Sports

BOYS BASKETBALL

St. Anthony Tournament

Mattoon 55, Breese Central 50

Effingham 52, Okaw Valley 50

Highland 63, St. Anthony 57

Cerro Gordo/Bement Tournament

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 46, Blue Ridge 40

Mulberry Grove Tournament

Mt. Olive 83, Ramsey 52

Mulberry Grove 80, South Central 74

St. Elmo/Brownstown 62, Father McGivney 27

Other Games

Bolingbrook 87, Mt. Zion 46

South Vermillion 71, Paris 55

Taylorville 79, Nokomis 60

Lincoln 40, Nokomis 28

Centralia 75, Belleville East 41

Centralia Christ Our Rock 55, Dupo 24

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bob Kerans Tournament

Altamont 39, Flora 36

Effingham 62, Newton 31

Altamont 46, Vandalia 36

Boys Basketball Scores

St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament

Champaign St. Thomas More 63, Breese Central 57

Effingham 61, Highland 38

Cumberland Thanksgiving Tournament

Newton 71, Altamont 66

Casey-Westfield 76, Charleston 45

Other Boys Scores

Mt. Vernon 47, Meridian 46

South Central 69, Patoka 38

Girls Basketball Scores

Bob Kerans Tournament

Effingham 59, Altamont 29

Other Girls Scores

Taylorville 48, Rochester 36

Mt. Vernon 49, Wesclin 46

ESPN: Think back to before Willson Contreras got hurt. The Chicago Cubs catcher was in the midst of a scorching hot streak that was entering its sixth week.

During that time frame, beginning July 1, he hit 12 home runs with a .322 batting average and .389 on-base percentage. There was not a hotter hitter in baseball.

The stretch, which ended when Contreras suffered a strained hamstring, increased his season home run total to 21 -- still five fewer than teammate Anthony Rizzo had at the time. The hot streak also brought Contreras within one RBI of Rizzo, while his batting average zoomed past the first baseman's by 10 points -- yet Rizzo's on-base percentage remained 45 points higher. On the day of Contreras' injury both had the same WAR, 3.4.

Even after such a torrid stretch, Contreras' season stats were no better than Rizzo's numbers, but manager Joe Maddon was asked several times by reporters if Contreras deserved MVP consideration. Rizzo's name never came up.

Fast-forward to the last day of August. The Cubs beat the Braves 6-2 at Wrigley Field. Reigning MVP Kris Bryant hit his 25th home run, making him the first Cub to belt at least 25 in each of his first three seasons. Reporters mobbed him in the Cubs clubhouse after the game.

In the background, Rizzo walked quietly past them -- even though he achieved a pretty rare feat himself that evening. With his two runs driven in against the Braves, Rizzo became the first Cub since Sammy Sosa in 2001 to drive in 30 runs in a month, wrapping up one of the great months in franchise history. Rizzo hit .355 in August with a .433 on-base percentage and a 1.060 OPS.

As Rizzo strolled through late that night, only one reporter said anything to him: "Nice month." He responded to the passing comment with "I could have had more." Then Bryant spoke at length of his 25 home runs as Rizzo left Wrigley Field.

Fast-forward again to last Thursday in Pittsburgh. Rizzo had just reached 100 RBIs for the season. Bryant had 60. If you don’t think RBIs are a meaningful stat, how does this one strike you? As of that same day, Rizzo had 79 walks to 77 strikeouts. Bryant had 84 walks to 110 strikeouts. And if defense is your thing, the reigning gold and platinum glove winner is on a rarely mentioned 124 game errorless streak, currently the longest among first baseman.

There was and is no question who is having the better season -- but yet again Maddon was asked about his third baseman, not his first baseman, who has finished in fourth place in MVP voting each of the past two seasons.

Finally, Maddon realized enough was enough.

Reporter: "Not many mention Kris Bryant for MVP."

