ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alex Cobb struck out 10 and drove in a run with his first major league hit, leading Tampa Bay to a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night, the Rays’ seventh straight win. Cobb blanked the Cardinals on five hits over seven innings. It was the fourth time he has thrown at least seven innings without an earned run this season. Cobb missed 50 games last season with a concussion after he was hit near the right ear by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer.

Jake McGee pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save in 10 opportunities. The Rays have won 25 of their last 36 games and are 13-4 in July. On June 29, they had the worst record in the majors and have passed 11 teams since. Tampa Bay completed its road trip at 5-0 and its eight-game road winning streak ties the franchise record set twice.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles has agreed to a contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs announced the deal Wednesday night. The two-year extension runs through the 2017 season, a person familiar with the contract said on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t disclose terms of the contract.

The six-year NFL veteran ran for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns last year to help the Chiefs reach the playoffs. He also had 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more TDs as Kansas City went 11-5 before losing to Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game.

CLASS 1-A Consolation Semi-Finals:

• Lynnville-Sully 3, Marquette Catholic 2
• Wayne 1, Glidden-Ralston 0

CLASS 2-A Consolation Semi-Finals:

• Alburnett 6, St. Ansgar 5 (9 innings)
• Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 15, North Butler 1

CLASS 3-A Consoltation Finals:

• 7th Place: Spirit Lake 3, West Burlington-Notre Dame 2
• 5th Place: Mid-Prairie 7, Center Point-Urbana 5

CLASS 4-A Consolation Semi-Finals:

• West Delaware 2, LeMars 1
• Oskaloosa 3, Clear Creek-Amana 1

CLASS 5-A Consolation Semi-Finals:

• Muscatine 5, Waukee 0
• Pleasant Valley 12, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 0

CLASS 5-A Consolation Finals:

• 7th Place:  Cedar Rapids Jefferson 2, Waukee 0
• 5th Place:  Muscatine 8, Pleasant Valley 0

CLASS 4-A Consolation Finals:

• 7th Place:  LeMars 8, Clear Creek-Amana 3
• 5th Place:  Oskaloosa 7, West Delaware 2

CLASS 2-A Consolation Finals:

• 7th Place: North Butler 11, St. Ansgar 0 (6 innings)
  
• 5th Place:  Alburnett 9, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 5

CLASS 1-A Consolation Finals:

• 7th Place:  Marquette Catholic 13, Glidden-Ralston 0 (4 innings)
• 5th Place:  Lynnville-Sully 2, Wayne 1 (9 innings)

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals have activated lefty reliever Kevin Siegrist from the 15-day disabled list and optioned rookie lefty Nick Greenwood to Triple-A Memphis. Siegrist had been on the DL for two months with a left forearm strain. In five rehab appearances with Double-A Springfield, he allowed no runs in 4 2-3 innings. In his most recent outing Monday, he worked 1 1-3 scoreless innings.

As a rookie last year, Siegrist set a franchise record for a reliever with a 0.45 ERA. This season, he was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 23 games with 27 strikeouts in 20 innings. Greenwood was 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA in nine games and worked two perfect innings Tuesday.

w/ Jim Field

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (612.3KB)

Subscribe: RSS

CLASS 1-A Finals:
Martensdale-St. Marys 3, Earlham 1
Underwood 2, Lenox 1 (8 innings)

CLASS 2-A Finals:
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 5, Southeast Valley 4
Van Meter 5, St. Albert 1

Wednesday’s Schedule

CLASS 3-A Finals:
Harlan vs. Glenwood @ Harlan
Bishop Heelan Catholic vs. Sergeant Bluff-Luton @ LeMars

Tuesday Games:

CLASS 1-A Quarter-Finals
Kee 4, Lynnville-Sully 0
AGWSR 2, Marquette Catholic 0
Akron-Westfield 5, Glidden-Ralston 1
Martensdale-St. Marys 6, Wayne 5

CLASS 2-A Quarter-Finals
Highland 5, Saint Ansgar 0
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 5, Alburnett 1
Earlham 3, North Butler 0
Woodbury Central 4, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 3

CLASS 3-A Consolation Semi-Finals
Mid-Prairie 5, West Burlington-Notre Dame 2
Center Point-Urbana 5, Spirit Lake 2

CLASS 5-A Quarter-Finals
Dowling Catholic 4, Pleasant Valley 1
Southeast Polk 2, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 0

Wednesday’s Schedule:

CLASS 1-A Consolation Semi-Finals:
Noon – Lynnville-Sully (34-2) vs. Marquette Catholic (34-7)
Noon – Glidden-Ralston (14-12) vs. Wayne (27-7)

CLASS 2-A Consolation Semi-Finals:
Noon – St. Ansgar (19-9) vs. Alburnett (26-13)
Noon – North Butler (18-9) vs. Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto (22-10)

CLASS 3-A Consoltation Finals:
10:00 am – 7th Place: West Burlington-Notre Dame (23-14) vs. Spirit Lake (23-10)
Noon – 5th Place: Mid-Prairie (26-11) vs. Center Point-Urbana (29-10)

CLASS 4-A Consolation Semi-Finals:
10:00 am – LeMars (21-17) vs. West Delaware (30-8)
10:00 am – Clear Creek-Amana (22-18) vs. Oskaloosa (29-10)

CLASS 5-A Consolation Semi-Finals:
10:00 am – Waukee (25-17) vs. Muscatine (37-5)
10:00 am – Pleasant Valley (30-9) vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson (34-7)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jake Odorizzi allowed two runs over 5 2-3 innings and Yunel Escobar highlighted a five-run fifth inning with a two-run double to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 7-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. It was the Rays’ season-high sixth straight win. They have outscored the opposition 36-11 during the run. Evan Longoria added a solo homer in the ninth for Tampa Bay.

St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright, making his first appearance since starting for the NL in the All-Star game, gave up six runs, four earned, in 4 2-3 innings. Wainwright (12-5) was trying to become the first 13-game winner in the NL. He walked four and hit a batter in his second-shortest outing of the season. He allowed seven earned runs in 4 1-3 innings in a 9-4 loss to San Francisco on May 30.

Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday hit solo home runs for the Cardinals.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Workers have begun piecing together a $1.3 million video board at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, and officials hope the scoreboard will be functional by the University of Northern Iowa’s first home football game Sept. 20. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports workers from Fort Meyer, Florida-based Animated Display Systems on Sunday started installing panels for the 26-by-100-foot video scoreboard into a massive steel frame above the south end zone.

Troy Dannen, UNI’s director of athletics, says the old scoreboard was outdated and failing. It will be converted into a scoreboard and placed near the north end zone. The McLeod Center also will get new scoreboard.

Funding for the improvements come from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, Learfield Sports and a private donor.

GRAETTINGER, Iowa (AP) – A participant in an annual bicycle ride across Iowa has died due to a medical condition. Bob Libby, medical director for The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, told The Des Moines Register the 63-year-old man died Monday while riding near Graettinger, a small northern Iowa city in Palo Alto County. His name wasn’t released.

Libby says he didn’t know the cause of death, but that is was due to a medical condition and not a traumatic injury. A trauma surgeon, nurse and others cared for the man, who was taken to Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg, where he died.

It’s the first time a RAGBRAI rider has died since 2010. About 8,500 riders make the weeklong trip across Iowa, plus others who ride on single days.