to see is all of our players want to win and are willing to play anywhere on the diamond.” From a business perspective, and dont discount the importance of this for a second, Valencias spent enough time in pro ball (nine seasons) the big leagues (parts oof five seasons) to be considered a veteran with useful experience, but hes accrued so little major league service time (two years, 118 days) that he remains under club control for the considerable future.ddddddddddddThis is something Anthopoulos greatly values. Valencia is first-year arbitration eligible this coming off-season and cant become a free agent until, at the earliest, after the 2017 season. Remember, the Blue Jays are essentially bereft of positional prospect talent at Double-A or higher. The addition of Valencia is as useful for 2015 as it is in the immediate. Out the door go two extraneous pieces. While a compelling argument could be made that Kratz should have made the club out of spring training and served as Dioner Navarros back-up, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is more comfortable with his longtime battery mate, Josh Thole. As a result, Kratz spent his second stint in the organization in three places: Toronto, Buffalo and on the QEW shuttling from one city to the other. Kratz hit .198/.226/.346 in 34 games with the Blue Jays. He showed a touch of his valued power, hitting three home runs in 81 at-bats. Hendriks, 25, is still young but didnt figure into the Blue Jays plans. He won a game in three starts with Toronto, posting a 6.08 ERA, but on a number of occasions he needed every inch of Rogers Centres dimensions to keep the ball in the park in two home starts. He was hit hard on June 20 in Cincinnati, his last start in the big leagues, in a game that will best be remembered for the Blue Jays overcoming a nine-run deficit to beat the Reds 14-9. INJURY UPDATES Anthopoulos provided updates on the status of two injured players, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind. As for the respective timetables for their returns: “You know, we really dont know," he said. "Theyre definitely moving in the right direction.” On Encarnacion (strained right quadriceps): “I know we mentioned with Encarnacion he had a bit of a setback; setback in a way that hed been improving so fast and it got slowed up. I guess the one thing to clarify on that is, yes, the way he was progressing and how fast he was progressing, all of a sudden that certainly slowed down because he had a little renewed pain when he was swinging again so we just decided to not take any chances and slow him up.” On Lind (fractured right foot): “He doesnt feel anything when he swings. He does feel it a little bit when he runs, when he has to run the bases and change directions and that can impact him when hes in the field. In terms of strictly in the box and swinging he doesnt feel it. Its going to come down to when that pain is gone when he has to run the bases and change direction and things like that. We dont know exactly when thats going to come but in the meantime at least were able to have him hit, swing and let him try to get his timing back.” ' ' '