Maddon: "Real consistent, but you have to include Anthony too. If you're going to include KB, you have to include Anthony. Rizzo, look at his numbers. They're pretty darn impressive. I wouldn't want to hear about any MVP discussion about KB without including Rizzo."

And that was the first time anyone -- at least in a public setting surrounding the Cubs -- mentioned Rizzo's name for the MVP award. It was long overdue.

Just 24 hours earlier, Rizzo was named the Cubs finalist for the fifth consecutive season for a different honor, the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. That's the award he really wants to win after going 0-for-4 thus far.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to be known as a great baseball player when it's all said and done, but I also want to be known as someone who was fortunate to have a big platform and do things with it in a good way," Rizzo said recently. "Yeah, I want that Clemente award."

Rizzo spoke not long after visiting the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh.

"What he [Clemente] really did is underrated in this game and all of sports," Rizzo said. "All the work he did outside of baseball. I think there should be a push to have his number retired in the league. Jackie Robinson has his number retired, but this guy died serving people. It's an amazing story. He deserves it as well."

Rizzo's story is pretty amazing as well. Diagnosed with cancer soon after being drafted by the Red Sox in 2008, he beat the disease and dedicated himself to helping and lifting the spirits of others. In 2017 alone, the Rizzo Family Foundation will raise about $2 million from his fundraisers which include "Walk-Off for Cancer," "Cook-Off for Cancer" and "Laugh-Off for Cancer." Plus, he just made a $3.5 million endowment to Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

Though his charitable contributions are being recognized, his game on the field seems to be overlooked at times. How can any discussion of an MVP candidate coming from the Cubs this season include Contreras or even Bryant but not Rizzo?

"The way this game is some guys get more attention than others," Rizzo said. "It doesn't bother me. If I'm more known for the charity work, that's what this is all about, right?"

*****

Now as the Cubs play their most important games of the season, Rizzo is delivering when it matters most. He played a starring role in Thursday's blowout, hitting a key home run as Chicago overcame an early deficit during a three-hit night that also featured two stolen bases. But it's what Rizzo did the night before that might be even more indicative of the season he is having. While teammate Albert Almora earned the headlines with a six-RBI game, Rizzo did his part by seeing a team-high 26 pitches and drawing four walks during the 17-5 win.

Pushed to answer, Rizzo admits there is one statistical accomplishment that would mean a lot to him this season, especially in today's game.

There are only a handful of players who have a shot at walking more than they strike out this year, with Joey Votto the poster player for doing it. After this week's outburst against the Mets, Rizzo has exactly 83 walks and strikeouts, and a real chance of joining the Votto-led club.

"He's unbelievable," Rizzo said with a smile. "He's on another level by himself. For the normal guys, like me, it's difficult."

Rizzo and Votto are considered throwbacks to a time when striking out was embarrassing. It's a word Rizzo uses -- but he understands not many in the game feel the same way.

"I say it sometimes," Rizzo explained. "I go back to the dugout. 'That was an embarrassing at-bat.' But that's my game. Someone else's game is different."

In Rizzo's estimation -- as well as Maddon's -- not enough players change their approach with two strikes. He hasn't had as much success as others this year when you look purely at the numbers -- he's hitting .191 with two strikes -- but a deeper examination shows productive at-bats. Rizzo has advanced a runner from second to third with no outs a career-high 72 percent of the time. His two-strike approach is at work in those instances

"It's simple," he said. "The odds of getting a hit with two strikes are not in your favor. They're very low, so trying to hit a home run, knowing that, it makes it even worse. I don't like striking out. Everyone wants to hit home runs. I know if I put good swings on balls, good things will happen."

Rizzo says his old-school approach began when he realized what it took to hit a home run compared with just making contact.

"I know if I hit the ball good, it's going to go over the fence or in the gap," Rizzo continued. "I think what has gone on with a lot of guys is they see Aaron Judgehit the ball 900 feet. Or [Giancarlo] Stanton. They have crazy pop. I don't have that pop. I could try to generate it and hit the ball 500 feet all the time, but all I need to do is hit it 370 feet. Or in the gap. I understand that. You don't get style points for how far it goes."

