Jose Lima’s perfection as a Royal came to an end in Gotham last night in an 11-6 loss to the Yankees. Lima dropped to 7-1 after surrendering six runs off seven hits in four innings of work. Jorge Posada and Karim Garcia drove in three apiece, both hitting home runs on Monday night. Kansas City trailed 9-2 before two run rallies in the sixth and seventh innings. Carols Beltran was 3-4 with RBI’s and his 21st homer in the loss. The White sox topped Anaheim last night, moving to within two games of the Royals for the A.L. Central lead. The Twins, who were idle, trail by two and a half. The Royals’ closing duties will be by committee the rest of the way. Mike MacDougal was the lone closer, but he’s had just one save since July 6th. Curtis Leskanic, who got the save on Sunday, will split time out of the bullpen with MacDougal.
Rams Top Bucs In Pre-Season Tilt
The Rams ended a five-game-pre season losing streak with a 26-16 win over the Buccaneers, improving to 1-1. Kurt Warner didn’t play much but was 7-7 for 55 yards with no interceptions. Back up quarterback Marc Bulger was 7-15 for 110 and former Mizzou quarterback Kirk Farmer was 0-1. Place kicker Jeff Wilkins was dead on, hitting four of four field goals. One of the game’s biggest touchdowns game in the first half when safety Kim Herring picked up a fumble and ran 59-yards into the end zone. There was some bad news for the Rams when starting Center Dave Wolobaugh broke a bone in his hand. He won’t play the rest of the pre-season for precautionary reasons.
Missouri’s Infant Mortality Rate Rises
State Health Department officials say Missouri’s infant mortality rate increased by 15 percent last year from 7.4 per 1,000 live births in 2001 to 8.5 percent in 2002. The Missouri increase was much larger among white infants than among African-American infants. The white infant death rate increased by 22 percent from 5.8 in 2001 to 7.1 per 1,000 live births in 2002. The African-American rate increased just 2 percent from 16.8 to 17.2. The infant death rate among blacks was still 2.4 times higher than the white rate in 2002. Officials say that while they are concerned about the increase, one year does not necessarily indicate a trend.
Drug Charges Against Lemay Couple Dismissed
A judge has thrown out drug charges against a Lemay couple who had contended all along that drugs found in their home were planted there. The judge found the testimony of two former Arnold police officers less than credible and dismissed the charges against William and Juanita Gillman filed more than two years ago. The Gillmans say an acquaintance might have left drugs in their home in hopes of making a deal with authorities after turning them in.
KC Man Acquitted Of Earlier Rape Charged In New Sexual Assault
A Kansas City man has been charged with raping a woman just weeks after being acquitted of another rape charge. Rodney Williams is back in jail, charged with raping a 26-year-old woman in an apartment building. The woman told police she knew Williams and when he came to the apartment he confronted her, pinned her to a wall and began raping her. The victim’s brother saw the attack, broke it up and punched Williams who fled. Williams called police to complain that he was a victim of assault. The woman called police shortly thereafter to file the rape charge. A Jackson County jury acquited Williams of rape on May 30th. Williams’ defense attorney argued that the sex was consensual.
