Kansas

Detroit Tigers outlast Kansas City Royals in extras, 3-1, to hold ground in playoff race

Published

2 years ago

September 18, 2024

Detroit Tigers outlast Kansas City Royals in extras, 3-1, to hold ground in playoff race

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Jason Foley jogged from the bullpen to the mound for the bottom of the 10th inning against the Kansas City Royals in search of his 25th save, with the free runner on second base.

Foley was tasked with protecting a two-run advantage, facing the best hitters in the Royals’ lineup.

“I just told myself to attack the zone,” Foley said.

A successful save from Foley, who pitched for the third game in a row, completed the Tigers’ 3-1 win over the Royals on Tuesday in the second of three games in the series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Tigers (79-73) extended their winning streak to three games and continued their winning ways in pursuit of the third and final spot in the American League wild card.

They’ve won 24 of their last 34 games.

“We’re just going to keep doing our thing and playing our game,” said Parker Meadows, who drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning. “Show up every day, have fun, converse all day, play cards and just stay relaxed, be in the moment and keep up punching in big situations. This team is really good.”

With the win, the Tigers stayed 1½ games behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race, which is actually 2½ games considering the tiebreaker, as the Twins beat the Cleveland Guardians in the second of four games in their series.

There are 10 games remaining in the regular season.

In the 10th inning, the Tigers grabbed a 2-1 lead on a one-out bloop single from Meadows, dropping a first-pitch changeup into shallow left field. The free runner in extra innings scored from third base, but the only reason the runner advanced to third base was because right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg balked.

“I’m going to start him tomorrow,” manager A.J. Hinch said in response to a reminder that the Tigers have a 42-23 record when Meadows starts. “It’s really remarkable. He’s been an impactful player on both sides, and he can still get a lot better. We’re excited that we feel like we can win with him.”

The Tigers padded their lead, 3-1, when Riley Greene hit a RBI single up the middle with two outs, scoring Meadows from second base. Meadows had moved up to second base because Erceg walked Matt Vierling on four pitches.

In the bottom of the 10th, Foley sent down Bobby Witt Jr. (groundout), Salvador Perez (flyout) and Michael Massey (flyout). His toughest assignment — that’s Witt — leads MLB with a .331 batting average in 152 games.

Foley needed just 11 pitches.

“He’s one of the best hitters in the league,” Foley said of the Witt matchup, “so just try to attack the zone and really focus on that first out and don’t be terribly concerned with the runner on second just because we had a little bit of a buffer. I just tried to get that first out.”

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Saving Casey Mize

Right-hander Casey Mize didn’t have his best command throughout his 20th start, but he particularly struggled in the fifth inning when he loaded the bases with one out, forcing an early exit.

The 27-year-old walked Witt and Perez, his final two batters. The Tigers then turned to right-handed reliever Shelby Miller, who induced an inning-ending double play on a first-pitch slider to Massey.

Thanks to Miller, Mize allowed just one run on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 89 pitches.

“We found a way,” Mize said. “I think that’s obviously the most important thing with what we’re trying to do right now. We won the game. It wasn’t pretty or perfect from my end, but I gave it everything I had with every pitch.”

There were some positive signs: His velocity was up on his four-seam fastball (plus-1.4 mph), slider (plus-2.8 mph) and splitter (plus-3 mph), and his slider generated four whiffs on nine swings. It was a step in the right direction, even though Mize had sub-par command.

In the third inning, Meadows completed an incredible running catch in center field to save Mize from another run. The running catch stranded two runners.

“It was a tough one,” said Meadows, who covered 75 feet with a sprint speed of 27.6 feet per second. “I got a pretty good jump. I didn’t think I got the best jump, but I was able to makeup for it. I kind of beat it to the spot, and I looked up at the last second, and I saw it was catchable.”

Mize has a 4.36 ERA in 20 starts.

Cooked by Cole Ragans

The Royals have the AL’s second-best left-handed starter in Cole Ragans, only because Tarik Skubal — the Tigers’ ace — is the undisputed best southpaw.

Facing the Tigers, Ragans allowed one run on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 105 pitches. The highlight of his 31st start was stranding two runners with back-to-back strikeouts of Trey Sweeney and Dillon Dingler in the fourth inning.

But the Tigers took a 1-0 lead within their first two batters, as Andy Ibáñez reached safely on a hit-by-pitch and Vierling followed by cranking a middle-middle cutter for an RBI double to left-center field.

After that, Ragans shut down the Tigers.

He has a 3.24 ERA in 31 starts.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

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Kansas Basketball Makes the Cut for 5-Star SF Demarcus Henry

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Kansas Basketball Makes the Cut for 5-Star SF Demarcus Henry

One of the top prospects in the 2027 boys’ high school basketball recruiting class recently trimmed his list of suitors, and the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves firmly in the mix.

KU is one of eight schools to make the cut for 2027 five-star small forward Demarcus Henry, according to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton. His list of eight includes some of the best programs in the country: Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina, BYU, Arkansas, UConn, and Louisville.

The 6-foot-7 Charlotte, North Carolina, native is one of the best players in the 2027 class. He’s currently ranked as the No. 5 player overall and the No. 1 player at his position, according to the most recent On3.com 2027 player rankings.

As a junior this past year at Compass Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona, Henry averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as he helped lead his team to a 25-3 record.

He followed that up with an impressive performance at the NBPA Top 100 camp this summer, leading all attendees in scoring (20.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.3 rebounds per game). He was also a member of the 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team that earned a silver medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup earlier this summer in León, Mexico.

When speaking about his game, Henry mentions his versatility and how he’s developed over the past year.

“I’m just very versatile,” Henry told Rivals in a previous interview. “I can play one through four and just help my teammates and hit shots and play defense. I watch a lot of KD (Kevin Durant) and Paul George. How they score it, and how they could shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch. I’ve gotten tougher and just more aggressive when I transferred AZ Compass and just being able to get downhill, I feel like that’s really developed for me.”

When asked about what he’s looking for in a potential home at the college level, Henry says he wants to be challenged and grow his game for the NBA.

“What I’m looking for in school is someone that just pushes me to be better,” Henry said. “Help me grow into the person I know I can be and someone who will help me reach my potential. I want to play for a coach that will hold me accountable and help me make me uncomfortable and keep growing and keep getting better and just help me reach the NBA, which is my ultimate goal.”

Early Contenders

Right now the early favorite to land Henry may be the basketball program with the least amount of notoriety of the final eight schools – and that is Ohio State.

Henry has a lot of familial ties to the university as his older brother Chris Henry Jr. is a five-star incoming freshman wide receiver for the Buckeyes football team this year, and his older sister Seini Henry is a talented women’s basketball player at Ohio State.

He’s already taken an unofficial visit to the school and has also taken an unofficial visit to BYU. Thus far, they are the only schools to have received a visit.

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Kansas

Kansas City Royals news: MLB draft still coming into focus

Published

2 days ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Kansas City Royals news: MLB draft still coming into focus

The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.

Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.

“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”

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Kansas Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for July 7, 2026

Published

2 days ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 7, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from July 7 drawing

02-31-35-36-63, Mega Ball: 12

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 7 drawing

Midday: 4-2-9

Evening: 2-7-9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from July 7 drawing

Red Balls: 07-26, White Balls: 12-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 7 drawing

27-43-48-49-50, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.

By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:

Kansas Lottery Headquarters

128 N Kansas Avenue

Topeka, KS 66603-3638

(785) 296-5700

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a claim form, and deliver the form along with your signed lottery ticket to Kansas Lottery headquarters. 128 N Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603-3638, (785) 296-5700. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.

When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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