*****

You'll never hear Rizzo complain, but if he were to sound off, his targets would be the shift and the conditions at Wrigley Field. Right-center is actually deeper than left-center, and the wind blows in from right field in some capacity -- straight in or as a cross wind -- more than any other way. According to the Cubs, going into Wednesday's game, the wind blew in or across in 57 of 73 games. As for the shift, there's nothing worse than being a lefty who hits ground balls in today's game.

“It's a right-handed hitter's game,” Rizzo said. “I can hit a ball between 3 and 4 [first and second] and it's an out. The other way it's a hit. It's gotten so extreme, but what can you do about it?"

There's little doubt the shifts are suppressing his batting average. And believe it or not, batting average and RBIs matter to Rizzo.

"I watch all these shows and hear things about stats, but if my average is where it needs to be, good things will happen," he said. "I do want to drive 100 runs in every year."

And that's not the only area where Rizzo has a triple-digit hope for his numbers.

"Goal for me is 100 walks," Rizzo said. "At the end of every year, I just want to prove to myself how good I can be. Then I want to do more and be better the next year. This year is no different. Year in and year out, you see the greats do it. Year in and year out."

Even as one of the elder statesmen in the Cubs' lineup at age 28, Rizzo feels he's not done getting better and thinks his team could be ready to peak as the season goes on too.

"I feel like my best is yet to come because I've experienced everything," Rizzo said. "As for the team, last year we dealt with all the pressure and the curse. There's no pressure now. It's just go win another championship. We have the experience and the talent. The playoffs in the National League are going to be great. You'll have four teams [after the wild-card game] expecting to win the World Series. We want to be one."

The MVP is announced in November and Rizzo is a long shot for it, but his eye is on the hardware they give out at the World Series anyway. Nothing would make him happier than accepting the Roberto Clemente Award while wearing his Cubs uniform before a late October game at Wrigley Field.

"That's the award I want to win," Rizzo said.

ESPN- The Washington Nationals' two biggest stars took center stage on national television Sunday night.

Bryce Harper homered twice against Carlos Martinez, Max Scherzer struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings and the Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2.

"Martinez is really good," Harper said. "He's an All-Star. He's been really good the past couple of years. Throws hard, does things out there that other guys can't do. I was just trying to go out there and put the bat on the ball and hopefully supply the power a little bit and get lucky and get a pitch you can drive, and we were able to do that pretty early on."

Harper also doubled and had four RBI to pace Washington, which snapped a three-game skid and had lost five of seven.

Scherzer handled the rest.

"It was a night were I came out early and came out sharp and Harp came out with some huge home runs and really put us ahead," Scherzer said.

The Cardinals had won four straight and six of seven overall, including series victories against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Nationals.

Scherzer (10-5), who grew up in the St. Louis area and pitched at the University of Missouri, allowed two hits and two walks while lowering his major league-leading ERA to 1.94. Scherzer's double-digit strikeout performance was his 10th this season and 59th of his career.

"That's why he's an All-Star," Harper said. "That's why he's Max Scherzer. He's one of the best in the league, if not the best. If there's a guy you want on the mound every fifth day, it's him. He's got his plan, he's got his mentality and he does things for this club that he needs to do put us up to that next level. That's why he is who he is and he's fun to watch."

Martinez (6-7) entered the game ranked fourth in the NL in ERA but allowed five runs in five innings. The right-hander had allowed five earned runs over his previous four starts combined.

"It was two innings really," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It was a slider that didn't get in on Harper and then a changeup that he stayed back on."

The Nationals, who scored two runs over the first two games of the series, scored twice in the first inning, with Brian Goodwin leading off with a ground-rule double and scoring on Harper's 19th home run of the season.

Harper made it 4-0 in the third, driving an 0-2 changeup below the strike zone into the Cardinals' bullpen. Daniel Murphy followed with a walk, and Anthony Rendon smacked an RBI double to the left-center wall to make it 5-0.

