MMEOM 14A - The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday _ September 7, 2004 4 Offense gives Ledezma a Royal exit Une £IMUUaU Athlete of the Week DETROIT (AP) - Wil Ledezma made his last start in the Tigers' rotation a strong one. Ledezma (4-2) gave up two runs - one earned - and seven hits in six innings to lead Detroit to a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Roy- als yesterday. The 23-year-old left- hander will move to the bullpen to reduce the number of innings he throws the rest of this year. "I feel great, but it isn't my deci- sion," he said. "I'm very happy with the season I have had." Ledezma went 12-4 for Double- A Erie before coming to Detroit in mid-July. He has pitched 155 2/3 innings this season. "This is where we have to pull the plug," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. "Wil doesn't agree, but we'll do what is best for him and for the organization." The Tigers' second straight win was their 63rd of the season, pre- venting them from losing at least 100 games for a third straight season. Detroit lost an American League-record 119 games last season - one less than the major league record. "It's only September 6, so hon- estly, we knew we were going to get there," Trammell said. "It's a nice feeling after last year, but we want to keep going." Detroit hadn't played since Fri- day, when it won at Tampa Bay but had the last two games of the series postponed because of Hur- ricane Frances. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was not with the team because he was delayed in transit from Miami, where he had stayed with his fam- ily during the hurricane. Gary Knotts pitched the final three innings and gave up two hits and one run - Angel Berroa's solo homer in the ninth - for his second save. Denny Bautista (0-1) lost in his first major league start, allow- ing four runs on eight hits in six innings. The Royals have lost three of four. "I was a little nervous in the first inning, but I was okay after that," Bautista said. Detroit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, helped by two mis- takes by Kansas City's defense. Carlos Guillen singled with two outs and Dmitri Young walked. Carlos Pena lifted a harmless- looking fly ball to shallow left, but Desi Relaford broke the wrong way and failed to make a diving catch, giving Pena an RBI double. "The last time I played against these guys, Pena hit a ball over my head, so I was playing deep and I got a bad read on the ball," Relaford said. "If I make that play, it might have been a different game." Monroe's single made it 2-0 when no one covered first on a grounder between first and the mound. Jason Smith followed with a single to left, scoring Pena. "We just played terrible defense," Royals manager Tony Pena said. "They scored three runs off the kid, but they didn't deserve them." Kansas City left the bases load- ed in the third, but scored twice in the next inning - thanks to some sloppy defense by the Tigers. Ken Harvey reached second on shortstop Guillen's throwing error on his grounder and scored on Joe Randa's single to right. Randa ended up on second when Bobby Higginson misplayed the ball, and he scored when Matt Stairs dou- bled down the right-field line. Monroe made it 4-2 in the sixth with his 13th homer. He has hit in 19 of his last 20 games. Omar Infante drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double off D.J. Carrasco in the eighth. I Name: Lisa Gamalski Hometown: Milwaukee Team: Volleyball Class: Senior Why: Leading Michigan to its best start since 1999, Gamalski was named the Manhattan College Invitational Tournament M.V.P. With 54 assists and 14 digs, she helped the Wolverines improve to 4-0 on the season. Gamalski I I 'M' SCHEDULE i Date 9/10 9/10 9/10 9/10 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/12 9/12 Matchup/event Field Hockey vs. Syracuse W. Soccer vs. Syracuse M. Soccer vs. Dayton Volleyball vs. Eastern Michigan W. Cross Country at Indiana State Invite Volleyball vs. Oakland Field Hockey vs. Old Dominion Football at Notre Dame Volleyball vs. Florida State M. Golf hosts Michigan/Radrick Farms Invite W. Golf hosts Lady Northern Invite W. Soccer vs. Boston University M. Soccer vs. Detroit