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Prado helps D-backs beat Phillies 10-6 in 10

By WTOP Staff

AARON BRACY
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Martin Prado’s hard work paid off for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Prado doubled, homered and drove in five runs, including a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, to lift the Diamondbacks to a 10-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

“He works hard all the time and sometimes he’s too hard on himself,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “He believes the harder he works, the better he is.”

Nick Evans’ three-run homer capped Arizona’s four-run 10th inning.

Evan Marshall (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the victory.

Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche homered for Philadelphia, which blew a four-run lead and has lost eight of its last 11 games. Chase Utley had three hits and an RBI.

The teams combined to use 13 pitchers and pounded out 33 hits in the game that took 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Ender Inciarte reached on a bunt single with one out in the 10th and went to third on Didi Gregorius’ double to right off Antonio Bastardo (4-4). The speedy Inciarte scored easly on Prado’s fly ball to medium center field that was caught by light-throwing Ben Revere.

“I wanted to put the ball in play and fortunately I hit a fly ball,” said Prado, who tied a career-high for RBIs in a game.

After an intentional walk to Paul Goldschmidt, pinch-hitter Evans broke the game open with a three-run shot to left.

“It’s awesome coming from behind,” Prado said. “It was a really good win.”

Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard went 2 for 5 with two strikeouts in his return to the lineup after a .141 average in his previous 21 games caused manager Ryne Sandberg to bench him for three games.

The Phillies jumped all over Josh Collmenter early, cruising to a 6-2 lead before the Diamondbacks battled back against Cliff Lee and the Phillies’ bullpen.

Collmenter allowed six runs on 11 hits in just 2 2-3 innings — his shortest outing as a starter this season.

“There were just too many bad pitches, especially fastballs up and over the plate,” Collmenter said.

The Phillies pounded out eight hits in the first two innings. Asche’s two-run homer to right highlighted Philadelphia’s four-run second that put the Phillies in front 4-1. Lee scored one of the runs in the inning, reaching on Jimmy Rollins’ double, but he nearly fell rounding third and let out a chuckle halfway to the plate.

After Arizona got a run back in the third when Prado went deep, Philadelphia scored twice more, chasing Collmenter in the process, in the bottom of the inning. Byrd had a leadoff homer to left and Lee added an RBI single to center to make it 6-2.

“Putting six runs up early was the positive side of things, but we weren’t able to add on,” Sandberg said.

Making his second start after spending two months on the DL with an elbow injury, Lee was a tad better than his last outing when he gave up six runs and 12 hits in 5 2-3 innings but still not in his usual form, tossing five innings and giving up three runs on nine hits this time.

“It looks like he’s still building up arm strength and the balls still not coming out crisp and darting with some life at home plate,” Sandberg said. “He’s lacking that right now along with the command.”

Both Sandberg and Lee said the elbow isn’t an issue.

Arizona slowly clawed back, getting a run in the fourth on Prado’s RBI single and two more in the sixth off right-hander Justin De Fratus on Prado’s two-run double to left that made it 6-5.

And the Diamondbacks scored the tying run in the seventh on Inciarte’s RBI groundout off lefty Mario Hollands.

“The bullpen struggled tonight,” Sandberg said. “It’s just (not making) quality pitches right out of the pen, lacking getting first-hitter outs.”

The Phillies placed a runner in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that featured two replay reviews. However, Grady Sizemore grounded out against Marshall with the winning run on second.

Earlier in the inning, second base umpire Dan Iassogna’s safe call on Reid Brignac’s steal attempt was overturned by replay review after a 1-minute, 33-second delay. Later, replays confirmed first-base umpire Dale Scott’s safe call on Revere’s infield single in which he eluded the tag of Goldschmidt with a diving touch of first after a two-minute delay.

NOTES: The teams combined to leave 24 runners on base. … Aaron Hill extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a first-inning single but was hit for in the seventh after suffering a bruised right hand by a pitch from De Fratus. Gibson said Hill could be used as a pinch-hitter Sunday but likely wouldn’t start. … Philadelphia rookie RHP Ken Giles needed just 10 pitches to strike out the side in the eighth. . Sizemore has hit safely in all eight games leading off for the Phillies. … Former Phillies INF Placido Polanco threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … The series concludes Sunday with Arizona LHP Vidal Nuno (0-1, 3.78) facing Phillies RHP Roberto Hernandez (4-8, 4.25).

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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