Wilmer Difo and Goodwin added sacrifice flies in the eighth to push Washington's lead to 7-0.

Tommy Pham's two-run homer in the eighth, his 10th of the season, off reliever Enny Romero got the Cardinals on the scoreboard.

STREAK OVER

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's 16-game hit streak, which tied his career long, came to an end with an 0-for-4 performance.

TRANSACTIONS

The Cardinals announced two trades Sunday, sending international cap space to the Red Sox for minor league infielders Stanley Espinal and Imeldo Diaz and to the Blue Jays for minor league outfielder Lane Thomas.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: LHP Kevin Siegrist (cervical spine sprain) threw off flat ground Saturday.

UP NEXT

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (9-2, 3.51 ERA) opens a three-game home series against the Mets on Monday night. He is 8-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 14 career starts against the Mets.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (8-5, 5.17 ERA) begins a four-game series against the visiting Marlins on Monday night. He is 5-1 with a 2.64 ERA in eight home starts this season.

ESPN -- Christian Yelich's long drought is over.

Yelich hit a three-run drive for his first homer in 32 days, helping Jose Urena and the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Tuesday.

"It's been a long time," Yelich said. "I've kind of been grinding through some stuff."

JT Riddle added a two-run single for Miami, which had dropped five of six. Dee Gordon had three hits, and Giancarlo Stanton reached three times.

Yelich erased a 2-0 deficit with the big blow in Miami's five-run sixth. Gordon doubled with one out and Stanton reached on a throwing error on second baseman Matt Carpenter before Yelich hit a drive to center off Lance Lynn (6-6).

"I would like to have that pitch back," Lynn said.

Marcell Ozuna followed with a single and Martin Prado doubled with two out to set up Riddle's big single.

"Hitting is contagious," Riddle said. "(Yelich) started it and we all just followed."

It was Yelich's first homer since he connected for a two-run shot against Arizona on June 2. He has eight homers this season after hitting a career-high 21 last year.

Greg Garcia hit a two-run homer for St. Louis, which lost for just the second time in seven games. Carpenter had two hits.

Urena (7-3) struck out seven in five innings. He was charged with two runs and three hits.

"He's the type of guy that just grips it and rips it," Miami catcher A.J. Ellis said. "He's trusting his stuff more and it shows."

Drew Steckenrider, Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps each pitched a scoreless inning before AJ Ramos finished for his 14th save in 15 opportunities.

"Nine great innings from all the (pitchers)," Ellis said.

The Cardinals jumped in front on Garcia's second homer of the season in the fifth. But the Marlins broke loose in the sixth.

Miami broke a four-game losing streak in St. Louis.

GOING IN REVERSE

St. Louis outfielder Tommy Pham went 0 for 4 and struck out four times after reaching base in all five trips to the plate in Monday's 14-6 win. He went 3 for 3 and walked twice.

IN A PINCH

St. Louis pinch hitters lead the majors with a .348 average (40 for 115). Jose Martinez has a team-high six pinch hits in 14 at-bats. Rookie Luke Voit is 3 for 3.

GONE

Marlins left-hander Jeff Locke was designated for assignment after giving up 11 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of Monday's loss at St. Louis. Locke was 0-5 with an 8.16 ERA in seven starts. Steckenrider was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cardinals: INF Jedd Gyorko was held out of the game after leaving Monday's contest in the fifth inning with a cramping issue. ... INF Kolten Wong will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Wednesday. Wong was placed on the 10-day disabled list on June 15 with a triceps injury.

UP NEXT

Cardinals right-hander Mike Leake (6-6, 2.97 ERA) will take on Miami right-hander Edinson Volquez (4-8, 3.97 ERA) in the third game of the four-game series on Wednesday. Leake is 6-1 with a 2.36 ERA in seven career starts against the Marlins. Volquez tossed a no-hitter against Arizona on June 3.

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