Houston's Dallas Keuchel started the All-Star Game for the American League, and since then he has bolstered his claim as the AL's best pitcher this season.
Keuchel struck out 12 Minnesota Twins in eight innings last Sunday, the fourth time this season he has reached double-digit strikeouts in a game. Keuchel needed 78 career starts to do that for the first time. Now he has a lot of strikeouts (192 to go with a 17-7 record and a 2.22 ERA), but that doesn't mean he relies on them.
"I'm not overpowering," said Keuchel, a former pitcher for the University of Arkansas. "I have to pitch to contact, so with the late movement I have on a couple of my pitches I've been able to get some weak contact."
Once contact is made, Keuchel tries to reduce the variables with his fielding. Keuchel won the AL Gold Glove award for pitchers last season, and he led all major-league pitchers in assists through Thursday with 48, according to FanGraphs.
"I always try to be in position to field the ball," he said. "I have to do everything possible to make myself better. If I give myself every chance to be successful, and that includes fielding the ball back to me or even toward the first-base line or third-base line, I can get a couple more outs to kind of shorten the game for me."
Keuchel said it was a point of pride to do more than simply repeat the specific movements of delivering a pitch. Once the ball leaves his hand, he said, he still has a job to do.
"I don't like the term nonathlete for pitchers," he said. "I try to prove that stigma wrong."
But like any baseball player, Keuchel is not perfect. He misplayed a bouncer hit back to the mound, the key component in a three-run second inning that proved to be Keuchel's undoing in a 3-2 loss Friday to the Los Angeles Angels.
"It was a routine play that I just botched," Keuchel said afterward. "It's a tough one to swallow."
Defense anyone?
Journey Brown, a junior running back for Meadville (Pa.) High School, ran for 722 yards and 10 touchdowns in a 107-90 victory over DuBois High School on Friday night.
Brown did all of his damage on 30 carries.
"I'm tired," Brown told The Meadville Tribune. "I'm real tired."
DuBois attempted to counter with the play of sophomore quarterback Matt Miller, who threw for 741 yards and 10 TDs.
The teams combined for 1,827 yards of total offense.
"I'll tell you what, the fans that paid their $5 to come see this game certainly got their money's worth," Meadville Coach Ray Collins said. "What you had was two very good offenses teeing up on each other, but neither team brought their defense."
Forfeit man
Memphis announced a benefit dinner Dec. 28 to honor former men's basketball coach John Calipari, then hours later announced it would not be recognizing him.
Wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "Wouldn't it have been more apt to say the honors would be vacated?"
Snooze time
From RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: "A new study claims a midday nap can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack. Coincidence? The Browns versus the Jets was given a noon start."
Sports quiz
What two NFL teams played in the highest-scoring game?
Sports quiz
Washington defeated the New York Giants 72-41 on Nov. 27, 1966
Sports on 09/13/2015