Date: 04/11/2013 05:29 AM
NW–SportsMinute/458
Here is the latest Washington, Oregon and Alaska sports news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 47 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled closer to a playoff berth with a 113-106 win over the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers last night. The Lakers moved a game up on the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Portland, missing the playoffs for a second straight season, has lost nine straight, the most since an 11-game skid in the 2005-06 season. Damian Lillard led Portland with a career-high 38 points.
SEATTLE (AP) – Rick Ankiel and Chris Carter each hit a two-run homer to help the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3 last night. Carlos Pena had three hits and scored twice for the Astros, who also got two RBIs from J.D. Martinez and a late home run by Marwin Gonzalez. Brad Peacock earned first major league win since 2011. After losing 3-0 on Monday, the Astros scored 24 runs on 37 hits in winning the final two games of the series. Peacock allowed three runs and four hits in five-plus innings.
SEATTLE (AP) – Seattle Mariners right fielder Michael Saunders sprained his right shoulder crashing into the outfield wall to make a catch. He will be re-examined today and the team says Saunders is expected to miss “some time.” Saunders left last night’s game against Houston in the first inning after running down a deep drive hit by leadoff batter Jose Altuve. Saunders chased the ball in a full sprint across the warning track and caught it just as he collided with the padded wall, then fell to the ground.
TORONTO (AP) – The Toronto Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Casper Wells off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners designated Wells for assignment on March 31, when the Mariners kept Jason Bay as a backup outfielder, and the Blue Jays added him yesterday. Wells batted .228 for the Mariners in 2012 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. He has played parts of three seasons with Detroit and Seattle. The Blue Jays also have designated right-handed pitcher Alex Burnett for assignment.
(AP) – Ashton Eaton is trying to figure out a way to top his season-for-the-ages during which he set a world decathlon record at U.S. trials last June and captured Olympic gold two months later at the London Games. The 25-year-old Eaton had such a memorable year that he became a clue in a newspaper crossword puzzle. Since his big summer, Eaton has been invited to many a dinner party in his hometown of Bend, Ore., where he’s constantly asked just what he’s planning to do for an encore performance.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.