Location Ann Arbor Ann Arbor Saline Ann Arbor Time 3 P.M. 4 P.M. 7 P.M. 7:30 P.M. Terre Haute, Ind. 10 A.M. Ann Arbor 1:30 P.M. Ann Arbor 2 P.M. South Bend, Ind. 2:30 P.M. Ann Arbor 7:30 P.M. Ann Arbor All Day Ann Arbor All Day I Ann Arbor Ann Arbor 2 P.M. 5 P.M. Both field hockey contests will be played at Ocker Field, just off State Street. Women's soccer will play both of its games on the Varsity Soccer Field right next to Ocker Field. The men's soccer team will play its first game at Saline High School's field. Its Sunday evening game will be played on the Varsity Soccer Field. Volleyball's two matches will be played at Cliff Keen Arena at State and Hoover Streets. Men's golf will play its invitational at the Radrick Farms Golf Course at 4875 Geddes Road. The women's golf team will host its invitational at the Michigan Golf Course, just south of Michigan Stadium. Tigers infielder Omar Infante drives in three runs en route to a 7-3 victory. Quarter-bouncing in the Open In tennis's final Grand Slam event, action is now heating up in the proverbial oven. The men's side has names like Tim Henman, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi already in the quarterfinals, with Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt looking to enter that round after today. The women's quarterfinal matchups are all set for today as well, with Serena Williams vs. Jennifer Capriati leading the headlines. Daily's WoNVd Cup Rankings ARE YOU READY? l Hank Williams Jr. is getting ready. Fantasy football coaches are getting ready. Chicken wing makers at Buffalo Wild Wings in Ypsilanti are getting adief thy brek t ready. With the NFL season just a heartbeat away, we at The Michigan Dailytois. N want you to be ready too. Using our prognosticating genius, we have put together a prediction of what will happen during this season. 2. Finland 0 ~aIuI Uiuisfired II' un hileOpdt-. Men's Fourth Round Men's Quarterfinals Roger Federer, SUI (1) Andre Agassi, USA (6) Dominik Hrbaty, SVK (22) Women's Quarterfinals Nadia Petrova, RUS (14) Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (9) Tim Henman, GBR (5) H- Tomas Berdych, CZE Tommy Haas, GER T. Lindsay Davenport, USA (5) Shinobu Asagoe,JPN Jennifer Capriati, USA (8) Karol Beck, SVK i Lions' M.V.P: (First road win: Worst loss: Harrington in 2005?: Charles Rogers, Ryan Sosin The Sauce Lleyton Hewitt, AUS (4) Kyle O'Neill Retired janitor I -A Serena Williams, USA (3) Week 4 (Atlanta) Week 13 (Arizona) Nig Dedy ...........N o p e............ Shaun Rogers Week 6 (NY Giants) Week 16 (Chicago) 4. Russia * No Khabibulin, no Nabakov, no offense, no problem. Russia has been riding young keeper Llya Brzgalov. A Joachim Johansson, SWE (28) Elena Dementieva, RUS (6) Michael Llodra, FRA i AP PHOTO Tommy Robredo, ESP (18) Andre Agassi Amelie Mauresmo, FRA (2) Biggest sraftbust: Biggest surprise: Jn Andy Roddick, USA (2) Playing the piano, at least Rivers I Philip Rivers San Diego Philadelphia NI4 E Nope Cincinnati 6. Czech Republic SThomas Vokun has held the dis- interested Czech team in the tour- nament. They have a lot of talent but nil desire to play. I NFC Champion: Atlanta Jamal Lewis in Dec.?: Definitely not with the Ravens |Best jersey: Keyshawn Johnson (Dallas) Joey Harrington (Oregon) I 8. Slovakia " Don't fret, Slovakia, it is pos- sible to go 3-3 and still walk away with the gold. I'd recommend cheering for the Czechs though. L J What's on today Time AL Central Corner Standings i Matchup U.S. Open (Tennis) Everton vs. Manchester United (Soccer) World Cup Quarterfinals (Hockey) Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers (MLB) World Cup Quarterfinals (Hockey) U.S. Open (Tennis) U.S. Open Highlights (Tennis) 11 A.M. - 5 P.M. Noon - 2 P.M. 1 P.M. - 3:30 P.M. 7 P.M. - 10 P.M. 7 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. 7 P.M. - 11 P.M. 12:30 A.M. - 1 A.M. Station USA FSD ESPN/CBC FSD ESPN2/CBC USA CBS Minnesota Chicago Cleveland Detroit Kansas City W 77 69 68 63 48 L 60 67 71 72 88 GB 7.5 10 13 28.5 Streak L2 W4 W1 W2 Li Yesterday's games DETRoT 7, Kansas City 3 BALTIMORE 4, Minnesota 1 Chicago 7, TEXAS 4 Cleveland 5, SENITLE 0 A A Avoid the lines! Purchase Your Textbooks Online www.shamandrum.com .m ,J