WASHINGTON (AP) – St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal might return home from the team’s road trip for further testing after straining his right elbow in an 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday night. Furcal was asked whether he was concerned the injury might end his season.  “Sort of,” Furcal said. “It’s bad.”  Furcal left after making back-to-back throws to home and second in the sixth inning.

He said he felt a pop and then tingling on the two throws and that he will have an MRI on Friday. “My wish is nothing crazy,” said Furcal, who had never dealt with elbow problems before this game. Furcal is hitting .264 with five home runs and 49 RBIs.  “You can’t really describe it as losing a piece right now until we get all the information,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s been a phenomenal part of this team. He’s had a great season.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mike Piatkowski threw two touchdown passes and Drake defeated Grand View 28-8 Thursday night in its season opener.  Piatkowski finished with 271 yards passing for the Bulldogs, with the touchdowns going to Nick Rosa and Dan Hohenstein. Drake also scored on Gary Scott’s 2-yard run and John Hugunin’s 35-yard return of a blocked punt.  Grand View, also located in Des Moines, scored first on Darius White’s 10-yard run. But the Vikings missed the extra point and their only score the rest of the way came on a safety. It was 14-8 in the fourth quarter before Naser Hanoon blocked the punt that turned into Hugunin’s TD.  The NAIA school won its opening game last week, beating Graceland 26-6.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – No. 12 Wisconsin opens the season at home Saturday against Northern Iowa.  All eyes are on Badgers running back Montee Ball, who was attacked and beaten up near campus a month ago, leaving him with a concussion that caused him to miss part of camp. Three men were arrested in connection with the incident this week.  Ball scored 39 touchdowns to tie Barry Sanders’ NCAA record last season.  Northern Iowa is ranked No. 7 in a preseason FCS coaches’ poll. The Panthers beat Iowa State in 2007 and nearly beat the Cyclones again last year, losing 20-19 after blowing a late lead. Northern Iowa lost 17-16 at Iowa in 2009 after having a pair of late field goal attempts blocked.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Backup quarterback Graham Harrell finally came through with the strong preseason performance the Green Bay Packers were looking for, driving the offense for touchdowns on all three of his possessions in a 24-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Harrell completed 13 of 15 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns in both teams’ final tuneup Thursday night. Second-year running back Alex Green had touchdowns rushing and receiving, and Jarrett Boykin caught a touchdown for the Packers. Peyton Hillis had 46 yards on six carries early on and the Chiefs rushed for 247 yards. Defensive tackle B.J. Raji appeared to hurt his left ankle on the Packers’ first defensive play, but was able to walk off the field without assistance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit his third home run in two games, Jason Werth homered for the first time since May, and Edwin Jackson struck out 10 Thursday night as the Washington Nationals padded their NL East lead with an 8-1 win over the punchless St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals opened an 11-game homestand with an overwhelming performance against a wild-card contender that failed to score an earned run for the third straight game. Jackson (8-9) was so dominant that three of his strikeouts required throws to first because the Cardinals were chasing balls in the dirt. The victory moved the Nationals 5½ games ahead of idle Atlanta. Jaime Garcia (3-6) allowed six runs for the Cardinals, whose streak of 28 scoreless innings ended in the eighth.