Notes

— CARDINALS

Freese misses fourth start

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese missed his fourth consecutive start with a sprained right ankle, but felt good enough to take pregame batting practice.

Freese, who has had ankle woes in the past, was encouraged by how well he felt before Friday night’s game against the Washington Nationals.

“The way it is, it kind of shows my ankle is pretty good, to be honest,” Freese said. “The way I rolled it, I got it pretty good and for everything to be all right that’s a plus for sure.”

Matt Carpenter started in place of Freese against Washington in a game with postseason implications for both teams. The Cardinals began a six-game home stand to end the season with a magic number of four for securing the second NL wild card, and the Nationals’ magic number for clinching the NL East was three.

Before hitting, Freese said the ankle had improved enough for his first baseball activities since rolling the ankle at Houston. Previously, he hit in the indoor cage, took grounders and jogged in the outfield but noted he rounded the turns.

Manager Mike Matheny said he didn’t know when Freese, batting .296 with 20 home runs and 79 RBI, would be back.

“He’s still not there, so I just don’t want to give a timeline,” Matheny said. “We’ll just see how he does each day.”

The Cardinals, closing in on the second NL wild card, is increasing the urgency for Freese.

“I’m trying to push it,” he said. “I mean, we don’t have much time left. It’s frustrating, but I’ll be out there soon enough.”

PIRATES

Walker out

PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker will miss the rest of the season because of lower back soreness.

Walker visited a back specialist Friday and was advised to sit out Pittsburgh’s final six games. Walker had missed the last three games and started just six times in September because of the injury.

“I don’t want to portray this as me quitting on the team,” Walker said before the Pirates hosted Cincinnati, the NL Central champions.“It’s frustrating [because] my goal was to get back and help this team as much as I could. I tried to play through it as much as I could.”

Walker finishes his season with a .280 batting average, 14 home runs and 69 RBI in 129 games.

The Pirates have lost 20 of 26 and have to win five of six games to avoid their 20th consecutive losing season.

INDIANS

Francona a candidate

CLEVELAND - Terry Francona has joined Sandy Alomar Jr. as a candidate to become manager of the Cleveland Indians.

Alomar prepared for his first game as interim manager Friday, a day after Manny Acta was fired. General Manager Chris Antonetti said both were candidates and others currently employed by teams could become part of the search.

“I’m excited and I’m honored that they would give me an interview,” Francona told the Associated Press. “I know Sandy Alomar is also a candidate. He’s a good friend of mine. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I will do my homework over the next week.”

Francona, who managed Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, was a special assistant in Cleveland’s front office in 2001.He is intrigued by the chance to work again with Indians president Mark Shapiro and Antonetti.

“Chris and Mark are very dear to me and very important to me,” he said. “I know there are challenges and I look forward to maybe having the chance to work again with people I care about.”

Francona has been an ESPN analyst since leaving the Red Sox after last season. He played briefly in Cleveland in 1988, following father Tito. Terry Francona managed Philadelphia in 1997-2000.

TWINS

Nishioka released

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins released Tsuyoshi Nishioka, ending their experiment with the Japanese middle infielder after two rough years.

The Twins said Friday that the move came at Nishioka’s request.

The Twins said Nishioka decided to relieve the team of its remaining financial commitment on his contract, which included a $3 million salary for the 2013 season and a $250,000 buyout. So they don’t owe him any more money, and Nishioka is now a free agent.

In a statement released by the Twins, Nishioka thanked the organization for the opportunity and took “full responsibility” for his performance.

Nishioka spent most of 2012 with Class AAA Rochester, batting .258 with 2 home runs and 34 RBI in 392 at-bats.

Sports, Pages 25 on 09/29/2012

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