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SECTION B, FRIDAY & SATURDAY, July 8-9, 2016
INSIDE TODAY:
UFC 200
Jon Jones is off of fight
card following a positive test
for performance enhancing
drugs. Page 3B
Piscotty, Grichuk homer as the Cardinals beat Pirates
The win pushed St. Louis
ahead of Pittsburgh into the
NL Central’s second spot
BY R.B. FALLSTROM
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright
relished the chance to stop a skid.
The Cardinals’ ace worked seven
effective innings to help St. Louis
beat Pittsburgh 5-1 on Thursday to
avoid a four-game sweep and end
the Pirates’ season-best seven-game
winning streak.
“Today, I really wanted to push it
as long as I possibly could,” Wain-
wright said. “I was having fun mix-
ing and matching and mixing my
delivery speed. I was pitching out
there — that’s how I did it in 2014.”
Wainwright (8-5) was a 20-game
winner two years ago but missed
most of the past season with a torn
left Achilles. He is rediscovering his
form now, lowering his ERA to 4.49.
“He’s been a master craftsman
for years,” Pirates manager Clint
Hurdle. “He was on top of his game.”
Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run
home run, and Randal Grichuk
also went deep for St. Louis, which
reclaimed second place in the NL
Central by a half-game over Pitts-
burgh to end a rough 4-5 homestand.
All-Star Matt Carpenter (oblique)
joined Brandon Moss (ankle) and
Brayan Pena (knee) on the 15-day
disabled list earlier in the day.
“We heard the news, then we went
about our business,” Piscotty said.
“We have to stay the course. I don’t
think anyone’s going to give up by
any means.”
Piscotty’s 11th homer off Arqui-
medes Caminero was initially ruled
off the top of the center-field wall,
but the call was overturned after
review. Piscotty had three homers
during the home stand but didn’t
think this one was out.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1) was charged
with four runs in 5 1/3 innings in his
debut. The 22-year-old right-hander
was the 11th starter used by the
Pirates and, like Steven Brault ear-
lier in the series, got his first career
hit.
“It was kind of crazy waking up
and coming to the ballpark, and
I really think I took it all in,” the
6-foot-8 Glasnow said. “It was a fun
experience.”
Hurdle was impressed.
“He commanded the zone; he
made his pitches,” the manager said.
“He didn’t let things get out of hand
at any point in time.”
Jordy Mercer doubled and had an
RBI for the Pirates, who had come
from behind to win the previous
six games. They haven’t swept a
four-game series in St. Louis since
1997, and the Cardinals haven’t been
JEFF ROBERSON/The Associated Press
St. Louis Cardinals’ Stephen Piscotty hits a three-run home run during the sixth inning of
a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in St. Louis. Please see CARDINALS, page 2B
VictoireA pair of goals from Antoine
Griezmann punched France’s
ticket to the Euro Cup final
BY JAMES ELLINGWORTH
The Associated Press
M
ARSEILLE, France — Antoine Griezmann
scored twice as France beat world champion
Germany 2-0 on Thursday to line up a Euro-
pean Championship final against Portugal.
Griezmann put France in front from the penalty spot
in stoppage time at the end of the first half and then
took full advantage of a German defensive blunder to
score his second with a calm finish in the 72nd minute.
France reached its first final in a decade and is chas-
ing its first major trophy since Euro 2000. Germany
missed its chance to add the European title to the World
Cup it won in 2014.
Griezmann has now scored six goals at Euro 2016 —
twice as many as any other player at the tournament —
and could have completed a hat trick on a break in the
86th but shot straight at goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Please see FRANCE, page 1B
Antoine Griezmann celebrates his side’s
2-0 win at the end of the Euro 2016
semifinal match between Germany and
France on Thursday at the Velodrome
stadium in Marseille, France.
FRANK AUGSTEIN/The Associated Press
Royals win
with Perez
double
Salvador Perez’s two-RBI
double gave the Royals a
4-3 over the Mariners
BY DAVE SKRETTA
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY — Salvador
Perez ripped a double off the wall
in the ninth inning, scoring Whit
Merrifield and Jarrod Dyson and
giving the Kansas City Royals a
4-3 victory over the Seattle Mari-
ners on Thursday night.
Merrifield doubled off Steve
Cishek (2-5) leading off the
inning, then Kendrys Morales got
plunked on the foot. Dyson came
in to pinch run and Eric Hosmer
struck out before Perez dug in to
face the Mariners’ closer
He lined a shot off the wall
in center for his second career
game-ending hit.
Brooks Pounders (1-0) tossed
a scoreless inning for his first
big league win, helping Kansas
City bounce back after a dismal
road trip, during which they were
swept in Toronto and lost five of
their last six games.
The ending squandered a
dynamic performance by James
Paxton, who needed only 78 pitch-
es to get through eight innings
for Seattle. The only damage he
allowed came on a two-out single
by Paulo Orlando in the eighth.
Danny Duffy nearly equaled
his left-handed counterpart in 6
1/3 innings for Kansas City. He
allowed two runs on seven hits
and a walk, his first in 88 batters
faced, while striking out seven.
He received a standing ovation
after leaving the mound, despite
the Royals facing a 2-0 hole.
Seattle managed that lead not
with a homer — they entered
the game tied for second in the
majors with 128 of them — but
with some old-fashioned small
ball. Dae-Ho Lee scored from
second on Dan Robertson’s single
in the second inning, and Robert-
son scored after a sacrifice bunt
and sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Nelson Cruz added a homer off
Joakim Soria in the eighth
Those three runs seemed insur-
mountable the way Paxton was
cruising.
He induced inning-ending dou-
ble plays the first two innings,
then another in the third after
back-to-back singles led it off.
Ketel Marte then made a nice
play ranging out from third base
on Alex Gordon’s blooper into
shallow left field to leave Brett
Eibner on third base and end the
inning.
The worst throw Paxton made
before the eighth wasn’t to the
mound but to first base, when
Kendrys Morales chopped a
grounder back to him the pre-
vious inning. Paxton’s throw
slipped and bounced halfway to
the bag.
With everything else going for
him, it still beat Morales easily
for the out.